You’ll certainly be spoilt for choice whether you love sightseeing, museum visits, or hiking across beautiful trails. There’s pretty much everything and anything to do, irrespective of the type of traveler you are.
This country has so much to offer to travelers, it’s not much of a surprise many people choose to visit this place multiple times. Perhaps the only thing to dread is jetlag. let’s go through other reasons why you should seriously consider visiting New Zealand at least once!
Discover extraordinary landscapes like no other
Wildlife lovers and hiking enthusiasts will definitely have the time of their life in New Zealand. To start with, in 2022, New Zealand celebrated the 30th Anniversary of their Great Walks – a selection of tracks that range in difficulty and often take many days to complete. From Tuatapere Hump Ridge to Abel Tasman National Park, with giant ferns, lush trees, and a temperate climate, anyone who is into hiking is spoilt for choice with gorgeous, spacious trails, set against a backdrop of idyllic scenery.
Enjoy the “adventure capital of the world”
New Zealand is the hub for adrenaline junkies too. Anything from skydiving, ziplining, bungy jumping, and caving, to zorbing, transalpine hiking, and paragliding, the sky is the limit to the range of sports activities you can try at the “adventure capital of the world”, as it is referred to by some. If an activity can be done outdoors, then it can be done in New Zealand!
Experience the Māori culture
Learn more about the Māori culture and its indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand who bring with them an inspirational way of living that honors wellness. If you need some downtime to relax, unwind and rejuvenate your body, then Rotorua is the place to be. Located on the North Island of New Zealand, Rotorua is famous for its geothermal activity, bubbling with hot springs that guarantee a full-body relaxation experience. You might want to know that in Spring 2023, a luxury wellness centre will be opening – the Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa, a temple for body relaxation, offering experiences inspired by authentic Māori culture and 650 years of spa tradition.
Don’t skip Wellington
Wellington is New Zealand’s capital which flaunts some great architecture, with intricate murals and an eclectic vibe that is bound to thrill anyone who’s into cultural heritage. Award-winning museums await you, namely the Museum of Wellington and Te Papa, New Zealand’s national museum.
Wellington also offers a popping nightlife, a vast number of galleries, exquisite food, and fantastic cafés. Its harbor is also not worth missing, best seen from Mount Victoria which overlooks the entire city and makes for a pleasurable walk.
Explore Fiordland
Located in the southwestern part of New Zealand (and also home to numerous Lord of the Rings film locations) this area is considered one of the country’s most scenic and remote places, filled with gigantic mountains, immense lakes, rivers, and forests as well as resplendent fjords. If you’re looking to escape the urban hustle and bustle, then you must explore this region which is also a perfect site for hiking and camping.
Lord of the rings fan? Visit Hobbiton
New Zealand is the place to be if you like to experience the vibe of where the film was shot. You can even take a tour to visit Fangorn Forest, Gondor, and where Frodo destroys the ring. Although most of the sets have been taken down, you can still catch a glimpse of the Shire and some of the hobbit houses.