Don't get me started on the Kiwis!
I lived out there for over 2 years. Seriously, if you think cycling infrastructure and acceptance is poor in the UK, you don't know how (comparatively) lucky we are.
From what I can remember about my time in Auckland, there was only 1 main segregated cycle lane, which runs alongside the North-Western Motorway (SH16). If you want to take your bike from the main part of the city to the North Shore (across the harbour), the options were a roughly $20 ferry or a 7-8 hour ride around the harbour inlet, despite there being a bridge crossing much closer that would get you there in under 30 minutes.
The drivers truly despise all cyclists. I have never felt aggression as vicious as when riding on Auckland's streets, particularly Dominion Road between Mt Eden and Mt Roskill and Mt Eden Road south of the volcano. All the press are against cyclists and cycling, further fuelling drivers' anger. Even my flatmates, who worked at the same environmental organisation as myself, did nothing but scorn me when I bought my bike.
I had no option but to constantly take primary position in the lane. If you take secondary, drivers WILL squeeze you out or just force you into the door zone, which is even more full of idiots that don't look than in the UK.
There is a glimmer of hope - Christchurch. The main city on the South Island which was devastated by a serious earthquake (which I felt, on the other side of the damn island!) in 2011. A lot of the infrastructure is in tatters right now whilst the rebuild is ongoing, but it's a flat city and their buses even have collapsible racks on the front bumper that can hold 3 non-folding bikes! An idea that London could definitely learn from. It's still affected by very poor drivers (the standard across NZ is generally quite a bit poorer than the UK), but they're on the right track.
