My love affair with New Zealand actually started 15 years ago when I first visited there and Australia with my mum on a three week holiday. Having left with loads of magical memories, it would have been easy to be disappointed a second time round, but if anything it left me wanting more.
Friends and family often ask which country I loved the most on my RTW trip, to which I never hesitate in declaring “New Zealand!” with a wide smile across my face.
There’s something about New Zealand that will forever draw me and many others to it. Although I don’t pretend to have seen everything New Zealand has to offer, there are so many amazing places, activities and recommendations I want to share with you.
Here are my top reasons why you will fall in love with New Zealand.
When to Visit
New Zealand is perfect all year round. I travelled on my New Zealand gap year during their winter when the mountainous peaks were still covered in fresh snow and the air was bitter but fresh. Being a hardy English girl, the cold and often wet days didn’t particularly bother me, but some don’t cope quite as well!
Their winter (June-September) is the best time for snow-sports fans but otherwise most backpackers try to visit New Zealand during their summer (December-February) when they can take advantage of the longer and warmer days.
How to Get Around
Not being able to drive, I opted for a New Zealand tour – a hop-on-hop-off backpacker bus, Stray, which was reliable, flexible and generally appealed to an older clientele (22-35 were the main age-range I experienced).
Stray’s main rival, Kiwi Experience, is also know as the F*ck Bus, which I think says it all… Those who can drive and who want complete flexibility to see New Zealand should hire or even buy a campervan or car.
My 5 Favourite Places
Tongariro National Park
I’ve already done a feature on my walk through Tongariro National Park, so there’s nothing else to say here other than it is by far my favourite place on the North Island.
Queenstown
Of the few I actually have (curse you tea-pots!), I only have good memories of Queenstown. Although known as the party capital of the South Island, there’s definitely much more to Queensland than cocktails and Tindall-gate. Ideal for extreme sports fans, there’s skiing and snowboarding, sky-diving, jet boating, rock-climbing and most famously, bungee jumping, all within a dramatic setting of lakes and mountains.
Blue Duck Station
I wish I’d spend more than one night here. Completely off the beaten track in remote Whakahoro, Blue Duck Station (above photo) is a haven for outdoors enthusiasts who have the option to hike, fish, hunt or go horse riding, jet boating, clay pigeon shooting or kayaking. With only an afternoon to spare, I opted to go for a short hike along the top of the gorge and through the farm land to a free kayaking spot hidden next to the Kaiwhakauka waterfall.
Milford Sound
OK, so Milford Sound is probably the most exploited part of New Zealand, but this fjord is still, in my opinion, not to be missed. Both the 2-hour ferry cruise and the 4-hour (each way) coach journey to and from Queenstown were incredible. The serene cruise took the boat right up to waterfalls and to where the fjord meets the sea, and near basking seals and penguins that laze on the fjord edge.
Mount Cook
I would have liked to have spent a full day walking through the Aoraki Mount Cook National Park (above photo), but again time was against me so I only managed a much briefer 3-hour walk. I did, however, get to see some magnificent views of Mount Cook’s ice-blue peak (the tallest in New Zealand), one of the milky-lakes and the golden fields that stood between the mountains and our hotel.
Top 5 Activities
Bungee jumping
Before you think ‘wow, she’s brave!’; don’t. I didn’t do a bungee jump which I look back on and regret. Nevertheless, New Zealand is commonly regarded as the home of bungee jumping and so if you have more bottle than me I urge you to take the chance and do it. I’m still in complete awe of my friends who managed the Nevis Bungy; New Zealand’s highest bungee at 134metres.
Overnight Maori Marae Stay
Although there’s a definite commercial aspect to overnight marae (Maori meeting house) stays, you still walk away with the feeling that Maoris are incredibly proud of their culture and willing to share it with the world. My overnight marae stay (above photo) in Maketu included a traditional ground-steamed hangi meal and the opportunity for women to learn poi dancing and the men to perform a warrior haka. Us girls were so proud of the boys!
Te Papa Museum
Located in the heart of New Zealand’s capital, Wellington, is hands-down the best museum I’ve ever visited. Everything you could ever want to learn about the nation’s cultural, social and political history can be found in Te Papa, which is why it’s usually recommended that two full days exploring this interactive and modern museum are necessary.
Sky-diving
Again, I didn’t actually do one in New Zealand (I instead saved mine for Fiji) but sky-diving is the second most popular adrenaline sport for backpackers who visit the country (behind bungee jumping). Consider going more remote for your dive; the views over Nelson and Abel Tasman easily rival those of the more popular spots of Taupo and Queenstown and are often cheaper.
White-Water Rafting
I did two rafting trips in New Zealand; the first in Rotarua with Wet’n’Wild which took us over the world’s highest commercially raft-able drop (Tutea Falls, 7metres) and with Rangitata Rafts (2-hours south of Christchurch, above photo) complete with optional rock jumping. Both were exhilarating and scary but fun at the same time!
Clearly this is a very brief intro all that this incredible country offers, but these few highlights of my own experience I hope give you a taste of what the country has to offer, even during the winter months! To see as much as possible you could apply to work in New Zealand – working holidays are really popular with 18-35 year old travellers – the hard part will be leaving!