New Zealand MUST SEE- N. Island, S. Island or both?

Question

I'm secretly celebrating my 40th birthday -alone- by choice. I want this trip to be crazy, s**y, cool, like me! I only have 2 weeks vacation: I plan to go to Melbourne, Sydney and then New Zealand.

Since I have about 4 days (ish) in New Zealand I was thinking of a bike tour of some sort but I don't want to miss any MUST SEE stuff. I know I will party in Australia so maybe New Zealand could be of a different adventure... kangaroos?

Honestly what is a must see in New Zealand? Can you help me decide where to go on my short stay in New Zealand? I'm a fun loving, single woman who is from NYC. I'm smart and friendly, no nonsense... Keep in mind it's my 40th... talk to me!

Answer 1

I lived in NZ for years and loved it.

There are no kangaroos in NZ though, they are in Australia.

Here's a summary of the regions:::

Regions –

Marlborough - "the wine and food capital of the country"

Nelson/Golden Bay - "hops and crops and crafts"

Canterbury - "Christchurch . . . a garden city more English than England

The West Coast - "a heritage of mining shapes the land and the people"

Mount Cook to Wanaka - "magnificent mountains and picture-perfect lake, winter sports and the worlds most beautiful fighting machines"

Queenstown and Central Otago - "the adventure centre of the Pacific"

Dunedin - "The Antipodean Edinburgh "

Fiordland "a raw, elemental, awe-inspiring landscape"

Southland - "of oysters, tuataras, bootleg hooch . . . and solitude"

My picks are -

Whale watching is in Kaikoura. http://www.kaikoura.co.nz

http://www.whalewatch.co.nz

Abel Tasman National Park, http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/PlacePr...  Golden sand beaches, Awaroa Lodge, http://www.awaroalodge.co.nz  swim with the seals, http://www.sealswim.com You can hike down one way and take an aqua taxi back or even kayak.

Queenstown http://www.queenstown-nz.co.nz is the adventure capital of NZ – especially for EXTREME adventure – must do’s Bungy jumping, AJ Hackett - http://www.ajhackett.co.nz  The world famous Shotover Jet doing full 360º spins! http://shotoverjet.co.nz

And The Milford Sounds, http://www.fiordland.org.nz

Have fun and Happy Birthday !

Answer 2

NZ is fantastic wherever you visit. I'm Australian, but have visited many times (it is just over the ditch, after all). It entirely depends on what you're interested in, however. Queenstown (on the south island) is beautiful and well known for the adventure tours. It's close to Milford Sound, which I recommend as a 'must do' on the south island: it's absolutely spectacular. You can get bus tours from Q'town which include a boat trip in the sound. If you're going in winter and enjoy the snow, q'town is excellent for that, too. Christchurch, also on the south island, is a lovely town. Way down south is dunedin, which is almost dead when university is on break, but is still great fun - if you can get there when the rugby is on, get tickets :)

North island: Auckland cops a lot of flak from the locals, but is actually a great city. The bay of islands, way up north, is great for beachy type activities, or just for lounging around. It's also basically where europeans signed an important treaty with the indigenous population (the treaty of waitangi), which has great signifcance.

Wellington has a great museum: it's worth driving up to the lookout over wellington for the view at night. It's windy, though :)

Napier is a small but beautiful town: it was flattened by an earthquake in the thirties, so the whole place was rebuilt at once in the art deco style. If you're into art deco, it's unmissable. Rotorua is a very interesting place, with mud pools, hot springs and geysers. It;s the most popular tourist destination in nz. It's also a base to go on some tours of 'maori villages' which, though very, very touristy, are still quite interesting and worthwhile.

Just a few things to mull over...

And happy birthday :)

Answer 3

In only 4 days???

You could stay 4 MONTHS and still not see it all!

Beautiful country. Hope to return again soon!

Try http://www.aatravel.co.nz/101/index.php

Kangaroos are in Australia!

Happy 40th! Your secret is safe with me!

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