"New Zealand from the North to the South" New Zealand by easterntrekker

New Zealand Travel Guide: 14,440 reviews and 36,340 photos

A view from One Tree Hill - Auckland - New Zealand

Beginning in the North

Being from Canada , it made since for us to start our New Zealand adventure in the North . ...and the fact that our newly married daughter and son in law were in Auckland !!

Anyway , we made Auckland our base and did our best to see as much as we could of the this amazing part of the country that two weeks would allow.

There was so much to see....
We were wowed by volcanic islands and cones all around, we tramped through forests of tree ferns that take you back to dinasour times, we strolled vast windswept beaches and in others we dug holes to search for hot springs. ..there were sheep....and more sheep and who could know hills can truly be that colour green.

Then we went west

Pancake Rocks - South Island

It was a hard decision when heading to the South island ...will we go east or west. Anyway west it was and we weren't disappointed !

The scenery changed dramatically as we headed along the west coast . We took several days and stopped frquently to take pictures ...time only allowed us to go as far as Fox Glacier...and although we had non stop rain...it only added to the dramatic landscapes we were visiting.

The South Island

It would take so much more time than we had to explore all of the South . We had to content ourselves to see only as much as time allowed .
The trip across Arthurs Pass was fabulous ! We crossed from the west coast and relaxed the last few days in Christchurch . I panicked the day before we left realizing I hadn't seen a kiwi...so on my last day I finally got to see one. Granted they were raised in captivity and it wasn't like a sighting in the wild . I'm statisfied!!

Pros and Cons

Pros:natural astounding and diverse beauty
Cons:rainy spring
In a nutshell:A beautiful , small, safe country with friendly people!!

Last visit to New Zealand: Nov 2006
Intro Written Dec 17, 2006
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Reviews (77)

Good Fish and Chips Christchurch - New Zealand

Good Fish and Chips Christchurch Restaurants (13)

WE really liked the take out fish and chips here . Good serving size and delicious. Only $8.00. Fish and chips with... more travel advice

Nice clean Hostel Christchurch - New Zealand

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Our daughter stayed here. It was a nice clean hostel . It's actually separate old restored villas .Kind of looked more... more travel advice

Christchurch Things to Do (38)

We stayed three nights in Christchurch it was our last stop before leaving New Zealand. It's a small city of about 350,... more travel advice

A convenient Christchurch Hotel - New Zealand

A convenient Christchurch Hotel Hotels (13)

We were pleased with our stay here. It is in a good location , we could walk to some restaurants and the park. It had a... more travel advice

Transportation (5)
See All Air New Zealand
Local Customs (1)
Trains and Cars can share
Shopping (3)
See All Jade on the west coast of the South...

Comments (10)

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travelgourmet Dec 13, 2010 at 8:08 PM

Anita, so now we have established that Kiwiland loves panini and pizza. Bla, Bla, Bla, sound like a phone company, not a restaurant. lol Nice tips. Larry
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BruceDunning Jul 24, 2010 at 4:09 PM

What a lovely place to spend time. You have such great pictures and as always the comments enhance the description of the area.
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joiwatani May 7, 2009 at 1:05 AM

New Zealand is one of the countries I wanted to visit next year! I am still on the planning stage. Thanks for sharing you tips!
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Yaqui Apr 28, 2009 at 9:51 PM

Kelly Tarlton's -The Underwater World, Waipoua State Forest, Huka Falls and the Franz Josef Glacier looks marvelous!! Thanks for sharing such a wonderful adventure.
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nora_south_africa Dec 2, 2007 at 2:24 PM

thanx for great accom tips
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iandsmith Jun 20, 2007 at 5:15 AM

Very useful tips, thanks for sharing. (I think that might have been "fairy" penguins you saw in Oz!)
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fishandchips Mar 5, 2007 at 2:06 PM

Yes, the seafood is really good around these waters!!
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plannersis Dec 22, 2006 at 11:30 AM

So glad you posted info about Aussie/New Zealand trips - we plan to use your advice as we plan our up-coming adventure trip there.
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jag17 Dec 18, 2006 at 8:14 AM

Thanks for stopping by. We hit quite a bit of rain a well, and many of our activities had to be adjusted. We had a blast, and just tried to make the best of it!
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vtveen Dec 18, 2006 at 4:51 AM

Nice tips, and a lot better now (you understand why I'm saying !!). Lots of memories, feel a little bit homesick.