Going to New Zealand!

[jhayx7]

Next Tuesday my wife and I are going to NZ for our honeymoon. This is going to be a looooooong flight. We are flying Southwest from Birmingham to LAX then to Auckland and then to Queenstown. First of all, what are some good activities to do on a long flight. I will be taking the iPod, DS and some books, what else would be fun?

Has anyone here taken a trip to NZ? Any ideas on what to do for fun?

 

[Atheus]

I grew up there, in Auckland, now I live in London.

In a way it's a quiet place compared to the UK, like there's not much going on in the news, there are far fewer people, smaller cities, etc. But in other ways it can be very lively - the clubbing scene in Auckland is (or was at least) anything but quiet, plus theres a lot of sports and extreme sports going on.

Apart from a slightly different culture, you will find Auckland to be just like any EU or US city, only smaller. The main reason tourists go there is the outdoors - the beaches, rivers, mountains, forests are some of the cleanest and most unspoiled in the world. There are some great romantic spots (thinking honeymoon stuff here) like theres this place in Taupo where hot springs run through a series of rock pools into the cold river and form little natural hot tubs of different temperatures. Anywhere else in the world stuff like that would be turned into a 'health spa' or at least crowded with people, but not in NZ. Same with the beaches - with not too much effort you can find a perfect beach where you're the only people there.

 

[trmiv]

I went there about 8 years ago, had a great time. I was there visiting a friend who was going to school there. I stayed with her for a week, and then the next week during her finals I took a bus trip called the Kiwi Experience by myself. It was a lot of fun. I went skydiving at Lake Taupo, which was great. I also went blackwater rafting at Waitomo, which was awesome.