-
There seems to be plenty of posts asking how to find redemptions to New Zealand, but fewer that discuss what to do upon arrival…
My wife and I will be there in late Jan/early Feb. After some time in Auckland, we have 7 nights booked in Queenstown and Te Anau, and from there propose to spend 5-6 days driving to Christchurch, stopping off en route. We have a long list of potential stop-offs on this drive – Wanaka, Lake Tekapo, Mount Cook + more – but would love to hear any tips or recommendations from the HfP community, whether they be nice little towns to break up the journey between Te Anau and Christchurch, particularly nice hikes or beauty spots, or particular ‘must sees’. It will be our first time in New Zealand and we’re very open to suggestions.
I have spent 2 years in NZ, which I remember with great fondness. I would say definitely don’t skimp on Queenstown. It is my favourite place in the whole world, and I have travelled to 75+ countries. Spend as much time as you can exploring the area including Milford Sound and The Remarkables. Mount Cook is also a nice area to explore and has some nice hikes. I also quite like Dunedin, which is my favourite city in NZ. So definitely go there if you can.
One thing I can recommend about NZ is book early because popular places like Queenstown, Mount Cook and Rotorua etc can get expensive in high season. Late Jan/early Feb will be almost end of summer or early autumn in NZ, so demand will still be high to moderate, I reckon. So save £££ by booking early.
The Fjords are scenic – from Manapouri, near Te Anna, there is a trip to Doubtful Sound which takes you across Lake Manapouri, then a bus over the pass, and then a cruise along Doubtful Sound. Be prepared for the south of South Island to be somewhat ‘retro’.
We also drove from there, via Queenstown and Wanaka and then up the west coast via Lake Matheson and Fox and Franz Joseph glaciers, then through Artur’s Pass to Christchurch. All very scenic.
Kiwi here. If you have the time, a night or 2 in Hahei Beach is nice. There are some short walks down to Cathedral Cove, and you can go on some kayak tours to see other cool formations along the coast. Coromandel itself, The drive from Thames to Coromandel is one of my favorites. This of course is all if you’re renting a car.
While you’re in Queenstown, get yourself to Cromwell, rent some electric bikes (they should drop you either in Alexandra, or Clyde), where you can ride along an amazing trail up the valley along the river. Stop for some great burgers from the back of a boat just past half way…then finish at Carrick Winery. If you’re driving stay in Cromwell the night, because you’ll be thirsty. This, in my opinion, is the best.
Queenstown itself if nice, but it will start to shrink on you in 7 days. Make sure you pre-book yourself dinner at Rata, it gets pretty full that time of year and its a must for a good kiwi meal.
Head our to Wanaka to check it out, Stop at Cardrona Hotel on the way there/back. Historic (as historic as NZ can be) pub.
St Bathans, further into central otago, is an old gold mining town with still a lot of historic sites and pictures in the pubs, but it might be a bit out the way.There are great hikes around, here are a couple off the top of my head:
Queenstown, Ben Lomond/Bobs Peak for the sunrise. You’ll have to start very early that time of year, but worth it.
Wye Creek walking track a good quick one with a view.
Arrowtown, Sawpit Gully is a nice, well trafficked one, grab a drink at Blue Door bar when you’re done.The rest, locals only sorry 😉 . Get on AllTrails
NZ was one of my favourite places to visit. My itinerary included Auckland and the islands nearby, Coromandel Peninsula, Taupo (see the hot springs), Wellington (parliament tour obligatory), Marlborough for the vineyards, Franz Josef where we took a helicopter tour of the glaciers, Wanaka to see the lakes, Queenstown plus Te Anau / Milford Sound (stunning highlights of the trip), Mount Cook for hiking, Arthur’s Pass and Christchurch to see how the city has been rebuilt. Fit in as much as you can because it’s a diverse place with lots worth seeing.
The country is heaven on earth, we remember our memories very fondly.
I am surprised nobody mentioned bungee jumping in Lake Taupo!
I’d add the north part of the South Island to the other suggestions- all/part of the Abel Tasman trail depending on how much time you have. The walk itself was relatively easy and there’s some nice and quiet empty beaches to have breaks during the day. Also Kaikoura if you wanted to see Sperm Whales.
Mount Cook and the Franz Josef/Fox glaciers are nice, but if there’s a lot of rain around we found that you couldn’t see/do very much.
If you can, an overnight cruise on the Milford Sound was really memorable, the scenery is stunning and the peace and quiet late night/ early morning was something else!
Agree with everything above. If you’re driving along main highway near Kaikoura, you must stop at Nins Bin shack for some great seafood.
It doesn’t seem to matter what time of year we try to see the glaciers, our flight gets cancelled because of the weather. Many years ago we were staying at Frans Josef and our flight was cancelled. In those days you could easily access Fox, so we drove quickly over there and got booked onto one of their Glacier explorer trips. Took a while to get used to the crampons, but was one of the best experiences ever.
Definitely stay on Milford Mariner overnight if you can. That’s another great experience. If you’re in Wellington, Te Papa is worth a visit as well as Parliament. If you’ve got time also take the InterIslander.
We’re in Cambodia at the moment en route to NZ. Can’t wait to get back as haven’t been there since just before Covid.
Loved NZ so much we went back. Will add more later but the national trails are amazing to walk. I really like Abel Tasman you can just do a bit, do a bit each day or camp.
We found air bnb really good value in NZ.
Sky dive at lake Wanaka is cool.
Biking wine tour was great fun but got wobbly towards the end.
Go dig your own hot tub at the beach.
Night spa at Rotarua.
Fjords at the South Island are amazing.
Thank you so much to everyone for these helpful suggestions. Lots to think about and, rather than narrowing our options, it’s made me realise we won’t be there for long enough! We had focused our plans further down the South Island, largely as there’s specific things we want to do around there, but I’m now pondering whether we can squeeze in a bit of the Abel Tasman first (not previously on my radar), perhaps driving on to Kaikoura from there. I may return with more questions…
Interesting to hear the recommendations for the Milford cruise. I had looked at the similar overnight cruise across Doubtful Sound, though of the two boats they use, the more modern one is fully booked for our dates.
Queenstown itself if nice, but it will start to shrink on you in 7 days. Make sure you pre-book yourself dinner at Rata, it gets pretty full that time of year and its a must for a good kiwi meal.
Head our to Wanaka to check it out, Stop at Cardrona Hotel on the way there/back. Historic (as historic as NZ can be) pub.
St Bathans, further into central otago, is an old gold mining town with still a lot of historic sites and pictures in the pubs, but it might be a bit out the way.Thanks for all the tips, especially the restaurant which looks great. I also really like the idea of St Bathans – something a bit different from the other beauty spots on our list. On Queenstown, we have 5 nights there. I had envisaged we’d be using it as a base, e.g. driving to Wanaka one day, doing some of the day hikes mentioned here: https://www.realnz.com/en/blog/queenstown-day-hikes/.
I agree with most of what’s been said, it’s a fabulous country but my experience is from the four months I spent there in 2004. I won’t mention too many specifics because of how long it’s been, but I’d aim for 70/30 South Island. There’s a link below for a lovely midday stop and try the pies from the petrol stations, they are fabulous, steak and cheese, yes please.
Amazing mountains for xc paragliding and ul hiking.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Popular articles this week:
