1 Month in New Zealand

kevthecelt

Hi folks,
Im planning on travelling to new zealand in january to travel around the south island, any maybe a bit of the north(but ive heard its a bit boring), i want to do all the extreme sports and everything like that, anybody else been there? what would you recommend to do, where to stay, whats the weather like in jan? etc, any help would be greatly appreciated

robindch

> all the extreme sports

The place is a bit overblown, if you ask me and I've been there twice, once with friends, and once without. Nice scenery and all that, but frankly, most of it could be Ireland thirty years ago, except that the pubs are mostly crap on stilts. (anybody been to the town of Alexandra on the south Island? must have been full of irish immigrants at one time, to judge by the street names).

The Milford Track walk in Fjordland on the west coast of the south island is beautiful and really is worth doing, and Wellington's the most developed city, but other than that, make sure that you bring a (long) book.

BC

Rotorua in the North Island is definately worth a visit, as are the bay of islands. Wellington is the best out of the 3 main cities. Taupo in the north island has the cheapest sky dives (at least it used to anyway).

In the South Island, Abel Tasman National park has some great walking/kayaking. The full day/heli hike on either one of the glaciers is great. Queenstown is party town - great. Milford Sound is worth it if you do the track but not worth it for just a day trip in my opinion. Wanaka is beautiful and swimming with the dolphins in Kaikora just be on the list too!

January is the summer there so the weather should be pretty good.

If your looking to find a route check out www.magicbus.co.nz even if your travelling yourself you can itinery ideas from there.

thirtyfoot

Highlights of places for me in NZ

-Kayak safari in Abel Tasman, you kayak along the coast from one beach to the next and stay overnight on beaches.
-Buller Gorge, near Punakaiki on west coast of south Island - hike up Buller Gorge to Ballroom Overhang, its a cave shelter, super place to sleep under the stars (and the glow worms)
-Wanaka as mentioned, and head up to Matuikituiki Valley about 1 hour drive away. Rob Roy glacier is close by and if you get there on a warm day in early afternoon you can sit on the ridge and watch the avalanches thunder down, so close you'd think you can touch the snow.

Wasn't a fan of Queenstown, too many people trying to take too much money off you! Milford is quite touristy but very spectacular. Try meet some real Maori, they are a great people. I met a very old Maori who took us to this secluded cave on the coast north of Punakaiki where the wives of Maori warriors traditionally went to give birth, and some still so. Its was a treacherous walk, wouldn't fancy it 9 months pregnant.

If you want extreme sport NZ is for you, I'd be interested to hear what Robindch would regard as a good outdoor/extreme sport holiday location?

daveg

Some excellent advice and information on this thread:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=270587&page=1&pp=20

Silvera

Kia Ora !
(Maori geeting)


My NZ highlights .......

North Island .....

Cape Reinga (Most northerly point)
Bay Of Islands
Whangerei
Mount Maunangui
Rotorua (where I experienced my first earthquake - 4.5 on the Richter scale!!)
Taupo (incl skydive from 15,000 ft :eek:)
7 hour drive from Taupo to Napier via Tongariro National Park (direct road to Napier (c.2hr drive) was closed!)
Napier (ok. thought it would be better)
Wellington (check out the big Museum. I've forgotten it's name).



South Island ........
Where do I start !

Whale Watching in Kaikoura
Arthurs Pass (stay there for a couple of days if you can. So tranquil and spectacular!)
TranzAlpine train trip (Christchurch to Greymouth)
Greymouth (Home of ? Beer !!)
Gillespies Beach (off the beaten track. Very eerie - but a cool place!)
Franz Joseph Glacier climb (do full day climb only. Half day disappointing I was told).
Wanaka (Awesome town/location......and home to NZ Fighter Pilots Museum!)
Queenstown (without doubt the most spectaculat location for a town I have yet to visit !!!)
(Milford Sound Cruise. I didn't get to do it - road closed for 3 days due to snow ).
Bluff (most southerly point)
Dunedin (Home to Speights Beer. Do the brewery tour ! The guide is a cool guy!)
Christchurch (the nicest city in NZ. I stayed there for a month ! Check out 'Fazazz: The Motorists Shop' on Lichfield Street if you're into classic cars/memorabilia .....and 'Air Force World' museum if you're into planes )


Happy Travels !

Silvera.