My First New Zealand Holiday?

Question

I will be travellng soon to Christchurch, New Zealand with a friend. Any good tips on Do's and Don'ts, what to bring and what not to bring... Any cool places to see and do in New Zealand?

Answer 1

Kiakora for the whale watching is awesome.

Answer 2

That is quite a big question! A lot depends on how much time you have, how you plan to travel etc. If you have only a few days to two weeks I would suggest just going to the South Island. Going to Queenstown, Milford Sound , and back up the West coast via the glaciers, Hokitika, Punakaiki Rocks and through Aurthers Pass back to Christchurch.Or vice versa. There are a lot of adventure activities around Queenstown - bungy, jetboating, etc. For a good look at what you can do and see, tips, suggestions, and really all you need to know, go to http://www.holidays-in-newzealand.com

Answer 3

Yeah there is lots of stuff to do in the South Island, but not much to see in Christchurch.

You could walk around Hagley Park and the buildings around it - the Canterbury Museum, Christ's College, the old Canterbury University-now called The Arts Centre (thats how we spell center here). All the buildings of these places are in the Neo-Gothic style of architecture, as is the Christchurch Cathedral in Cathedral Square. The Arts Centre has a market and food stalls on Saturdays and Sundays.

The night life is good on a Friday or Saturday night. You can go to either His Lordships Lane (near the corner of Tuam St and Manchester Rd), or Poplar Lane (off Tuam, near High St), or The Strip (Oxford Tce). Those are the three main groups of bars. There are also more good bars scattered down Manchester St.

You could drive to Akaroa across Banks Peninsula.

Lots of good vineyards (Muddy Water, Pegasus Bay), 40 minutes north of Christchurch in the Waipara Valley.

Mt Hutt ski-field is only an hour and a half away. Its the middle of the ski season now. There are lots of other smaller ski-fields around which are cool because they are very simple and there is often almost no one else on the field.

The beaches are good in summer.

The new Christchurch Art Gallery is also near the Arts Centre.

you should probably be going to Queenstown at this time of year

Answer 4

wait you are visiting NZ but are only going to Christchurch for a week? From what i've heard from my friend who lives and grew up in Christchurch you are wasting your time by only going for a week i would go for at least 3 months if i were going.