I will be traveling to New Zealand for the first time in January from Southeastern US with my partner. We want to see as much of the country as possible, mostly interested in national parks/mountains/forests and some water activities like kayaking, going out on boat tours, etc. and also exploring local/indigenous culture. We are not experienced hikers so we may be doing light trails as well. Flying in and out of Auckland and we have 13 nights/14 days. Ideally we will spend some time driving around the north island for a few days, then take a short flight down to the south island and drive around there, spending 1-2 nights in some of the places then fly back up to Auckland to leave for home. Is there anything specific we have to see since we don't expect to be in this part of the world for the forseeable future? Any recommendations? Pic related is a preliminary itinerary as we are doing research, not sure if it's going to be too much or where we should be spending our nights.
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Rent a car for the entire time. Don't stay in Auckland for any amount of time, it's shit. Wellington is by far the best 'city' in the country, but it's windy. Spend most of your time in the south island. Queenstown is where you'll find most of your muh adventure sort of shit. If you're a LotR gay like me try and add the drive up to the Mount Sunday area where they filmed Rohan.
Thanks for the response. Definitely going to be renting a car to get around, especially the south island road trip. Wellington isn't currently part of the itinerary, is it worth skipping the north island parks completely just to visit Wellington and spend all our time in the south island? The flights can't be changed so we will have to move in and out of Auckland anyway when we enter and leave the country.
Depends what you like. The south island is more the mountain kino aesthetic, north is more the dude bruh beach place. I would suggest south island only and do more hikes, no one should go to NZ for the cities. Make sure you do the Franz Josef viewing platform hike, it's only four hours roundtrip if I remember correctly.
this
>QT/MF are overrated
this as well
I live in Queenstown and no fricking idea why people spend so much money to come here.
Milford's OK but Doubtful Sound is much better.
Been here for 8 years and have been to every region
1- The SI's WC is the most overrated part of the country. When a Kiwi says "so pretty!" its like a Texan saying "bless you". Rains every day and is plagued with sandflies. Drive the other coast. Banks and Otago peninsulas are magnificent and less explored.
2- QT/MF are overrated and its tourist central but meh, you need to tick off that box and make your own experiences
3- If you want Maori culture either go to Eastern Cape (poorer part of the country, borderline dangerous) or way better, Northland. If you are a surfer beware of some idiots thinking they own the place
3- For underrated areas, Taranaki and the mount are amazing
4- People exaggerate the contrast between 2 islands. Plenty of nature in the NI and the SI is one big dairy farm. Not that much nature
Seriously, if youre gonna get one price of advise from all this is to skip the SI's WC entirely. Worst region in the country
expanding on this:
The "Mount" is Mt Taranaki (Or Mt Eggmont if you hate globohomosexual renaming) Its a national park and you can hike all the way at the top (not easy) The mount looks exactly like Mt Fuji and was used to film the Last Samurai (lots of towns around the actual Fuji-san) I would go there instead of Mt Ruhapehu
If youre into kayaking, Nelson and Abel Tasman Park is a famous destination for it.
If you have the extra bucks, do Doubtful Sound instead of Milford Sound
If you go in summer, Tauranga/Mt Maunganui is pretty nice
Unless you are a LOTR lunatic, Hobbiton is not worthy at all, even worse, the set used for the movie was demolished. The current one was made later only for tourist bucks
>Unless you are a LOTR lunatic, Hobbiton is not worthy at all, even worse, the set used for the movie was demolished. The current one was made later only for tourist bucks
This is incorrect -- ish. The LOTR trilogy set was not built to last, other than the tree at Bag End most of the rest of it did not survive. BUT, the current structures were not built just as a tourist trap, they were built for use in The Hobbit trilogy, and this time they were built to last. They were built to last for purposes of tourism, but they were not built JUST for tourism, they appear in the second trilogy. Which sucked, yeah.
fun fact
45% of people who go to Hobbiton have never seen or read Lord of the Rings
People do what they want to do, but that makes no sense to me... if the site means nothing to you, why bother? It's not like there are not plenty of other things to to in NZ.
When they rebuilt it The Hobbit wasn't greenlighted. It was a nice coincidence they were able to use it
That includes my dad, lol. We were there because of my sister but my dad enjoyed it way more. Hes not even that obsessed about gardening but he was enthralled with Hobbiton lol
5 years there until I finally left. Hope you are in a proper winter-ready house and Mr Schekelberg is not charging you $500pw for a room in Lake Hayes
Is it worth spending 2 nights in Mt Aspiring nat'l park vs 2 nights in the Franz Josef/Fox Glacier area?
Probably better to do Mt Aspiring, Franz Josef/Fox is fine for a day hike.
Thanks for the heads up and recommendations. It's been really tough deciding where to go, if we had more time I would go to the north coast on the north island as well as Mt Taranaki, and visit Wellington, spend time at the beach... We are basically doing a road trip around the country staying 1-2 nights in each place. We aren't really hikers so no point in staying in parks too long. We more like to drive around and see the sights.
Be sure to eat a burrito at the little foodtruck thing in Wanaka. Don’t go to spicy. Thank me later
I'm Kiwi and have lived on both Islands, your itinerary looks good but like other anons have said don't spend much time in Auckland.
I don't agree with the guy talking shit about the West Coast, it's a unique place and I've driven up/down it many times. You're doing a loop from Christchurch anyway so it's not like you are going out of your way. The Haast Pass through to Wanaka is one of my favourite roads in the country.
This guy fricks
>, it's a unique place
What did I say? That's a perfect kiwiism to say a place is shit lmao. You go there and it's raining all day and covered with sandflies. You barely left your car or hostel. How would you describe it?
>It's a unique place 🙂
That's NZ101 for you OP
Man, I would drop the WC entirely and do my alpine shenanigans in Mt Taranaki, but you do you. I completely understand if you prefer to tick off that box instead of listening to an anon on the internet
I enjoyed doing this:
https://www.waitomo.com/black-water-rafting/legendary-black-water-rafting-co-black-labyrinth
If film making, production and effects interests you,
https://tours.wetaworkshop.com/
The Wellington tour is in the actual production facilities. I did not do the one in Aukland but my impression was that it was more a "made for tourists" sort of "experience."
That side trip to Ruapehu is stupid, don't do that. It's a dirt track up to a small ski field (Tukino) which is basically closed in summer. You're not going to do the summit if you don't know what you're doing. Instead, if you don't have a full day, go to Whakapapa Village and do some short walks from there. If you do have a full day, do the Tongariro Crossing (it'll be a conga line tourist shit show, but it's still pretty).
>I will be traveling to New Zealand
Frick off, we're full.
All jokes aside it's a pretty solid itinerary. I might've misread it but are you really spending 2 weeks in Auckland? Would absolutely not recommend doing that, it's pretty soulless when it comes to cities and it's best to spend maybe a day or two max there. I'd really swap out the rest of your days spent venturing around Wellington instead. It's much nicer and there's plenty more to do there. People who say it's windy are just shitposting. The drive from Tohunga Junction to Waitomo takes fricking forever though. Infact a lot of NZ driving is REALLY boring. Not "10 hours in a straight line through Texas" boring but you will absolutely feel the toll on your body after a while. Lake Tekapo to Christchurch is one of the most boring drives in the country so good luck with that. Same with Cromwell to Lake Tekapo. Don't stop too long in Queenstown or Wanaka unless you're a richgay, otherwise expect to pay $25 average for a burger. Would only recommend Te Anau if you're doing one of the great walks, otherwise Milford Sound is better imo. Surprised you're going to Hobbiton but not Alexandra where Lord of the Rings was also filmed. Actually I lie, I'm not surprised at all, Alexandra is fricking boring and if you're going to Cromwell anyway there's no point. As for Mount Cook, make sure you book a hotel room. Do NOT go camping there, I went and it was so bad I'll never go camping again for the rest of my life. Hearing the thunder of ice falling in the distance was cool though. You're missing out on Dunedin and Oamaru but honestly those places are boring as shit and full of college students and geriatrics. Remember Maori's are our version of Black folk so pay them no attention otherwise you'll get king punched outside maccas.
Also be fricking careful on the roads. As I said, it's pretty boring going from A to B because the roads are thin and there isn't a whole lot of stopping points unless you pull into a ditch or some farmers driveway, plus it gets bloody icy especially where you want to be going. We get tons of US c**ts who forget what side of the road they need to be driving on, take a sharp corner at 100ks and turns into human mince patties versing a truck and trailer unit. So remember: WE know these roads, YOU don't. Don't drive like a fricking moron, don't overtake, always do the speed limit, read your fricking road code every night, YOU are the tourist here, WE don't want to die because you slacked off. Also don't freedom camp, the locals bloody hate it.
>As for Mount Cook, make sure you book a hotel room. Do NOT go camping there, I went and it was so bad I'll never go camping again for the rest of my life.
kek that campsite is wild I don't know why they put it in what seems to be the windiest spot in the entire valley. I stay there on my way through to do climbing and its seriously a worse camping spot than what you get at 2400m in the alpine backcountry.
I'm planning on staying in NZ for 1-2 years. I was leaning towards Christchurch and reading the thread, that seems like a better plan than Auckland which was my 2nd choice.
You reckon finding some office/construction job, an apartment on TradeMe, and buying a car in Christchurch, exploring the South Island in my free time is a good play? Or would settling in some smaller town and working on a farm or in a shop be more fun, or even viable? Wwyd
If you are coming to live here it's a complete different story regarding Auckland. Kiwis love to trash it as it's the only real city but with a good job Auckland is a great base to explore the country. If you are coming on a working holiday give it a couple of months
I once met a guy at a YMCA who was doing a working holiday. Practically lived there and was earning his money doing Ubereats deliveries so if there's a will, there's a way. That was Auckland though, in Christchurch it's a bit of a different story since the city + residential areas are ginormous. But anyway, you're not here to ask about Ubereats so idk where I was going with that. Point is; unless you already have qualifications doing office/construction stuff, you ain't getting shit. Remember the licenses are all different here so it's not as simple as a firm handshake and saying "sir". Don't be too annoyed if you can only get a job stocking shelves or doing call center shit, the job market here even for locals is beyond fricked. Would probably not recommend doing farm work either, sure the cherry pickers are always happy to hire but the job sucks and you'll probably be living on commission + on a residential compound so good luck travelling anywhere. Smaller town jobs are impossible to get, if you've been spending time dreaming about working in Te Anau village, waking up with a hot coco overlooking the pristine mountains, you are absolutely not going to get that. Speaking of which our housing market is fricked here too. If you're single and want to work in an office/construction; good luck affording $550 a week on rent. That's if you even get a place, most real estate places aren't too fond of renting to foreigners now since a ton of them dipped right before covid restrictions so you'll always be second best to locals who in turn are fricking vultures to a dead calf when it comes to open days. You might have more luck flatting with other people, it'd be cheaper too. Or buy a big enough car and sleep in it. Some people unfortunately have to live like that these days, it really is that rough. >cont
>continued since field was too long lol
My biggest tip I guess is don't plan on coming for a work holiday unless you have a shit ton saved up and a job already lined up or have friends in the country already you can get help from. Otherwise just come here on a 2-3 week long holiday and see what you think. This really goes without saying but being a tourist in a country and living/working there are two totally different things so always keep that in mind.
That guy talking shit on the west coast is full of shit OP its gorgeous there and has some amazing hikes and scenery his onions blood just can't handle a few mozzies. There are few mosquitos in the winter anyway. Your plan is good there is really not a lot going on here outside of nature walks and shit so some key things to experience on a short time frame
>abel tasman kayaking
take the missus out you can find small little islands to have lunch on and bang or whatever
Your south island trip is definitely lacking in Nelson/Tasman area. You would probably benefit more from the West Coast, Nelson/Tasman, Hamner Springs, Kaikoura
>Rotorua
there is some walk you can do around all the geothermal shit that I did when I was a kid and again as an adult that I highly recommend its cool seeing all the weird colors and smells. Also go sit in the hot spas, and there is a river in Rotorua that is really hot that you can also sit in highly recommend.
I would also make a point to avoid all Maori related cultural shit its fricking boring and they are mainly grifters. If you go to a marae they will just feed you fanta and shortbread and say some shit in their language which sounds awful.
Aside from that Taupo is boring as frick you probably want to do the Tongariro crossing at night. I would actually scrap most of your trip and do the Coromandal
>pinnicles walk
>hot water beach
>mount maunganui
>rotorua
I live in chch its okay you should be fine for work. As everyone else has suggested AKL is pretty much a massive waste of time its expensive, filled with curry Black folk and actual Black folk, has horrible traffic, and virtually no culture to speak of you may as well move to sydney or melbourne if you want a big southeren hemisphere city.
I live in Christchurch too and agree with
completely. I spent most of my 20's in Auckland, it truly is a fricked city.
No, not staying in Auckland except for the first and last night, the entire 2 weeks we are renting a car driving all around the country. We are staying in a different place almost every night with a 2-3 hr drive in between places on average, I think one or two days we are driving 4-5 hours. That's just what google maps says though, I don't know if it's going to be more or less than that. It's unfortunate we are skipping Wellington and the north coast but we only have so much time and and put the bare minimum of what we want to see on our itinerary. We won't be camping anywhere just getting hotels. And I'm honestly pretty nervous about the driving since it's the opposite side of what I'm used to. I looked at some of the roads on google maps and they do seem pretty narrow just like you mentioned. We've cleaned the itinerary up and this is what we came up with as far as where to stay for the nights:
Arrive in Auckland > Tongariro national park area > Rotorua > fly to Christchurch > Mt Cook 2 nights > Te Anau 2 nights (milford/doubtful sound tours) > Wanaka or Mt Aspiring area > Fox Glacier/Franz Josef area 2 nights > Arthur's Pass Village > fly back to Auckland then leave the next day
Not big hikers or campers so hotels and short walks for us. Also want to do some kayaking or other water activities. We're coming from south Florida so hoping it won't be too cold when we go.
Then that honestly sounds like a pretty good itinerary. Still a bit of a shame about not visiting the other places but that's the nature of travel I guess, can't do literally everything in one trip no matter where you go. Surprised you guys aren't big hikers despite going to Te Anau, Mt Cook, Arthurs Pass, etc but there are certainly a lot of relatively easy tracks to do. Like right before Arthurs Pass is a forest, should be able to see the gravel parking lot on the left side of the road, really simple walk, beautiful forest, birds are some of the most exotic I've ever seen and very brave too. A little Tomtit tried attacking my shoelaces once around there. Also there's the Kias but do NOT expect to see them. I've been there 4 times this last year and only ever saw them once in the village nibbling on locals roofs. And if you're scared of heights, there's a frick massive bridge after Arthurs Pass with arguably the best view of the valley. Anyway I hope you guys have fun, remember we don't tip at all over here so don't worry about that kind of fluff, if anything goes wrong call the police, they're usually pretty kind hearted and don't carry guns on them, or ask a local since most people are happy to help ('most', not 'all').
Another tip is do not leave valuables in your car. Car breakins are getting stupidly popular across the country so never leave your wallet, phone, passport etc in there while you shop. Doesn't matter where you are be it a parking lot or in the middle of bumfrick nowhere.
>hoping it won't be too cold when we go
lmao
Thanks for all the insight anon, we're pretty excited for the trip and it sucks cutting some things out but as you said you really can't fit an entire country in 2 weeks.
>lmao
Isn't end of January summer over there? I thought it would be hot. I wasn't even really planning on bringing warm clothes. I should do more research then.
I'll check these out, thanks!
Seasons in NZ don't exactly exist. We've had 25 degree scorchers during winter and 5 degree middays on summer. It's autumn coming into winter now and it's 13 degrees, possibly the nicest day this week. North Island is a slightly different story but expect moreorless the same.
>partner
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