Where to start your New Zealand holiday ?

North Island

The first port of entry for people flying to New Zealand is usually Auckland. 70% of all air travellers to NZ come this way and often venture no further south than Rotorua’s scenic and Maori cultural attractions.

Well that's fine. You can go north from Auckland to the Bay of Islands. The Waitomo caves in rural Waikato is worth mentioning. The Cormandel Peninsula is pretty spectacular as are the Islands of the Hauraki gulf east of Auckland.

But arguably, if you do just that then you miss out the best parts of New Zealand. Kiwis jokingly call the South Island “the mainland,” but it also has the most awesome scenery and the least crowds.

Christchurch has New Zealand’s second biggest airport with lots of flights direct from Asia and Australia. If you consider coming to New Zealand from Europe or Asia look at the possibility of changing airlines at Sydney, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul or Bangkok to reach Christchurch. Christchurch is a springboard for travel into the rest of the South Island.

Another idea is to come to Wellington. A cosy cosmopolitan city, with a reputation as a party town, on account of it’s bars, clubs and theatres. It is also a city of many stunning vistas on a fine day, from the hills surrounding it’s harbour.

Wellington is a great place to catch either the Interislander ferry or the Bluebridge ferry to Picton. Do the ferry trip by day and take in the magnificent Marbourough sounds. Picton is a great place to commence a circuit of the South island.

Try these addresses: Bluebridge - or try Interislander:Cook Strait Ferry from Wellington & Picton, North & South Island, New Zealand

Wellington airport is served internationally from Brisbane by Freedom Air and Pacific Blue. Air New Zealand and Qantas also connect Wellington with Sydney and Melbourne. Emirates operate a London Heathrow to Melbourne service as a further option and then use Qantas, or Air NZ to reach Wellington. Let the Force of the internet be your Guide Luke.


South Island

Including just the northern half of the South Island first, some of the places you shouldn’t miss are, the Marlborough Sounds, Malborough’s wineries, Nelson, Kerikeri beach, Takaka Hill, Nelson Lakes National Park, the scenic drive from Nelson to Wesport via the Buller Gorge, Punakaiki blowholes (aka “pancake rocks”) and the drive from Blenheim to Kaikoura. The hardest choice at Picton in fact is whether to turn left, or right and go down the East or the west coast. Those truely savvy might rent a car or campervan from Picton and do a 10-12 day circuit so they do both approaches. Many backpackers find seasonal fruit picking jobs around the Nelson area from March-May.

In the southern South Island try not to miss Arthur’s Pass, Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers, south Westland and Haast Pass, Lake Wanaka, little known Glenghu Bay on the west side of Lake Wanaka and the alpine Matukituki Valley beyond are particularly rewarding.

You shouldn’t miss Queenstown or the drive beyond to the Dart River at the head of Lake Wakatipu. Queenstown is the adventure capital of New Zealand with skiing in the winter so bring lots of cash.

Alternately there is fruit picking work around Alexandra and Cromwell in the summer or you might find work in the tourism industry around Queenstown if you seek a working holiday. Many young people spend 6 months travelling and working.

South from Queenstown, Fiordland is a must see. Some people fly in from Queenstown but if the weather is good the drive to Milford Sound is rewarding. Invercargill is a stepping off point for visiting Stewart Island, which is pristine and bushclad.

The Catlins coastline up to Dunedin is pretty. Dunedin is a lovely old Edwardian flavoured city with a nice night life. Many option exist around Dunedin including the peninsula and an amazing train journey inland.

Don’t skip driving back to Mt Cook and Lake Tekapo on your way to Christchurch. The road from Blenheim to Kaikora however is most scenic driving southwards as you get a different perspective from driving northwards, so keep that in mind if planning a scenic drive. By the way we drive on the left as does the UK and Japan. Enjoy…

The North Island has it’s attractions, but if you miss the South Island, then you miss the whole point of coming all the way to see New Zealand. Bon voyage everyone.