Places to see in NZ

tech

Just wondering what are th best plcaes in NZ to see

I have 13 days and arrive in the North Island 1st and fly home form Christchurch

Many Thanks

lg123

change your flights, you will not regret it spending a few more weeks there.

whats your split, time wise?

tech

I wish I could, Im arriving on 30th april to Auckland and flying home Christchuch on 14 may, SO I need to make the most of it , any suggestions ?

amy85

i think i would nearly spend most of that time down in the south island. i think there is a lot more to see. in the north island i spent xmas in the Coramandel,in a quaint little town called Whitianga. was just beautiful there. cathedral cove is stunning. you probably wouldnt want to spend more than a night here though as there isnt really a huge amount to do.i didnt travel any further up from Auckland so i cant really comment on that. Rotorua is nice place too. very smelly,lots of hot springs. i went to a 'hangi' night there and did the zorbing (great craic).

as for the south island,so much to see,so little time. my highlights definitely were a skydive in Queenstown (if your planning something like that) Queenstown itself is just a lovely town to spend 2 or 3 days in. amazing scenery around it. Glenorchy is a few miles outside the town. its just like picture postcard.

definitely do an over night cruise on Milford Sound (or just a day cruise if funds dont stretch) either way it is a must see. the journey down alone to Milford Sound,through Fiordland is straight out of lord of the rings. just stunning!

i also did a day hike up Franz Josef glacier . was class,and is HUGE!. its very very scary and not for the faint hearted at all. if you get petrified half way up it,tough!! the guide wont bring ya back down! haha.. you just have to wait it out!

i also spent a night or 2 in Kiakoura and swam with dolphins and whale watching. again was amazing.

there is soooo much more to see,i just cant write it all down. spending time in any of these places i mentioned ,you definitely wont be disappointed. NZ is just a magical place and you wont want to leave at all.

ENJOY!!

Pisco Sour

13 days is no time at all. Get straight to the South Island and spend all your time there.

Everything mentioned above along with my additional suggestions:

1) Stay in Nelson and do the Abel Tasman National Park. Its stunning on a nice day.

2) Lake Tekapo. Picture perfect tourquoise lakes.

3) Skip Dunedin. Not much there that is worthy of you spending time there when you are so tight for time.

lg123

i would say spend most of the time on the south island too.
if you are planning on doing a sky dive i wouldnt do it in queenstown, nzone are the main company there and are great but (as with everything in queenstown) they are over priced. you can do a 15k foot jump in other places for less than the 12k foot with nzone. queenstown is a must though, beautiful place but a bit touristy. loads of adrenaline pumping activities there.

it might be a bit out of the way but the glaciers on the west coast are great too. i done a days ice climbing on fox and it was great. its a bit expensive but you really get stuck into the glacier, this needs a couple of days advance booking.

we done the 2hr cruise of milford sound, well worth a look.

wellington is a really nice city, north island obviously. the geothermal parks around rotorua are also worth a look, weirdest place i have ever seen.

amy85

04072511 wrote: »

13 days is no time at all. Get straight to the South Island and spend all your time there.

Everything mentioned above along with my additional suggestions:

1) Stay in Nelson and do the Abel Tasman National Park. Its stunning on a nice day.

2) Lake Tekapo. Picture perfect tourquoise lakes.

3) Skip Dunedin. Not much there that is worthy of you spending time there when you are so tight for time.

+1 for abel tasman national park. fantastic place!

agree about dunedin aswell . not huge amount to do there.

lg123

some great surf around dunedin

tech

gee thanks guys, im getting all excited now cant wait

spunkymunky

Firstly, how are you getting about? Car rental, bus?

I agree that the south island is much more scenic. Just draw droppingly beautiful! But the north has its charm. 13 days is not a long time but you can stills see a bit!
I really liked Cape Reigna, this is the top of the country. Its where the Tazman meets the pacific, Very historical too. About 4-5 hours north of Auckland so will need to stay somewhere up there, Maybe Pahia, lovely little village with a beautiful beach and boats floating away amongst a load of islands.
Auckland…land and leave….
Roturua, a must see if you ask me. Definatley the Waitapu thermal wonderland and if you stay the night, the Polynesian Spa.
Taupo has a beautiful lake, and a good place for some adventure activities and a lot cheaper than Queenstown.
Wellington is a lovely city, very scenic but only when the weather is decent!! Not called windy welly for nothing! If you go, Te Papa is a must, give yourself at least 3-4 hours.

Interislander from north to south is really nice too!

Never made it to Abel but I hear amazing things!
Now east or west coast?
West - Glaciers are a must. I did the full day in Franz Joesph. Didn't find it too challenging. Just really enjoyed it. Do the full day aswell. You go much higher!!

East – Kaikoura and the dolphin and whale swimming (Never made it here either )

Not a lot through the center.

Queenstown is a must also. Just so much to see and do and some great night life there. In saying that, it will be the quiet season so could be quieter!! I loved it and lived there for 10 months!! Go to winnies for pizza eh, I worked there but still it is great pizza.

Milford Sound, just beautiful. Boat trip is nice. We floated under a waterfall, which was cool!!
Agree. Skip Dunedin and Invercargill.
The Drive from Queenstown to Christchurch is one of the most scenic ive ever done! About 7 hours but worth it!!

Mark down what you wanna do and stick to it! 13 days is not long but you can still get about the place!

Enjoy

amy85

god getting really nostalgic reading everyones posts. really wanna go back there again. miss NZ

kiwipower

My Mammy!!

LuckyGent88

was just about to start a thread on this so cheers TECH. Am heading to NZ for the rugby for 2 months so needed advice on places to go and see so i can work out some sort of an itenary. Cheers for all the advice.

kiwipower

It all depends which matches you are going to what sort of things you are into etc.
I brought my Irish other half home for 6weeks and we didn’t even make it to the south island (saving that for next time.)
New Plymouth is a small enough town with limited town/city stuff going on. However, if you are into surf or diving Back Beach with the black sand is worth a visit just remember it’s prone to rips. I would recommend bringing a strong wind and rain proof jacket, as it will be very wet and windy around New Plymouth!
Mount Taranaki is just a short drive and while not the biggest of the mountains with its weather patterns its one of the most dangerous, but has huge spiritual significance. The drive up to Auckland while not considered part of the spectacular tourist routes is quite interesting. (Well as far as Hamilton. Hamilton to Auckland is a bit of a commuter drag.)

If you can (not sure if it is available during the winter) I would recommend the three day canoe trip down the Whanganui river, its classified as one of the top ten "walks" of NZ. Tours generally start from Ohakune (Which is a buzzing place during the Ski season as it’s the gateway to the National Park ski fields.) We done it with www.canoesafaris.co.nz/ they provided everything, including dishing up three course meals to us in a tramping hut! No mean feat when you have no running water and the toilet is a long drop! All we needed was good walking shoes, camera

I personally love the drive down the west coast of North Land through all the Kauri Forests (These are some amazing trees some of the oldest and widest in the world)

Most of our trip highlights came from the road atlas I borrowed off the folks (along with a car) I think it may have been a Hama New Zealand Touring Road Atlas. It showed all the Department of Conservation short 1 hour to half day walks that are dotted all over the country, most of these are not well known and as a result are much quieter than those in the main national parks are. They where marked with little red pins. The Lonely Planet - while not reliable for cafes and restaurants (most would have been sold on once they are listed in LP and the new owners buy them based on the LP recommendation and then run them into the ground.) Is reliable for some limited suggestions for getting of the main roads.

If you are enjoying the great outdoors while in NZ DO remember the weather IS Fickle! A bright sunny day can turn to a cold wet gale force windy day with a minus zero wind chill factor, within minutes, especial during the winter (and therefore during the world cup.) If you are going off the beaten track make sure you are well kitted. Thermals, long johns, WOOLLEN socks and hat etc and a good wind proof water proof jacket. I have seen very experienced trampers (hill walkers) get into alot of difficulty very fast, even on what should have been short easy one day walks.

Dont miss Rotarua/Taupo they are the official tourist highlights of the North Island, and I cant imagine anything better than climbing into a hot thermal spring after sitting in a wet and windy Rugby stadium!

jank

Do the inland drive from Tekapo to Wanaka... stunning! Also visit Mt Cook national park! NZ is the most stunning place on earth.

kiwipower

Also as I suggested on another thread. The train journeys are a great way to see the scenary without physical exhaustion!