Top Things To Do In New Zealand

Throughout New Zealand
Buy the Lord of the Rings location guide, and do some hunting out of familiar scenes from the LOTR trilogy.

North Island
Cape Reinga and 90 Mile Beach
Swim with the dolphins in Paihia, Bay of Islands
Vertigo Climb, Auckland Skytower - beyond the observation decks, and wear an orange suit to do it.
Take a ferry or kayak from Mission Bay, Auckland to Rangitoto Island & climb to the top.
Waiheke Island - only 35 mins by ferry from Auckland, for some great wineries, maybe spend the night.
Raglan- & catch some wild surf.
Waitomo Haggas Honking Holes and tubing the glow-worm caves
Kayak from Whitianga to Cathedral Cove - then go to Hot Water beach and dig your hole in the sand
Drive from Opotiki to Gisborne then around the East Cape and back to Opotiki
Hawkes Bay- wineries, East Coast, North Island
Whakatane- Take a scenic flight over White Island, an active volcano.
Rotorua - to see the geysers, thermal activity and smell, visit Te Whakawerwera for your Maori cultural experience.
Drive out to Lake Tarawera near Rotorua- check out the Blue and Green lakes on the way
Taupo- Tandem Skydive 12,000ft
Craters of the moon outside of Taupo
Tongariro Crossing- one of the best one-day walks in the world, stunning scenery with volcanoes
Walk up Mount Taranaki- West Coast, North Island
Watch the sun rise at Te Araroa - the eastern most place in NZ
Martinborough- wineries- bottom East Coast, North Island
Te Papa Museum in Wellington- you could spend all day here learning about NZ / Maori -culture

South Island
Abel Tasman- for relaxing walking and kayaking around the National Park
Walk the Queen Charlotte Track, Marlborough Sounds- Top, South Island Marlborough- wineries, top East Coast, South Island
Kaikoura- for whale watching and swimming with dolphins
4 day hike, Banks Peninsula - East Coast, South Island
Moeraki Boulders - East Coast, South Island for unusual round boulders Christchurch- Arts Centre
Akaroa- for a bit of French New Zealand history
Dunedin- for historic homes, albatross, yellow eyed penguins and seal colonies
Oamaru- for Old Oamaru Stone buildings and Penguin watching
Pancake Rocks and blowholes- Punakaiki, upper West Coast, South Island Mount Cook - South Island
Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers- West Coast, South Island
While looking at the glaciers in the Fox/Franz Josef area take a cruise out to Lake Matheson first thing in the morning to take some amazing photos of the reflection of Mount Cook in the water
Wanaka- a relaxing place in Central Otago
Arrowtown- an old Central Otago Goldfields town with an old Chinese village, 20 minutes from Queenstown
Queenstown- for adventure activities and party atmosphere
Pipeline Bungy Jump in Queenstown
Drive from Queenstown to Glenorchy- have a beer at the Glenorchy pub, after stopping and taking plenty of photos whilst on the drive
Queenstown- wineries
5 day trek of Routeburn/Greenstone Track
Walk Milford Track- one of the Worlds best.
Milford Sound and Fiordland National Park- lower West Coast, South Island Doubtful Sound in the Fiordland National Park- swim with dolphins
The Catlins- for nature East Coast, South Island
Stewart Island- for nature bottom South Island

Once you have done all these things you will have had a great look around beautiful New Zealand

http://www.newzealandatoz.com New Zealand AtoZ provides useful New Zealand information to travelers, including a full list of all New Zealand car, motorhome and campervan rental companies along with their daily hire rates Your complete guide to New Zealand.

[tags]new, zealand, travel, vacation, holiday, top, things, activities, ltor,[/tags]

Some Like It Cold

Beaches, swimming pool havens, and tropical islands all across the globe are favorite summer destinations of vacation hungry Americans. Hot spots like the Caribbean, Mexico, the Cayman Islands, and Southeast Asia look just about mouth-watering as a huge grilled piece of steak. But there are also quite a number of us who would rather spend 109 degree weather indoors with our lemonades and our divine air conditioning. Some would even go to farther lengths just to snuggle up with their loved ones in the cold. Are you one of those people who just aren't built for fine warm climates? Are you tired of the smoldering heat? Are bikinis and surfing just too much for your taste to handle? If you are indeed summer's fair-weather friend, fly to the nearest possible arctic escape and enjoy snow, wind, and hale in the middle of the heat wave.

If you are not worried about denting your bank account and you simply have all the time in your hands, I suggest you go international. I hear Switzerland is just completely fabulous this time of year. Temperatures in most Switzerland cities barely even reach 80 degrees during the summer, which is around 26 degrees centigrade. Most tourists would go there in June or July. This is the ideal time for availing tours, then it gets quiet for another couple of months. Tourist season peaks up again some time around September and October after the summer wave when mountain roads and peak passes are still manageable from the snow. Bern, which happens to be the largest city in the Bernese Oberland alpine region of Switzerland, has a long list of chic and elegant ski resorts that's sure to endear any traveler; Gstaad, Interlaken, Grindelwald, Murren, Kandersteg, and Wengen to name the most popular ones. Its mountain ranges are beautiful and captivating all year round, but summer would be the best time to visit to completely enjoy the outdoors as much as the indoor amenities. At tripadvisor.com, you would be able to find great ticket deals and hotel accommodations to virtually anywhere in the world. Fill out the date and destination fields for real time availability and cost estimates. It actually doubles as your very own personal travel agent so you would be able to pick up more information about your travel destination, and maybe even learn about a great new place to visit next time you fly.

For shorter vacations, why not fly domestic and rediscover the overwhelming beauty that is North America. Last summer, my family and I decided to visit some friends in the north, and the unusual cool airiness and refreshingly crisp ambiance made it my best American summer yet. Juneau, Alaska is definitely a welcoming delight in the summer. The urbane summer hot spot used to be a mining town in the 1800's, but through the centuries it managed to transform itself into a hub of local and foreign culture. Anchorage used to be the only airport that welcomed tourist into the state. But with Juneau's expansion and international appeal, prominent local flight providers such as Alaska Airlines and ERA Aviation have created cost-efficient deals to fly directly into the city. Wine, dine, and relax at a resort that triumphantly shows off the city's breathtaking glacier vista views and conveniently directs you to a variety of whale watching spots. Get a good deal and discount on flight and accommodations to Juneau at www.alaskaair.com. For other available discounted packages, compare super saver deals with various American airlines and destinations on hoppa.com.

Not a huge fan of flying? I strongly suggest you go coach. You should take the train or the bus to a much closer local resort that you and your friends have always been planning to see. You might not get to ski in the majestic snowy slopes or share a cup of hot cocoa in front of the blazing fireplace, but you still get that long overdue vacation you truly deserve. At www.coachusa.com, you can get more information on their daily scheduled bus routes, exciting individual city tours, fun group sightseeing tours, and even first class charter services. It's the summer, for crying out loud, so go out there and be sure to enjoy every minute of it.

For more valuable information on discount shopping, discount travel, please visit http://www.shoppersdiscount.com.

[tags]discount shopping, discount travel[/tags]