Woohoohoo. Where do I start. It is a fantastically beautiful country. Here’s a brief intro.
North Island is picturesque. South Island is majestic.
North Island – North to South
Cape Reinga – views of two oceans meeting
90 Mile beach – what it sounds like only there is hardly anyone there. Wild and remote
Bay of Islands – tourist area and very popular. Game fishing and history
Waipoua Forest – amazing kauri trees
Auckland – where nearly a third of the population lives. Lots to do. I have contacts there, but there are many places to stay.
Coromandel Peninsular – beaches, remote and rugged hills and bush, hiking.
Bay of Plenty – Tauranga, Whakatane – beautiful beaches, dolphin watching, wild coastline, active island volcano, game fishing.
East Cape – a great drive
Urewera Forest – think jungle. Amazing. Lots of hiking. Lake Waikaremoana – hiking, kayaking.
Rotorua – Geothermal area, volcanic landscape, tourist area
Hamilton – not much. (Now I am about to get slaughtered by anyone who likes it!) – Raglan – rugged West Coast surf beach
Waitomo – limestone caves
Taupo – trout fishing, boating on the lake, amazing scenery
Central Plateau – three active volcanoes, good hiking, skiing
Taranaki region – Mt Taranaki, more surf beaches, more hiking, New Plymouth (lovely little city)
Wanganui River – rafting, kayaking, more fishing
Wellington – capital city. Stacks of interesting things to do.
South Island
West Coast – very remote. Very beautiful. Lots of rain. Mosquitos the size of sheep. Coal mining area, wild food festival each March, walk on a glacier.
Northern areas – Nelson/Marlborough – vineyards, two national parks, again geart hiking and kayaking, Stunning beaches – try Kaiteriteri beach. (I think that’s spelled correctly) Boating on the Marlborough Sounds. Diving. Actually, there are places to dive all over the place.
East Coast – Kaikoura Coast – Kaikoira ranges, whale watching, lobster, Thermal pools at Hamner Springs
Canturbury Plains – East coast – Christchurch city (where I now live), modelled after a Victorian English city and still carries a bit of the olde worlde charm. Garden city. Access to the Southern Alps and numerous skifields.
Mt Cook and the Southern Alps – just watch the opening sequence of The Two Towers. And you can visit the glaciers, lots of hiking again, beautiful glacial lakes.
Queenstown – the tourist Mecca of NZ. And rightly so. Everything from jet boat rides, visits to high country sheep stations, beautiful lake, The Remarkables mountain range, more skiing, bungy jumping, you name it.
Fiordland – Milford Sound – one of the world’s most famous walks. A unique area. I don’t know if I could describe it. Look up “Mitre Peak” in google and take a look.
Southland – more hiking in the Catlins, Bluff oysters, access to Stewart Island which is an incredible treasure.
Whew. I have left far more out than I could possibly have mentioned. But you get the idea. I’m not sure what position i will be in in a year, but just at the moment I have two spare bedrooms and would be prepared to host for a week or three if asked. Give me an email and I can send you some stuff by sanail mail if you wish.
J.