Country Info
- Wellington
- Capital
- New Zealand Dollar (NZD)
- Currency
- 3,864,129
- Population
- NZ
- Country Code
New Zealand Slideshow
Travel Blogs from New Zealand
On the slopes of Mount Doom
This is a top pick! Labour day bank holiday weekend rolled round, so Rick and I set off exploring again, this time to New Zealand's biggest lake, Taupo. The lake is the biggest in New Zealand- apparently large enough to fit the whole of Singapore into (if you can find ...
Torrential rain
This is a top pick! My decision to do fruit packing as opposed to picking was fully vindicated last week, as it rained...and rained...and rained! In fact, a month's rain fell in just 2 hours last wednesday, creating armageddon-like scenes in and around the Bay of Plenty ...
Giant's Marbles
This is a top pick! We drove up the coast road through steady drizzle, to the Moeraki boulders. These are spherical rock formations, which developed under the sea and have been revealed as the sandstone they were embedded in has eroded. They were an intriguing sight, and ...
Finishing work...prematurely!
This is a top pick! I take it all back! Well, not all of it, but Thursday's events definitely went some way towards making up for the previous misdemeanours. It started off the same as usual, with me working with Kyle on one side of the conveyor belt. It was so cold ...
Action packed
This is a top pick! ... from the pub with the Union Jack and the faces of Wills and Kate, but lost it later on! Kevin’s Queenstown Queenstown is New Zealand’s place to do stuff so we did. We started off with the Ziptrek which was pretty boring. Having done Go Ape in ...
Queenstown
This is a top pick! Out of Milford we stopped to walk the initial section of the Routeburn track from the Divide to Key Summit, where 360 degree views of the surrounding Fiords and Alpine scenery amazed us. We arrived in Queenstown on the night of the Winter Festival ...
Wanaka
This is a top pick! Following a chance encounter with someone who I survived D of E with five years ago, in a Wanaka supermarket, Oscar had a third passanger, which was fortunate as it apparently takes three graduates half and hour to fit two snow chains. Once this ...
Sealord
This is a top pick! ... is known for its excellent climate afterall. Just before 3pm, I made the 20 minute journey to Sealord's and met the other new starters outside the gatehouse. We were soon greeted by a supervisor, and we spent nearly 2 hours with her, getting acquainted ...
:)
This is a top pick! Today's earlier entry was from rainy, dreary Invercargill. This entry is after a great trip back to Te Anau. I mainly went through Riverton and Tuatapere, but the usually short two and a half hour drive took me about six hours. I saw so many signs ...
Go Insane
This is a top pick! I've made it to Seacliff. Seacliff probably has more horses than people, however it's a great place on the coast. I arrived last night after driving up through Dunedin. I'm WWOOFing (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) at the Asylum Lodge. The place is ...
A year on...
This is a top pick! Well, we left home a year ago today and now here we are in New Zealand with just 5 weeks until we're home. Today we left Invercargill and after a boring drive from Dunedin south, we took the advise of the guy who owned our campsite and took a scenic ...
Cape Palliser to Mount Maunganui
This is a top pick! ... drove through Rotorua and Tauranga en route to reconnecting with Dave and Sally in Whangamata (pronounced Fangamata because wh = f in New Zealand). After Jason had driven over 1,000 kilometres in the previous three days Sylvia took the wheel again. ...
Pancake Rocks...
This is a top pick! ... again, but I promptly got back into the swing of things and went on a 45 minute walk to the geographical centre of New Zealand. The monument that represented this was unimpressive, but the hike uphill provided great views of Nelson, and the weather was ...
Not more seafood...!!
This is a top pick! ... some stage as we keep in touch via text messages, but this was yet another coincidence that is the norm whilst travelling in New Zealand. Unfortunately Shortbread Cottage, being a small hostel, was booked up for the following few days so Jacco had to go ...
Auckland
This is a top pick! Our Kiwi fan club, otherwise known as Jemma and Charles, had amazingly flown up from Christchurch for one final autograph! It was fantastic to see them again, as we will do again in January for their wedding - hopefully, although to date donations to ...
Christchurch
This is a top pick! Returning to Christchurch, I was jokingly dreaming of a famous English victory versus the All Blacks. Before this dream was comprehensively shattered, we had spent the previous night at Lyttleton winter festival (Christchurch's harbour). Live music, ...
Waipoua Forest
This is a top pick! You haven't seen a big tree until you have been to Waipoua Forest and seen the majestic kauri beasts that scatter this region. Once in huge numbers across North Island, this is one of the few areas that now remains after the dramatic effects of ...
Mangonui & Keri Keri
This is a top pick! ... happily stocking up on drop in a Dutch shop, we were on our way. We couldn't resist having lunch at what was apparently New Zealand's best Fish & Chip shop. It did not disappoint as, sat overlooking Mangonui harbour, we filled up for the rest ...
Taupo Bungy!
This is a top pick! ... room. After chatting for a while, inevitably the talk turned to these adventure activities that seem to be everywhere in New Zealand! I looked at her skydive pictures, and also some photos of her Bungy Swing in Queenstown (something that I definitely ...
East coast South Island and whale watching
This is a top pick! Our time in NZ is nearly at an end. Here are some photos of our time on the east coast of South Island (and a few professional ones from Whale Watch Kaikoura). As ever, blog write up to follow. ...
Kaikoura Part 1
This is a top pick! Kaikoura We left Christchurch at 8am and had a long drive to Kaikoura arriving early afternoon. A combination of the Pacific Ocean, deep trenches and underwater canyons up to 3 KM in depth that are only a few Km's away from the shore and a marine ...
Back in Auckland
This is a top pick! Well, we got back to Paihia, but I only stayed for two days, just to say my good byes and to pick up the rest of my stuff. I really found it hard; I had made some lovely friends there and had a great time. My aid parcel had arrived from my sister-in-law ...
Te Anau
This is a top pick! I had arranged to meet Esther today so that we could have a proper chat and catch up on each other's news. Esther had hired a car for the last part of her trip so if we wanted to we could go for a drive. She kindly came and picked me and my washing up, ...
Wellington-gateway to the South
This is a top pick! I packed up all my stuff on the Friday night before I left, I realised I might have a bit too much stuff again so I have left some stuff in Jackie's care. I really can't thank Jackie and Ian (her husband) enough, they are both very kind and generous ...
Crampons and axes!
This is a top pick! ... managed this, the rest of the day was spent climbing progressively longer and steeper walls. For this we had to add a new skill, which was belaying each other. I have to say this wasn’t my greatest skill having absolutely no arm muscles ...
Auckland Again
This is a top pick! I arrived back in Auckland to rain and loads of it. I had booked back into base again; you know what you are getting with Base. We arrived back at about 8pm after a shower and some food I headed down to the bar and met up with Neil and Simon again, it ...
Wellington to Auckland
This is a top pick! A very early start, the coach turned up at 7am and we were off. Driving from Wellington to Auckland oh what fun! I had done this journey before but it was in a car and I could stop wherever I wanted it took longer but it made the trip a lot easier. We ...
Gorillas to Gizzy
This is a top pick! ... decided to go to sleep. It was odd to be back in the same place in Wellington. The last time I was there I was in New Zealand for two days. It was quite different then. I stayed the night and the headed out in the morning. Thursday I headed West ...
Penguin kisses
This is a top pick! ... like kingfishers. We parked at the top of a steep hill leading down to the beaches where, hopefully, we would encounter some of New Zealand's rarer wildlife. First sighting was a one-year old Hooker's sea lion, still looking rather pup-like as he lazed on ...
Hills, Falls and Crutches
This is a top pick! We had been in the house for Two days and we were loving it, I friend I had met on my last stay here was coming over to see me after she finished work at about 10.30pm. Yannie had phones me saying that she couldn't find the drive way that led to the ...