I have a friend who will be spending ten weeks in New Zealand this summer working on a research project.
The only thing I know she will be doing for certain is visiting Te Papa in Wellington.
Anyone else been to New Zealand? Live there?
Recommendations for things to see or do?
Want to serve as a contact person for her in Wellington?
Basically, I’d like to surprise her with a mini-NZ list to help her prepare for this journey.
Any help and input would be majorly appreciated. 
But here’s an earlier thread:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=177645
Here’s a few things we tried and enjoyed:
Caves at Waitomo – avoid the organized worm tour but definitely do the little self guided trail through a little grotto area. They also have a great “adventure” caving tour which mixes takes you down rappels, over waterfalls, through rivers all while underground (its accurately described as “Indiana Jones get flushed down a toilet”.
Rotorua – Nice area to visit, lots of geothermal stuff. There’s a river with class IV rapids that you can go down on a boogie board type of thing. Lots of fun and a bit scary (especially when you go over the top of the 7 meter waterfall). But be prepared to be a bit stiff the next morning.
Queenstown – Adrenaline junkie’s wet dream. Lots of stuff here. If you’re going to do a bungee jump while in NZ, this is the place. Do the jump where you exit from a cable car suspended over a river canyon. Queenstown is also a good central place from which to do some beautiful hiking.
Milford Tack- It’s backpacking, but easier since you don’t have to worry about tents and stoves. It’s a 3 night 4 day hike where you stay in some very nice but rustic cabins (dorm style bunks). The scenery is gorgeous, and if it rains you’re treated to the spectacular waterfalls that form along the sheer sides on the canyon you walk through. At the end is Milford sound, which you should see even if you don’t hike the track. If basing out of Queenstown, take the bus to the ferry that gets you to the start of the track, walk the track, take a cruise through the sound, and then take a puddle jumper flight back to Queenstown. The Routeburn track is also very nice, more alpine in nature.
Wine country in the Marlborough area is very nice.
Traveling through NZ is very easy, as the infrastructure is set up for tourism and there are hostels or B&B’s in almost every town. The best part of NZ is that the topography is so variable. As you drive, it seems as if the scenery completely changes every 20 minutes. It is hard to get to it all! We had 3 weeks and we still felt like we were rushing to take it all in.
My wife and I went to Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia for our honeymoon but spent the majority of the trip in NZ.
Oddly enough, we though Wellington was the lowlite of the trip. Beyond Te Papa, the place was downright boring.
I’d second the suggestions of Pipper though I did the organized tour of the Waitomo cave to see the glow worms and I thought it was pretty cool. I wanted to do the adventure tour but didn’t have time.
Queenstown was probably our favorite place overall. See Fjordland National Park, go to Bob’s Peak, and try some of the death sports. We did the Shotover Jet boat trip which was awesome! We just WATCHED the bungee jumpers, however…
The other thing that’s lots of fun is to go see a rugby game if you get a chance, or at least go to a pub and watch one. We went to Christchurch to check out the Antartica operations there and at one point the whole town seemed to shut down because everyone was in their favorite pub watching the All Blacks kick England’s butt. That was really entertaining to watch…and I don’t even like rugby…
Many thanks, pipper and yarster for your suggestions.
I originally ignored the thread you linked to, Earl, when I searched for “New Zealand” because it seemed skewed toward things LOTR; but going back and perusing, I see there are some good general tourist recs, too. Thanks!
Well being from the north half of the country I am going to try and slant all female visitors this way.
During your summer skiing season should be in full swing.
In the North Island that means Mt Ruapehu
I should say that there are one or two ski fields in the south as well amongst which the Queenstown fields are probably the busiest and easiest to get to. If she wonts a bit more adventure try fox glacier.
Auckland is the only real city life in New Zealand (did I mention I might be biased). Besides which it has me so obviously will be a highlight of the trip. Personally I prefer the west of the city where I live.
In terms of outdoor activities most of them revolve around water and so are not the best during winter. Although the surfing on the west coast is great if you have a wet suit.
If you come anywhere near my half of the Auckland isthmus (which is th’ western half) – I’ll treat you to a coffee.
But Auckland, quite honestly, is a stop-over point for folks on their way to other places in this wee country of mine. We do have Kelly Tarltons, Auckland War Memorial Museum, and other stuff.
Depending on your tastes, you may just want to go up State Highway 1 from Wellington to Auckland. There’s quite a few tourist’ish things to do along the way. Loads of small towns to pass through on the way for tea, toilets, etc.
Waiouru Army Museum
Tongariro National Park (tramping), Trout hatcheries, trout fishing (not in the hatcheries though…), Ruahepu (tramping or skiing from June’ish to November’ish) - the township of Turangi make a great base for operations. My home town too!
Taupo: Water skiing, boat fishing (trout), bungi, jetboating (use Huka Jet though, the other one is a bit of a yahoo operation)
Rotarua: Rainbow and Fairy Springs (wildlife park), mud pools. You might have to fight your way though the tourist buses though.
Down in the South Island: Could stay in Christchurch for visits to outlying areas, such as Kaikoura for whale watching. Visit the local breweries too!
If you’re coming in the next few months, try to catch at least one All Blacks rugby game live with friends. Bluff Oysters, which are meant to be ‘World Famous’ are in season too; apparently very nice if you’re into oysters. There’s quite a bit to do, so my best advice would be to talk to the Information Centre in Wellington for more ideas when you land.
Oh, and Britt, there is life south of the Bombay Hills 