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JustJohn
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Location: Your computer screen
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 Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 11:43 pm Post subject: New Zealand |
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Thinking about maybe traveling there this summer. Bunch of questions:
Is July/August a good time to go? Are there lots of hiking opportunities? Other nature stuff? What would you recommend seeing? Expensive or cheap? What cities would I want to visit? (I like clean cities with interesting photo ops, Campus areas, art/music, walking streets, and other "culture-y" stuff.) |
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blackjack
Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Location: anyang
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| Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 1:46 am Post subject: |
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July august is not a good time to go, middle of winter, wet, cold and windy. I hate to say it but if you are going for culture I don't think new zealand is the best place to go. New Zealand is a very new country. I would avoid the cities.
If you want nature yes. I worked for the department of conservation as a park ranger and some of huts would get visited maybe one or twice a year.
If you really want to go I recommend the south Island (a lot drier in winter), either tasman bay then down the west coast or queenstown area (queenstown will be packed due to the ski season).
Cities (been everywhere but am a country boy at heart)
Auckland big (area wise), no public transport, boring, nasty underground culture, nice islands
Hamilton flat, boring
Wellington, windy, cold, nice city centre and nightlife
Palmerston North most of NZ pretends it does not exist
Christchurch flat, nasty underground culture, boring.
Rotorua interesting if you haven't been to a geothermal area before, lots of interesting places close by, expensive
Queenstown, beautiful, party capital, adventure capital expensive
If you want hiking, beaches etc go in summer, if you want skiing and hunting go in winter
If you want more details pm me |
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blackjack
Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Location: anyang
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| Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 1:48 am Post subject: |
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| re-reading this I make it sound very negative, but to tell the truth I do love the place, but I am not a culture type person, more of a country nature boy |
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n�fara
Joined: 14 Jul 2007
Location: The Island
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| Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 2:41 am Post subject: |
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I love New Zealand.
Travelled around there a couple of years ago. Definitely the south island is a great place to explore. Bought a car and a road atlas while I was there and just toured around the south. Tonnes of nature stuff to do there. It seems like almost everywhere you go there is a conservation area, or a place to camp, or go hiking.
When I was there in July/August, the weather in the north around Paihia wasn't too bad, nice, not hot, but not really that cold either.
The weather in Wellington in August was cold, and windy, but I still enjoyed myself there.
You should have a good time! But it would be better to go during the New Zealand summertime. |
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JustJohn
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Location: Your computer screen
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| Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 6:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Hmm, alright. Thanks for the info. |
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wormholes101
Joined: 11 Mar 2003
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| Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 10:27 pm Post subject: Re: New Zealand |
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| JustJohn wrote: |
| Is July/August a good time to go? |
Not really. July/August is winter so the temperature will be usually in the teens (celcius) and perhaps down to zero at nights. Expect some rain but not monsoon or anything like that.
http://www.tourism.net.nz/new-zealand/about-new-zealand/weather-and-climate.html
| JustJohn wrote: |
| Are there lots of hiking opportunities? Other nature stuff? What would you recommend seeing? Expensive or cheap? |
There are loads of hiking (we call it tramping) opportunities. The premier tramp is the Milford Track but you'll have to reserve a place as soon as possible. The wait times can be up to two years. Another great walk is the Able Tasman tramp. Tramping is cheap and even cheaper if you bring your own tent. Otherwise,. most tramps have huts to stay in along the way.
http://tramper.co.nz/
| JustJohn wrote: |
| What cities would I want to visit? (I like clean cities with interesting photo ops, Campus areas, art/music, walking streets, and other "culture-y" stuff.) |
The most culture-y city is Wellington, the capital.
Napier is also an interesting city because it was demolished by an earthquake in the 70's and thus most of the buildings are in art deco 70's style. |
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xtchr
Joined: 23 Nov 2004
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| Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 5:42 am Post subject: Re: New Zealand |
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[quote="wormholes101
Napier is also an interesting city because it was demolished by an earthquake in the 70's and thus most of the buildings are in art deco 70's style.[/quote]
NB: I am being pedantic.
The Napier earthquake was in 1931. |
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wormholes101
Joined: 11 Mar 2003
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| Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 8:21 pm Post subject: |
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 My Bad... should have checked the facts b4 posting 
Anyhow, still an interesting city... |
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CabbageTownRoyals
Joined: 14 Sep 2006
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| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 6:39 am Post subject: |
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Hi wormholes, long time no see 
Wally misses you...
Sorry but I have to disagree with you. Any time is a good time to visit NZ. If you're into snowboarding/skiing then its an ideal time. Plus, the south island is just stunning in winter, snowcapped peaks, but not so cold on the lower altitudes. You can be wearing a t shirt in june/july then drive up into the mountains and see snow...
Everything is good, all the time. haha, who's missing NZ?  |
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dwitch
Joined: 04 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 4:59 pm Post subject: |
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| blackjack wrote: |
July august is not a good time to go, middle of winter, wet, cold and windy. I hate to say it but if you are going for culture I don't think new zealand is the best place to go. New Zealand is a very new country. I would avoid the cities.
 OH!MY GOD!! HOW WRONG YOU ARE>THE ONLY THING YOU GOT CORRECT WAS THAT JULY IS THE MIDDLE OF WINTER!
If you want nature yes. I worked for the department of conservation as a park ranger and some of huts would get visited maybe one or twice a year.
ARE YOU SURE IT WASN'T ANTARTICA 
 HA!HA!HA! OR DID YOU WORK WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED
If you really want to go I recommend the south Island (a lot drier in winter), either tasman bay then down the west coast or queenstown area (queenstown will be packed due to the ski season).
BOTH ISLANDS HAVE EQUALLY BEAUTIFUL SIGHTS AND ADVENTURE TOURISM
Cities (been everywhere but am a country boy at heart)
Auckland big (area wise), no public transport, boring, nasty underground culture, nice island
DONT THINK YOU SAW MUCH OF NEW ZEALAND
SO! SO! WRONG DIDN"T YOU SEE THE BUSES, TRAINS, FERRIES,OR DID YOU STILL HAVE YOUR EYES CLOSED!
Hamilton flat, boring
WRONG AGAIN!!TRY A CRUISE DOWN THE RIVER ON A PADDLE STEAMER
Wellington, windy, cold, nice city centre and nightlife
WINDY COLD YES IN "WINTER"
Palmerston North most of NZ pretends it does not exist
WRONG AGAIN!!
Christchurch flat, nasty underground culture, boring.
THIS IS"THE GARDEN CITY" WITH THE AVON RIVER THAT FLOWS THROUGH THE BOTANICAL GARDENS, YOU CAN HIRE A ROW BOAT ,CANOE ETC, IT'S.A FLAT CITY SURROUNDED BY HILLS AND MOUNTAINS CERTAINLY NOT BORING.
Rotorua interesting if you haven't been to a geothermal area before, lots of interesting places close by, expensive
THIS IS WHERE YOU WILL FIND THE MAORI CULTURE
Queenstown, beautiful, party capital, adventure capital expensive
GOT THAT ONE CORRECT 
If you want hiking, beaches etc go in summer, if you want skiing and hunting go in winter
CORRECT AGAIN
If you want more details pm me |
I DONT THINK YOU HAVE THE DETAILS CORRECT>PERHAPS YOU SHOULD LEAVE THE DETAILS TO A NATIVE OF NEW ZEALAND!!   |
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wormholes101
Joined: 11 Mar 2003
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| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 6:14 pm Post subject: |
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| CabbageTownRoyals wrote: |
Hi wormholes, long time no see
Wally misses you...
Sorry but I have to disagree with you. Any time is a good time to visit NZ. If you're into snowboarding/skiing then its an ideal time. Plus, the south island is just stunning in winter, snowcapped peaks, but not so cold on the lower altitudes. You can be wearing a t shirt in june/july then drive up into the mountains and see snow...
Everything is good, all the time. haha, who's missing NZ? |
I guess I meant relatively speaking, winter is worse than summer. But yes, anytime is a good time to visit NZ (especially the south island), the winter has about as much rain as NZ summer in general...
Still, even winter doesn't have that many rainy days; 16/90 is only a 17% chance of rain on any given day. Wellington is a bit miserable in winter, wouldn't you agree? 
I'm looking forward to going back this summer for couple of month! mmm... summer in the bay of islands, swimming, diving, camping by the beach, bbqs and a few cold Tuis! |
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blackjack
Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Location: anyang
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| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 10:32 pm Post subject: |
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| dwitch wrote: |
| blackjack wrote: |
July august is not a good time to go, middle of winter, wet, cold and windy. I hate to say it but if you are going for culture I don't think new zealand is the best place to go. New Zealand is a very new country. I would avoid the cities.
OH!MY GOD!! HOW WRONG YOU ARE>THE ONLY THING YOU GOT CORRECT WAS THAT JULY IS THE MIDDLE OF WINTER!
Auckland is getting minus temps in the mornings at the moment and it is getting dark at around 5.30 in the evening. While the south island is normally dry in winter the chances of long periods of cold rain is much greater in winter. He is planning a holiday, while it rains in summer, there is less chance of getting a couple of weeks of rain
If you want nature yes. I worked for the department of conservation as a park ranger and some of huts would get visited maybe one or twice a year.
ARE YOU SURE IT WASN'T ANTARTICA
HA!HA!HA! OR DID YOU WORK WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED
I worked as a park ranger in the Ruahine ranges, some of those back country huts were only visited a couple of times a year (according to the hut log books, which not every one fills out by most do). Sure the more popular huts get busy, esp national park huts, b ut it easy to find huts that rarely get visited
If you really want to go I recommend the south Island (a lot drier in winter), either tasman bay then down the west coast or queenstown area (queenstown will be packed due to the ski season).
BOTH ISLANDS HAVE EQUALLY BEAUTIFUL SIGHTS AND ADVENTURE TOURISM
I agree to an extent, but the south island tends to have better weather and to me the south island is more beautiful (I grew up in the north island). Most people that visit NZ want to see nature and are there for a couple of weeks, not enough time to see both islands.
Cities (been everywhere but am a country boy at heart)
Auckland big (area wise), no public transport, boring, nasty underground culture, nice islands
DONT THINK YOU SAW MUCH OF NEW ZEALAND
SO! SO! WRONG DIDN"T YOU SEE THE BUSES, TRAINS, FERRIES,OR DID YOU STILL HAVE YOUR EYES CLOSED!
public transport in auckland is expensive, often late, to get places you often need several transfers (each time buying a new ticket). I lived in auckland most of my life, why do you think most epople there have cars.
Hamilton flat, boring
WRONG AGAIN!!TRY A CRUISE DOWN THE RIVER ON A PADDLE STEAMER
okay thats one thing, and sure raglan has good surfing, but the night life is boring and no culture
Wellington, windy, cold, nice city centre and nightlife
WINDY COLD YES IN "WINTER"
the op was talking about going in winter
Palmerston North most of NZ pretends it does not exist
WRONG AGAIN!!
I lived there for 5 years, there are some good tramping places near by, but other than cheap accomidation and 1000s of university girls there is not much going for the wasteland known as palmy
Christchurch flat, nasty underground culture, boring.
THIS IS"THE GARDEN CITY" WITH THE AVON RIVER THAT FLOWS THROUGH THE BOTANICAL GARDENS, YOU CAN HIRE A ROW BOAT ,CANOE ETC, IT'S.A FLAT CITY SURROUNDED BY HILLS AND MOUNTAINS CERTAINLY NOT BORING.
Sorry I just don't like christchurch, i find it violent and boring, a place to spend a couple of nights in transit. (but christchurch is one of the few cities in NZ I haven't lived in.
Rotorua interesting if you haven't been to a geothermal area before, lots of interesting places close by, expensive
THIS IS WHERE YOU WILL FIND THE MAORI CULTURE
This is where you will find the expensive tourist maori culture (my girl friend loved it tho). I would recommend it.
Queenstown, beautiful, party capital, adventure capital expensive
GOT THAT ONE CORRECT
If you want hiking, beaches etc go in summer, if you want skiing and hunting go in winter
CORRECT AGAIN
If you want more details pm me |
I DONT THINK YOU HAVE THE DETAILS CORRECT>PERHAPS YOU SHOULD LEAVE THE DETAILS TO A NATIVE OF NEW ZEALAND!! |
I am a NZ native lived there for 24 of my 27 years, and have lived or spent significant time in all of the cities that I listed.
The op was asking after culture and while NZ does have art galleries and museums (auckland museum is nice), But I wouldn't recommend NZ for culture in the same way as I wouldn't recommend korea for beaches, australia for skiing, or LA for piece and quiet. |
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dwitch
Joined: 04 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 2:15 pm Post subject: |
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:wink:Blackjack,
In regards to culture the op would probably regard NZ culture to be totally diferent to his own .I totally agree with you being a country boy.No offence. Maybe what NZ has to offer looks different in our perspectives. Dont put the op off  I am sure he would have a wonderful experience no matter what time of the year he visited. |
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genezorm
Joined: 01 Jul 2007
Location: Mokpo
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| Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 8:22 pm Post subject: |
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the best advice i have heard regarding tourism in New Zealand comes from their consulate "New Zealand: Don't Expect Much And You Will Love It",
and "New Zealand Rocks!!!" |
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Toon Army
Joined: 12 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 11:44 pm Post subject: |
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just out of interest how much does a flight ticket
typically from Seoul - NZ? |
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