New Zealand Travel and Backpacking
New Zealand is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, from pristine beaches to snowy capped mountains it has it all. With more sheep than people New Zealand is the perfect place to get away and explore the incredible countryside and marvel at the wide array of nature.
Getting Around New Zealand
Probably the best way to travel would be to hire a camper van. We didn't go for this as we thought it would be cheaper to rent a car and stay in hostels. The advantage of having you own transport is you can rally get of the beaten track and see some really great places. It also means you can stop when you like and get that photo of the beautiful scenery whenever you want.
Where to stay in New Zealand
We stayed in all sorts of places form cheap dorm rooms in hostels to bedrooms in ancient hotels. Its all about finding the cheapest place for the night.
New Zealand Costs
New Zealand is cheaper than Australia, but when you compare it to Southeast Asia its pretty expensive. To try and cut down on the costs we stayed in the cheapest Hostels we could find and cooked all our meals ourselves. This does mean however that often you'll be staying at the non party orientated hostels as the real popular ones charge alot more.
New Zealand Map
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New Zealand Highlights & Things to do
Check out highlights and Things to do in New Zealand below
Homer Tunnel and an Alpine Walk
The Homer Tunnel pierces through the Homer Saddle on the road that links Milford Sound to Te Anau and Queenstown. The tunnel is 1270m long and was once the longest gravel-surfaced tunnel in the world. Built from 1935 to 1954 and started [...]
Edora – A little Lord of the Ring Adventure
We didn’t go for any of the Lord of the Rings tours, instead, quite randomly on the way somewhere else decided to take our little rental car off on a little adventure in search of Edora from the Lord of the Rings, known as Mt. Somers to the locals.
90 Mile Beach and the Northen Dunes, New Zealand
90 mile beach is located on the western coast of the far North Island of New Zealand, 90 Mile Beach is in fact not 90 miles long, it is actually 55 miles (88 Kilometers) long. The name came from the average [...]
Old MacDonalds Farm, Able Tasman
Able Tasman is world famous for its coastal tracks that pass though rain forests, over granite cliffs and along golden sandy beaches. Located in Marahau at the southern end of Abel Tasman National Park, just 400 meters from the Park is [...]
Baby Seals near Kaikaura, New Zealand
Driving in to Kaikora from Bleinhem there’s a lookout point over a colony of seals at Ohau point. Whilst we were there a lady told us about a waterfall we’d passed just up the road where you could see baby [...]
Sheep on the road, New Zealand – Friday Photo
Sheep on the road, New Zealand, originally uploaded by benedict.adam.
Sheep!
Milford Sounds, New Zealand
Declared the eighth Wonder of the World by Rudyard Kipling Milford Sounds is New Zealand’s most famous tourist destination, and not without good reason. Probably my highlight of a trip to New Zealand, located in the Flordlands of the South [...]
New Zealand Albatross – Friday Photo
The wandering albatross has the largest wingspan of any living bird, with the average wingspan being 3.1 metres. We saw this Albertross whilst on a Whale watching trip in Kaikoura on the East Coast of New Zealands South Island
Moeraki Boulders, New Zealand
The Moeraki Boulders are huge spherical boulders lying scattered along a stretch of Koekohe Beach between Palmeston and Hampden. They are created from the erosion of mudstone by the waves. There extremely old and look amazing in the swell of [...]
Pancake Rocks, Punakaiki, New Zealand
The Pancake Rocks, Punakaiki, are a unique natural attraction on New Zealand’s South Island West Coast. They are formed from layers of water sculpted limestone. The fasantating rocks are well worth a stop of if you’ve got your own transport, [...]
