Where to live in New Zealand?

Question

So my friends and I are moving to New Zealand one year from now. Everything in going great as of now, but we're having one major problem of deciding where to live. We're looking for adventure. Trekking, Surfing, Mountain Climbing, Mountain Biking, stuff of that sort you know. We've been looking at the sources online but they all seem really vague when it comes to their lifestyle activities. I was posting this to see if someone from New Zealand or someone who has gone there would know the best place to experience all these. We were very interested in Northland when I read that it doesn't really experience a winter. Could someone help me out? Thanks!

Answer 1

Ummm...... I personally prefer Auckland, but if you like those things, you're probably better off in Queenstown or somewhere around there. I also love Taupo, so it's your choice.

Answer 2

northland is not where you want to be.

go to canterbury or otago (christchurch, wanaka or queenstown) they've got very hot dry summers, beuatiful lakes, beaches, mountains, national parks. excellent skiing, surfing, mountain biking, and snow in winter. trust me the south island is where you need to be. just stay clear of dunedin or invercargill

Answer 3

South island- dunedin, christchurch, or queenstown

Answer 4

sounds like to me you would enjoy the south island. Not sure if you know but NZ is made up of the north island and the south island. They both have adventure, trekking, mountain biking and climbing is more enjoyable in the south island as it has grandeur and spectacular scenery, and huge amounts of tracks and camping huts in the mountains. It is very similar to Canada and Alaska. Surfing is probably best done in the north of the north island (northland is a good region) The beaches in Auckland I hear are good. I would suggest living in Auckland so you have the convenience of the big city, but a drive away is not hard to do. You can also consider living in Christchurch in the south island. Its a largish city but is handy to all the south islands adventure centers like Queenstown etc. I highly recommend going to Queenstown, for the adventure, the Bay of Islands for the beautiful beaches, and Wellington for the cultural and culinary delights. In all seriousness you have to check out the entire country, there is sooo much to do there, you will never get bored

PS check out www.newzealand.com

Answer 5

Otara, Manurewa, anywhere in South Auckland's cool

Answer 6

you will have a ball in the south island of n z ,, what you are looking for is offer to your in the south is,,  there city of christchurch, not to far to travel for those activity, many small towns out of ch ch and that take your down south island more ,  or your can go up the south way , to nelson  and many place up there to ,, but we do have winter months here ,as for northand it lovely too but quiet small ,may pay to have a look around some of these ares before you settle , you will love n z great country to live , very peaceful ,heaps to to for outdoor people like you   good luck

Answer 7

south island is the best!!!! but my favourite city is auckland ^^ if you want to live in an interesting, lots to do(sports etc), nice sight seeing spot(go to south island) if you want to lvie somewhere croded, lots to od, lots of shops, really great place but lots of stupid stuff going on aswell(go ot auckland) ^^ if you want to live in the capital, where it is very windy and very cool(go to wellington) goodluck!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 8

Auckland is in the hub of all the activities...there is mountain biking at Woodhill, Mountain Bike Park, great trekking in the Waitakeres, or endless treks withing an hours drive or more, surf beaches withan a short drive, and Mountain Climbing is usually an overnight trip or weekend to the Middle of the North Island....and you would most probably base yourself in Turangi for the Trekking and Mountain climbing trips...look at Mountain Biking from there also.  Auckland has a year round mild climate, but can get wet in the winter like most of NZ, otherwise it is the happening place...good luck!  

Answer 9

If you mean by a winter - snow.No, Northland never has snow. The Central North Island is the best area in the North. In the South Island they have snow throughout to varying levels. Right now all the high points. If you want beaches and snow as well I suggest Nelson,  or Christchurch are good areas. They have nice beaches and are close to the mountains as well.Christchurch is quite flat. Further south would be pretty cold for swimming.Although people do - it depends on what you are used to.

If you are looking for what you will find in the different locations have a look at http://www.holidays-in-newzealand.com which gives you a good idea of what some main cities have to offer, and also what activities you will find where around the country.

Answer 10

taranaki, the west coast of the north island isnt really well known by kiwis in general. It has one of the best streches of surf beaches in the country theres a huge mountain in the middle of the province which has your trekking, mountain climbing etc. It will generally only snow on the mountain and not so much around the towns but the mountain is very easy to get to. Check out http://www.windwand.co.nz/

South island again is great but the winters are much more extreme and the summers a little bit milder  

Answer 11

Queenstown baby!

the ultimate adventure city.

skiing is amazing there.

Answer 12

it sounds like ur looking for the south island

try looking up these cities

- Christchurch

-wanaka

-Queenstown (this would probably be the best option

if ur looking for a small town then try queenstown, wanaka

but if ur looking for a bigger city then try chch

(chch is an average sized city and its close to the mountains and everything)