New Zealand

Hi, I'm thinking about going for a trip to New Zealand? Can any one suggest me which is the best time to visit and which destinations are more popular for shopping in New Zealand.

I do not intend to drink and drive. However what's a law in New Zealand (or its individual jurisdictions) about "drinking and driving" when free camping? Once the campsite is set up, we'd like to open a nice, local bottle wine and enjoy ourselves.

I ask because in some jurisdictions within the United States people have been convicted of DUI/DWI while sleeping in their vehicles.

Oh, the above question really only applies to the free camping sites. I'm assuming there's no issue at all if in a…

Hi all - some of you have already seen (and answered) my post concerning the Tongariro Crossing. Prior to going there we (a couple with a 4-year old boy) will be going up to the Bay of Islands (around 27-29 April). It looks like many of the standard activities (especially boat/sail cruises that seems a great thing to do as a family) don't operate that late in the season anymore, which is a shame. Does anyone know of any such tours that do still go out mid-week in late April (other than private…

We will be in New Zealand for ten nights. We arrive into Auckland on Christmas, 25 December 2016 and depart from Auckland on 4 January 2017. We are looking for recommendations for our time. We like to be pretty active with hiking, walking and biking. We also like wine, local pubs with local beer, and seafood. We don't really care for sitting in vehicles for 6 hours a day, clubbing and late night parties.

We are thinking of trying to spend a couple days in just a few cities within NZ and…

We are arriving late evening into Auckland in July and plan to drive to Rotorua the next day. Neither of my travel companions have been to Auckland before though (I have, but not for years), and as we have a car I thought it might be good to at least do a little bit of sightseeing in Auckland before we leave the city (we could leave Auckland after lunch). Any ideas? One thought is to drive into town, and try and get a carpark say near the ferry terminal, and have a coffee. Am not keen on eg…

Hi - not having been to NZ yet I realise that the Tongariro Alpine Crossing is a pretty demanding trek. If I understand it correctly there isn't really much alternative to doing the whole trek (Mangatepopo to Ketetahi). My wife and I will be traveling with our 4-year old son (in late April, i.e. already shoulder season). Could anyone tell me if it's at all possible and worthwhile to hike a small part of the Crossing? If so, where would be a good place to start a smaller, local hike? (we'll have…

Hello fellow travelers, I am for the first time planing to travel to New Zealand and for some work related reasons, September is the only month that will work out for me. While I am aware that the weather can never be predictable in any given season, I just wanted to see if September stands out as a definitely "no go" especially for hiking and similar activities in New Zealand and would I miss to much by not going during the summer season (swimming is never a priority for me)? Thank you for any…

In short, the question is - could you please put the list of activities in order of priority for me based mostly on scenic beauty and special interest. I have too much on my list. feel free to add anything significant that's missing.

It might be hard to do it thoroughly but any attempts will be appreciated with explanatory notes if necessary. :-)

The longwinded question is. the same but with some background if you've time to read it - I've booked a flight for November to Mid December and now…

Hi there. Firstly I apologise if this specific question has already been answered but I can't find it anywhere. I'm looking for advice on travelling to the southern half of the south island. I'm spending nine days travelling down the north island (Auckland - Rotorua - Taupo - Wellington) and decided to get the ferry to Picton and travel down the south island by bus, but now I'm having second thoughts due to the long bus journeys with no "major" stopover points along the way. I was going to visit…

Greetings All,

First off - let me thank anyone in advance for taking the time to respond. I truly do appreciate the knowledge many of you bring to these conversations.

Background: 2 friends traveling, both experienced travelers, 1st time to New Zealand for both. We'll be somewhat adjusted to the timezone (sorta) as we will have staggered our trip out to NZ over the course of a few days with some stopovers.

So - here's my quandary. My friend and I are in country from the 7th of December until…