Never flat, often mysterious, and always green, New Zealand manages to seem both exotic and homespun. In the morning, you can pull on a wet suit to delve deep into spooky underground caves, share a cup of hot soup with tattooed Maoris at noon, and by nightfall, be dressed up to feast on grilled salmon in an Auckland skyscraper.
Since there’s so much to do, it makes sense to stay on the ground, not fly from place to place, so you don’t miss the adventure lurking around the next bend in the road. Here are three ways to do it:
(1.) Drive It: Refreshingly free of clogged highways, New Zealand’s pastoral beauty invites you to sit back and just groove. Sign up for a nine-night, fly-drive package from Australia New Zealand Vacations ( 800-588-3186 ), which includes a round-trip flight on Air New Zealand from L.A. to Auckland, a rental car, and accommodations in a network of country B&Bs on both the north and south islands for $1,488 per person (after December 8, the price rises to $1,898). Your compact car has a manual transmission, but since driving on the left is hard enough already, upgrade to an automatic for an extra $108.
On the South Island, about 100 miles southwest of Queenstown, choose The Cats Whiskers Inn, a no-frills (but comfortable) three-room villa in Te Anau, better known as the home of the three million-acre Fiordland National Park. From there, head north on a spectacular short drive past lakes mirroring the surrounding jagged peaks, through a hand-dug tunnel of solid rock, and into valleys ribboned with waterfalls.
(2.) Walk It: New Zealand’s Maori culture traces all the way back to the first Arawa canoe that found its way to the Pacific shores in 1350. The best place to experience the life of this seagoing tribe is in Rotorua, the North Island’s geothermal wonderland. There are plenty of bus tours to guide you through the city’s maze of Maori artifacts, but since Rotorua has so much to see—and so many spots to park for the day—it makes sense to go it alone, and on foot.
Visit the Bath House Museum and Art Gallery, a 1907 Tudor-style mansion that’s home to many important Maori carvings and other works of art. Stop in St. Faith Anglican Church with its Maori statues and scrollwork lining the walls. Later come back to the daily Maori concerts and feasts ($25) at the three-year-old Royal Lakeside Novotel ( 800-668-6835 ). This month, the hotel’s 199 modern rooms, with queen-size beds and huge windows overlooking Lake Rotorua, cost $97 a night including breakfast.
(3.) Rail it: Pick up your "Best of New Zealand Rail Pass" ($210Ð$650 per person) and see both islands on Tranz Rail, the national railroad (011-64-4498-3000). Choose between eight long-distance scenic routes, using the InterIslander ferry as your link across Cook Strait. On the North Island, take the Overlander route, which runs between Auckland and Wellington. Along the way, you’ll cross misty hill farms before climbing the Raurimu Spiral to a volcanic plateau.
Hotels along the way are up to you, and many passengers disembark at Tongariro National Park, home of The Grand Chateau. Built in 1929 at the base of Mt. Ruapehu (to take advantage of summer trekking and winter skiing), the 64 Deco rooms offer views of the mountains for just $93 a night (011-64-7892-3809). End your journey aboard the South Island’s TranzAlpine Express. The classic four-and-a-half-hour trip goes from Christchurch to Greymouth, on a narrow-gauge rail that crawls across the Southern Alps.
WHAT YOU WANT TO KNOW...
Tips Accepted: True, there’s still some debate about this tip-sensitive culture, but we’ve found gratuities are welcome. Think 10 percent, not 20.
Cheers: You can find Aussie wines on U.S. racks, but Kiwi vintages are harder to come by—and just as good. Stop by Marlborough’s Allan Scott vineyard and sample the dry ’98 Riesling—they’ll even ship a case home (011-64-3572-9054; $90).
Spin Cycle: Bungee jumping began at Queenstown’s Kawarau River (it was credited to A. J. Hackett in 1988); where better to take the plunge (011-64-3442-7100; $55Ð$75)? In a nation known for weird thrills, there’s already a newer hair-raising ride on the scene: zorbing. Climb inside a clear plastic ball and roll down a grassy hill in Rotorua (011-64-2585-0628; $15).
Kiwi Birds: Most areas known for the three-pound birds, which lay one-pound eggs, have been cleared for sheep. But at the Kiwi House and Native Bird Park (011-64-7873-7391; $4), you can view the nocturnal birds all day long.
One Call: After the 13-hour flight from L.A., the tourist office can’t help with your jet lag, but they will send maps and booklets ( 310-395-7480 ). |
