NEW ZEALAND

We would of course recommend a month’s holiday in New Zealand, but even if you stay for a day or two, you won’t return disappointed, just hungry for more. Just get the hang of their delightful twang, and you’ll have the best holiday of your lifetime in New Zealand.

Capital:  Wellington

Best Time to Visit:

  1. Depending on what you want to do, you can virtually go all over New Zealand at all times of the year.
  2. The summer months are from November to April, peak season is December, February and March.
  3. This is not only because of foreign tourists but also domestic travelers who have holidays from 20th December to late January when schools close. Easter weekend and late October are also vacation times.
  4. So if you visit in this season, book in advance because it’s not so easy to find accommodation. In the non-peak months, the weather is still warm and accommodation easier to get.
  5. For beach goers, January and February are the best time though other months are also quite warm.

Min Days Required: 7 Days

Places of Interest:

  1. Auckland – Eden Park, Auckland Zoo, Sky tower, Kelly Tarltons Sea Life Aquarium, Waiheke Island, Mount Wellington, Rainbows End
  2. Christchurch – Christchurch Cathedral,  Orana Wildlife Park, Canterbury Museum, TranzAlpline, Willowbank Wildlife Reserve
  3. Rotorua – Lake Rotorua, Mount Tarawera, Rotorua Museum, Waimangu Volcanic Rift Valley, Lake Rotokakhi
  4. Wellington – The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington Zoo, Wellington Botanic Garden, Mount Kaukau, Carter Observatory
  5. Queenstown – Milford Sound, Lake Wakatipu, The Remarkables, Lake Wanaka, Hollyford Track
  6. Mount Cook

Climate:

  1. NZ is quite simply ‘The Windy Country’. Winds sweep in all the year round and can be chilly when they come from Antarctica and warm when they blow from across the Tasman Sea.
  2. The North Island is subtropical while the North is temperate. The coldest months are June, July and August; the warmest are December, January and February.
  3.  Average summer temperatures range from 20 to 30 degrees and maximum winter temperatures from 10 to 15 degrees Celsius. . Summer season is the best season; up north it’s quite pleasant almost round the year, though it can get quite windy in the high altitude areas.
  4. There is a fair bit of rainfall; the North Island gets it evenly, whereas in the South Island where the Alps act as a cloud-break, the western part is wetter than the eastern part.
  5.  The Canterbury Plains are drier and hotter. Parts of the south get 330mm to 7500mm of rain whereas the north gets an even 1300mm every year. As a result, the South Island is cooler than the North Island.
  6. Snow falls in winter on the mountains as well as at sea level on the west coasts, more in the south than in the north. Thanks to a maritime climate, the weather can change at record-breaking speeds, especially at high altitudes.

Currency: New Zealand Dollars

Things to carry:

  1. Carry your informal and casual wear along, smart casuals if you want to wine and dine at some good places.
  2. Formal wear is rare but you may need to it in a really formal nightclub or restaurant.
  3. Pack in a light jacket or sweater or a light waterproof jacket or coat so as to be prepared for NZ’s unpredictable weather.
  4.  Travelers coming in winter will need their warm clothes, as temperatures can be as low as 5 to 10 degrees Celsius.
  5. Other holiday essentials include hats, sunscreen lotions/creams and medication (if you’ve been prescribed any) and spare prescription glasses.
  6. A good pair of walking boots is an absolute must, especially if you plan to do any walking tours.

How to get there:

Air:

  1.  Fly into NZ from any part of the world, its well connected via its three international airports at Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
  2. Flights from East Australia take approximately 3 ½ hours and may fly in to either the international airports or to Hamilton, Palmerston North, Queenstown or Dunedin.
  3. NZ is a non-stop overnight flight from the US and Europe and around 10 hours from countries on the Pacific Rim (Singapore, Japan, Taiwan).