shell and mark

heres a question for you all....
If you had to name just 2 places or things to do when you get to or while your in NZ what would/where would you go/do.
please could you tell me north island or south island so i can find them on the map..
many thanks for your thoughts

regards

shell and mark

uk+kiwi

Sorry, no good with rules - tried to stick as close to the requested number as possible ....

Cathedral Cove on the Coromandel Peninsula, closely followed by Hot Water Beach off peak. North Island.

The cafe in the Arts Centre in Central Christchurch for the best muffins ever. (How do they manage to serve the chocolate chip ones so solid yet with perfectly melted chips inside? - yummy!) Closely followed by a cafe in Browns Bay that I can't recall the name of for its Rotorua Mud Cake (latte/flat whites and cool children's cubicle with colouring stuff etc to keep them entertained). South Island / North Island.

Auckland Museum if you have primary school aged children. Hands-on kids section could take on London's Science Museum kiddie section. North Island!

Leighlou

Hi there,
My favs were:-

1. Sky Tower in Auckland (walking over the glass floor!)
2. Boat trip in Bay of Islands (North Island - up the top) dolphin watching
3. Huka Falls Jet boat trip (near Lake Taupo, middle of North Island).

Oops, sorry you said two . Well, we never got to the South Island, so can't recommend any from there for you. Are you off shortly, or going on a recci?

shell and mark

hi
thanks for the suggestions .... we are in the middle of house selling ..i say middle the sign is up but only 1 crappy offer...
we are coming out to NZ as soon as the house is sold ...
the sooner the better for us

so i thought i would try to get some ideas that are not normally in the books

so come on give up them secret gems guys

regards
shell and mark

Beachcombers

North Island - Ahipara, at the bottom of 90mile beach. Stay at the Endless Summer hostel, 20 mtrs from the beach, free use of surf boards and body boards. Beautiful sunsets, huge (really really big) sand dunes, perfect sandy beach, heaps to do!

South Island - Port Underwood (access from Picton via dirt rd), remote, beautiful, if you want to go snorkeling for cray fish, this the place to do it!

Apple12

South Island: drive to the end of the Mount Cook Rd and camp at the campsite. Stunning half day walks, glaciers, and the sound of avalanches when you are camping. Dinner at the Mountaineers cafe in the village.

South Island: take a picnic up to the Port Hills in ChCh, past the Sign of the Bellbirds. In one direction stuuning views of the harbour, in another views over ChCh, and in another out to the Southern Alps. So special.

happynz

The Port Hills are special. The Scarborough track is quite nice. I like Lyttleton as well for it's pubs, cafes and ice-cream shops not to mention the spectacular views.

simonmarkellis

Huka Falls Jet Boat Lake Taupo
Zorbing - Rotorua

PaulGent

I haven't spent much time in the South Island yet so both of mine are in the North Island:

- White Island. It's a 40 minute boat trip from Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty and it's New Zeland's only active marine volcano. It's unreal! The giudes even tell you what to do in case of an eruption and where to run to. You are given a gas mask to wear while you are there too.

- The East Cape / Gisborne loop. This road takes you from Opotiki at the end of the Bay of Plenty all the way round the East Cape to Gisborne and then back through the gorge to Opotiki. It's a 2 day drive really, so stop over in Gisborne. The east cape is absolutely dersserted and has some of the finest beaches I have seen anywhere in the World and in summer the sea is warm - really warm! Gisborne is the first city in the World to see the sun and is definitely worth a visit. The people are unbelievably laid back because they are a minimum of 4 hours drive from anywhere!

Hope thats OK

Paul

danny.f

North-our house. South-fly to our house.

karonious

His house when we are there!

shell and mark

sounds good to us

will let you know when we are on our way ....look out NZ LOL

regards
shell and mark

stu_allen

Skydive from Wellington, north island to Picton, to south island. Or skydive over fox glacier.

Walk the Tongariro Northern Circuit, north island (rather than just the crossing) - with a late start on day 2 so you are up on the volcanos after all the daywalkers have gone home

leaseuk

North Island: Coromandel - Hot Water Beach
reason: fantastic beach, like no where else in the world. check the tides - go at mid to low tide and take a spade. Basically you sit in the sand near the tide (going out) and dig for your life. You'll find in some spots that as you dig steaming hot hot hot water fills up your hole, and if you dig a bit further around you'll find the cold 'tap'. Build walls to your natural spa and voila! A home made hot tub! Getting a bit cold? then just dig where the hot 'tap' was coming out. Fabulous and FREE
http://www.mercurybay.co.nz/activiti...waterbeach.php

South Island: West Coast, Franz Josef Glacier
reason: amazing - walking on a real live glacier! absolutelly fantastic and wonderful experience - I really can't put it into words. So lovely, serene, clean, amazing colours - eventually I'll post a great picture of the blue ice. The ice has been compressed (of oxygen) over the centuries which is why its so blue. You can do a half day, whole day or cheat day (helicopter to the top, walk down). Really worth it.
http://www.franzjosefglacier.com/

Winnie

Dolphin swimming in Kaikoura (SI)
Body boarding in Queenstown (SI)
In fact, there's so much to do in Queenstown I'd be stuck for choice to pick just one.
Agree with leaseuk about the glaciers too, absolutely amazing.
Out of the north and south, I def pick the south!