1. I live in Wellington, and its a great city to live in. It’s compact, easy to get around and theres lots of great cafes/restaurants/theatres etc. The museum of New Zealand (Te Papa) is good and most of it is free to see. I’d also recommend walking up Mount Vic to get a good view of the city, renting a crocodile bike and biking around Oriental Bay on a good day, and going to the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary & the Botanical Gardens/Cable Car. An hour out of Wellington is Lindale farm centre and Southwards Car Museum too, or you could catch a boat over to Kapiti Island.

2. I love Queenstown, but for something a bit cheaper, I also like Ohakune during ski season! It’s a buzzing little town at the base of Mt Ruapehu. Or you could stay at the Bayview Chateau Tongariro, basically on the mountain, a beautiful old hotel just minutes from the Ski Fields.

Hopefully that is some help – email me if you need any more info!

Kiwi flossers — I’ll definitely be emailing you!

Anyway, I’m from Christchurch but now living in Auckland… but I haven’t done that many of the ‘touristy’ things (despite entertaining an Englishman for a while… hmmm). I think we do take a lot for granted here too actually, especially all the scenery-type stuff.

If you do end up going for a jump (insane if you ask me) I’d go for the SkyJump – jump off the Skytower in Auckland. It’s not a bungee per say but you’re in a harness and get to jump NOT head first which is slightly more appealing!

If you want to take a ferry from Auckland Harbour skip Rangitoto Island (old volcano, boring black lava everywhere which is not pretty) and go for Waiheke Island instead.

What else… avoid Rainbow’s End – if you’ve ever been to any other theme park in the world you’ll be sorely disappointed.

You’ll probably be here too early for the ski season which sucks if you’re into that. March seems to have been far warmer than usual this year, I’m kinda aching for Autumn now…

It’s hard to know what to really tell you when I don’t know what you’re keen/not keen on but if you have any questions or anything feel free to flip me an email!

Glow worm caves – amazing!

Rotorua – definitely check out some of spas and Kuirau Park, where you can dip your tired, aching feet in the warm spring water. We went back to that park several times and our legs felt like new after a dip.

Christchurch – some of the most beautiful gardens in the world

Definitely take the TranzScenic Train Ride through the countryside.

Franz Josef Glacier – a great hike out to the foot of the cave, you can take a helicopter ride to land on it, too.

Queenstown is a huge tourist trap, but you can enjoy bunjee jumping, take the Skyline Gondola up the mountain to take in some spectacular views. While you’re up there, be sure to do the luge ride. It’s exhilarating to be rolling down a concrete path at “full speed” knowing the cliff ends at the edge of the track.
Definitely do the Shotover Jet boat ride. If you love speed, water, wind and not wearing your seatbelt, this is for you!

And last but not least, go to Milford Sound. It’s about a 4-5 hour drive from Queenstown with the standard coach tour, but worth the long trip because you pass through the most breathtaking scenery on the way. We took a lunch boat trip on the Sound and what we didn’t do (and I wish we knew about it) was visit Underwater World. The Sound is a unique place where a layer of freshwater sits on top of the unusually shallow saltwater, which means normal deep water creatures are only meters below the surface. Sigh. Regardless, the place was beautiful. We were supposed to take a plane flight back to Queenstown, but it got cancelled due to a tailwind condition. Instead, we dished out the $$$ and took the helicopter ride back to Queenstown. And what an awesome ride it was! We even got to land on a glacier.

Here’s the most important part: No matter where you are, just take it easy, and talk to the locals. I found the Kiwis to be so incredibly friendly and they’re so helpful.

No worries!