Do
- stay in YHA hostels: clean rooms,
friendly staff, great place to meet people, ok
-
price and they can
help with transportation, tours and information. But of
course
-
some
are better than others (www.yha.co.nz);
- cook your own dinners, nice way to save some money;
- take buses, the system is very good;
- rent a car if you can for some special places, you will
see more and save some
-
time (e.g. North Island or
Catlins on the South Island)
- visit Auckland and Waiheke Island, the Kauri Forest, Waitangi,
Bay of Islands,
-
Rotorua and Wellington on
the North Island;
- hike the Tongariro Crossing on the North Island. We waited
for 4 days but
-
unfortunately it kept on raining
and we couldn't walk it. We did hear great stories
-
(www.tongarirocrossing.org.nz);
- spend more time on the South Island because there is much
more to see and do!
-
Visit the Catlins, Mount Cook,
Milford Sound, Franz Josef glacier, Otago Peninsula
-
and Oamaru penguin colony;
- spend money and go on a
whale watch trip in Kaikoura on the South Island.
-
Worth every penny!(www.whalewatch.co.nz);
- walk the Abel Tasman Track on the South Island. Not too
difficult and a fantastic
-
track! Book the hut
in advance and bring insect repellent for the nasty sandflies
-
at Awaroa Hut;
- cross the South Island with the
Tranzalpine from Christchurch to Greymouth or
-
vice versa (www.railnewzealand.com/Tranzalpine.html);
- see a kiwi! Hard to spot them in the wild (only a few
left) but you can see them
-
in a kiwi house.
Don't
-
visit the Waitomo Caves if you're short on time. It's ok
but a bit expensive for
-
just about 20 minutes in the
caves (by boat);
- go to Queenstown unless you want to skydive, bungeejump
or party;
- think about a day hike on one of the glaciers when it's
pouring! We did but
-
afterwards even the guides said that it was madness and
that they should have
-
cancelled the trip. It was pretty
scary and we were happy that we made it back
-
safe and sound!
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