Thanks for the vote of confidence, gailcalled. While I live in New Zealand, I’m no expert on the country. That said, I can relate the highlights of my travels around. (Warning: my bias is towards “the great outdoors”. If you want to know the best places to shop, I’m not your guy.)
#1 – Kaikoura! This is a small town on the South Island that is in maybe the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. Rocky coastline, rolling farmland, snow covered mountains as the backdrop. It’s a great spot from which to sea kayak and swim with dolphins.
#2 – Farewell Spit. For me, it was a powerful experience standing out at what felt like the tip of the end of nowhere. The spit is at the far NW corner of the South Island and forms the southern boundary of Cook Straits, which separates the 2 islands.
#3 – Hokianga. This is some of the most beautiful native forest in NZ with thousand year old Kauri trees. It’s on the west coast of the North Island, north of Auckland. The time I spent there was far too short and I’ll be returning soon.
#4 – Cape Reinga. This is another one that I would describe as spiritually powerful. It’s at the very northern tip of the North Island, so you might as well be on a ship at sea. From the lighthouse, you can watch the roiling waters where the South Pacific meets the Tasman Sea. If you go, hire a car or hitchhike. Most people go by tour bus, but then you’re limited to maybe 30 minutes at the Cape. If you go on your own, you can do like I did and spend a few hours there soaking up the vibe.
#5 – Milford Sound. I haven’t actually been there, but this is tops on my list of next places to visit. I’m a sucker for glacial formations and this is one of the best spots in the world for that. Get on Google Earth and do a 3D fly-through to see what I mean.
#6 – Wellington. OK, one nod towards civilization. Wellie is a great little city. If your thing is coffee shops and museums, strolling along the waterfront, that kind of thing, the capital city is your place. Te Papa is the national museum and is worth a visit. Take the cable car from Lambton Quay to the top of the hill for great views of the harbour. Hike up Mt. Victoria through the site of one of the scenes from Lord of the Rings. Wellington is the political and cultural capital of New Zealand.
@ashepp, you’ve picked a great place to visit! New Zealand is stunningly beautiful and the people here are very friendly. It’s not as cheap to travel around as less developed places, but it’s still reasonable compared to the States or most of Europe. Feel free to send me a note with any questions.
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