This is information overload considering we're leaving in two days. We'll be spending a day checking out everyone's recommendations! Thanks a lot!
Hard to go wrong in welly, there is a number of great places on Cuba St. Lots of cheap Malaysian food.
I highly highly recommend you do the tongariro crossing OP, it's amazing (I've done it 3 times now), go the the hot pools near turangi after you finish to to relax.
Someone mentioned the coromandel beaches without mentioning cathedral cove which is sacrilege as it's the most beautiful beach in the country.
Also Google some good water holes and water falls.
You want to spend the majority of your trip walking, swimming, jumping, enjoying the outdoors.
Also speights is fucking average but there is some great craft beer in Nz such as the garage project or tuatara.
I'd love to do the Tongariro Crossing. As mentioned above, we'll only be there for a day and aren't the most experienced hikers. We'll likely spend a few hours on it and head back rather than doing the entire hike. Fortunately, we'll be staying at the Chateau there, so we'll be close by.
I looked up Coromandel and Cathedral Cove. We weren't planning on hitting the west/north coast of the North Island, but since we'll be in Auckland for a couple days and it appears to be only a 2.5 hour drive, I might consider it after the recommendation. Hopefully, we won't be too jet lagged...
I'll be trying out quite possibly any local craft beers that I can, but recommendations are awesome. : )
I was over on the South Island for almost 2 weeks by myself back in early September and it was a thrill. Did a nice big loop from Christchurch all over the place to Queenstown, up to Greymouth (everyone I spoke to was jealous of the fact that my entire western coast drive was blue skies), across over to Hanmer Springs & Kaikoura, then back to Christchurch.
My personal highlight was Aoraki / Mount Cook. The whole scenery around that area between Lake Tekapo & Lake Pukaki is out of this world. But getting in to the foot of the mountains was a very spiritual moment for me; overlooking the Tasman glacier & icebergs, and turning back to see a vast empty plain land surrounded by mountains. And I was the only one there with nothing but the sound of wind. You will never see so many clear streams and rivers and water from the snowmelt you can fill your water bottle up with.
If you're interested in Kiwis you can also see them at the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch. They have a lovely walk-through complex in near-pitch black conditions and once the eyes adjust you can see the Kiwis scurrying around you. It's all fenced off and you can't touch them or take flash photography, but it was great to watch them flutter around.
But yeah, don't underestimate the NZ sun and don't let the distance between places fool you as the roads are very curvy at times which will increase the duration.
I plan to go back again this year with my partner on a more concentrated trip surrounding Queenstown.
Awesome! Our plan has us going through the center of the North Island, and then practically the perimeter of the South Island from Picton, down the west coast, and up the east coast to Christchurch. Our last week has us mostly in Dunedin and Christchurch, so if there's anything we missed, most of the locations could be turned into day trips.
Your Mt. Cook experience is certainly something that I would love to see! Looking at a map, I'm trying to figure out the best way to approach that. I'm not sure we'll have enough time while in Queenstown, but we might be able to turn it into a day trip while lodging in Dunedin or Christchurch.
Thanks for the Kiwi recommendation!
If you're into art, the Auckland Art Gallery is a great place to visit. Entry is free and the art collections are constantly changing.
If you're feeling daring, you can always try the Sky Walk at Sky Tower or bungie jumping off the Sky Tower or the Harbour Bridge in Auckland. Although Queenstown has more options for activities like white water rafting as well.
Make good use of the information centres scattered in the different cities and towns. There will be plenty of guides/maps. Don't be afraid to ask locals if you're ever in need of advice/recommendations/help. Most people will be happy to help
Then you should definitely take the opportunity to visit a black sand beach! Be aware that the sand can get
extremely hot in summer, especially if it has been under relentless sun for part of the day. Don't take off your shoes for too long.
Piha is the most popular beach to recommend if you're visiting the west coast of Auckland. It is also quite notorious for being a dangerous beach since the currents can change quite suddenly, so just be wary of that. Personally, I would say that the North Shore has arguably the best beaches (e.g. Takapuna Beach) in Auckland if you want normal sand
Oh, and the Coromandel will be beautiful around this time of the year. If you go there, check out Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach!
Whittaker's chocolate is so, so good. The classic creamy milk flavour is a must try for OP!
This is great advice. Don't be deceived even if it is overcast. The sun is a dangerous beast and must not be underestimated, particularly since it's summer.
I was afraid Piha would be a hot destination so close to the city. Any other black sand recommendations? Thanks for the head's up about the currents, too. Another user mentioned Coromandel and Cathedral Cove. Those, and the Hot Water Beach are a bit out of our way, but if the jet lag isn't killing us after the flight, I'll try to make the stop since we'll be in Auckland for two days and it's roughly a 2.5 hour drive.
why not Australia instead?
I'll get to experience Australia from the safe confines of the Sydney airport during our return flight. : )
Seriously, though, there isn't much that either one of us want to do or see in Australia. We're huge LotR fans, so the main attraction was the movie set tours, and to experience nature. In hindsight, I wish I would have planned our return flight better. Our layover in Sydney is only two hours, so I would have liked to have spent a day there to explore the city. I looked into changing flights, but it wasn't feasible. : (
We just came back campervanning in NZ's South Island.
Kiwi tours (near Franz Joseph)
I dont think you can hold a kiwi bird.
See kiwis in a zoo at Christchurch
We went this route and were so close to the kiwis we could literally touch them. Its cheaper than a tour too.
Heli / Hike on the Franz Joseph Glacier
You can do a leisurely hike to the glacier, but unless you are on a helicopter you cant walk on it. Just note that if the weather is cloudy they cancel the tour, so if you are really keen on it plan to possible stay a few days.
Lake Takepo is really nice, they have a good hike to the
star observatory.
In Queenstown this was an amazing
Japanese restaurant... my girlfriend and I both agree that this was the best food we had while in NZ.
Better book another week for a visit at Fergburger the line is huuuuuge. Their website says "Now a tourist attraction in itself, forcing many locals to look elsewhere for their big-as-your-head gourmet burger fix."
Akaroa is a great chill, French inspired town near Christchurch. Its like a smaller Queenstown, but has its own uniquness. You can take a "swim with the dolphins" cruise there.
Great! Not holding a Kiwi bird isn't a big deal for me. It would be cool, but seeing them is enough. I was considering the background tour at the Wildlife Centre in Franz Josef since this is apparently the time of year where you can check out some Kiwi chicks during the tour. I'm not sure if holding one is part of the tour, though. We'll be in Christchurch for a few days during our last week, so we'll probably check out the zoo while exploring the city.
We'll just be doing the leisurely hike to view the glacier. The heli hike is tempting, but I think I'd rather save the money. Canceling the tour at a moments notice also isn't very enticing since we'll only be in Franz Josef for a day.
Fergburger is that big of a hit? We'll make an attempt to check it out at the very least!
I'd love to, but she's not a traveler and wouldn't be able to tolerate 20 hours on a plane. Not to mention, neither her or we would be able to afford a third person for this trip. The flight for two people is the most expensive part!
