As a land with many lakes and rivers, and quite literally beaches everywhere, the water activities of the world are there. Rafting, Kayaking, fishing, great swimming and surfing to name just some. Oh, and if you have not yet bungy jumped over one of their crystal clear rivers, well, I’ll leave that mind boggling experience for you to discover yourself. Many of the activities are dotted among highly scenic wilderness areas, which are to be found right up and down the country.
The thing I really noticed was how warm and relaxed the local people were. Every time we asked directions or questions they seemed really keen to help, and to tell us about the wonders of their area. The European New Zealanders are called Kiwi’s (after a flightless bird that only comes out at night), and the indigenous people are Maori’s. Many of the place names bear unusual sounding Maori names like Whakapapa (Foc-a-pa-pa). Apart from the major cities, which were a bit like small European cities, the pace of life seemed real nice and slow.
Here are some of must do things if you go there:
- Taking a boat ride around the incredible labyrinth of the Marlborough Sounds
- Fishing in stunning lake Taupo, a lake about the size of Singapore
- Tramping over the Heaphy track (especially if you like seeing some exotic bird life)
- Doing the Kawarau Bridge Bungy, high over the shimmering Kawarau river
- Visiting the garden city of Christchurch
- Seeing, and smelling, the bubbling volcanic activity all around Rotorua
- Drinking excellent coffee and locally brewed beers all over the country
- (In winter, skiing on the ski fields of Mount Hutt)
Anyway, if you get a chance to visit, just be careful, you may not want to come home. Oh and be sure to organize yourself a car or camper. This is a lightly populated country and it just wouldn’t be the same without being able to drive where you want. We got really friendly service from Rent-a-Dent. They seemed to have the country well covered – in fact we couldn’t believe a couple of the tiny towns we saw their branches in. Some of their branch website also have really good info on their local attractions. Main locater site is www.rentadent.co.nz/
About the Author
Professional background has included being a web consultant, GM of Web Developers Association, Founding HOD of tertiary web diploma, and being a Product Development manager for Software As A Service (SAAS) web based products.
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