New Zealand in a hurry

Within a few days of arriving in New Zealand, I was already planning my next trip there.

It’s such a refreshingly unspoilt country and the scenery is so consistently and effortlessly awe inspiring, it leaves you thirsty for more before you have even left!

The trap that many people fall into when visiting New Zealand is to attempt to cram too much in, eager to see as much as possible and often under estimating journey times between places. Surely as a travel expert I would avoid such obvious pitfalls…ahem. Suffice to say it’s a case of ’do as I say, not as I do’.

With only a couple of weeks in which to explore this magical land, we certainly packed a lot in!

Here’s a quick round up of our whistle stop tour…

We flew into the south island gateway city of Christchurch and having enjoyed an evening strolling around the ’Garden City’, so called due to its abundance of parks and public gardens, we caught the early morning Tranz Alpine train to Greymouth. This was the first of several rail journeys we were to embark on with Trans Scenic, who offer rail journeys through some of New Zealand's most stunning scenery. The trains are really spacious, with huge windows and outdoor viewing platforms so you don't miss a thing! Christchurch to Greymouth takes around 4 hours and travels through the Southern Alps. The scenery slowly becomes more spectacular as the train climbs into the mountains and then crosses spectacular gorges and river valleys before descending through lush rain forest to the west coast town of Greymouth.

Having collected a small but perfectly formed hire car, we took to the open road and headed south. First stop was the awesome Fox Glacier, stretching 13kms from the southern alps towards the sea. The glacier itself and the unfeasibly picturesque Lake Matheson are the main attractions here. Heading south again, our next stop was Wanaka, often overlooked but well worth a few days of your time. One of many places I wished we could have stayed longer...located on the shores of Lake Wanaka with green hills all around, it's a beautiful place to go hiking, sailing, sky diving or to just sit in one of the lake side bars enjoying the very agreeable surroundings over a cold beer or two.

The town of Queenstown, the adrenaline activity capital of New Zealand was our next destination. Another spectacularly located town, it is surrounded by majestic mountains and sits on the shores of the crystal clear Lake Wakatipu. This is the place to head to if jumping off bridges, out of planes and into bars sounds like your kind of thing! If you like your activities a bit more sedate, don’t let that put you off, as Queenstown has some world class trekking on its doorstep, and a path around the lake which is perfect for walking or cycling.

From there we headed to Te Anau, gateway to the Fjordlands region. In my view it’s a less attractive town than either Wanaka or Queenstown, with functional motels and drive through fast food joints reinforcing the feeling that it’s not much more than a jumping off point to Milford and Doubtful sounds. In any case, it serves that function perfectly well and the area is well worth a visit. We did a kayaking trip on Milford sound and being on the water, looking up at the sheer sides of rock that stretch so high towards the sky it makes your neck ache, was an unforgettable experience.

An all day drive took us back to Christchurch where we spent the night, before catching the early morning train to Kaikoura, a small coastal town renowned for the giant sperm whales that are all year round residents. A whale watching trip is a must and you’ll probably get to see a few dolphins as well! North of Kaikoura, the railway hugs the coast before heading through the vineyards of Marlborough, famous for its Sauvignon Blanc wine. The railway runs as far north as Picton, from where the inter islander ferry to the north island departs.

Before switching islands we had a few days to relax in the Marlborough sounds area, close to Picton. This was probably my favourite place on the whole trip. Beautiful coastal scenery with untamed forest running all the way up to the sea, it’s the perfect place to relax. It’s not on the main tourist track, so it feels like you’ve uncovered a hidden gem. The world famous Queen Charlotte Track is one of the main attractions, a 71 km track where you can walk through lush coastal forest and along skyline ridges with spectacular views over the sounds.

Having reluctantly torn ourselves away, we made the 3 hour crossing to Wellington where we were to catch our last train, the over islander to Auckland. It’s a 12 hour journey but is a great way to appreciate the scale and diversity of the north island if, like us, you are pressed for time. A couple of days soaking up the ocean vistas that the city of sails is famous for and enjoying the cafe culture of the bohemian Devonport, a short ferry ride from Auckland city centre, it was time to head home all too soon.

New Zealand is somewhere I knew I would love before I even arrived and I wasn’t disappointed. I’d love to go back as soon as possible but might wait until I can spare a couple of months rather than weeks as there is just too much to see!

I booked all my accommodation, car hire and rail journeys through Travel Nation to benefit from the discounts we are able to get, as well as saving a whole load of hassle when I was there.

New Zealand is included as a free stop on almost every round the world ticket so incorporating it into a round the world trip really couldn’t be easier!

Here are a couple of examples of round the world itineraries including New Zealand:

LONDON HEATHROW – BANGKOK – surface – SINGAPORE – CAIRNS – surface – MELBOURNE – CHRISTCHURCH – surface – AUCKLAND - FIJI – LOS ANGELES – surface – NEW YORK – LONDON HEATHROW from ££1321 per person inclusive of all pre payable taxes and fuel surcharges.

LONDON HEATHROW – DELHI – surface – TRIVANDRUM – HANOI – surface – SIEM RIEP – SINGAPORE – SYDNEY – WELLINGTON – AUCKLAND – RARATONGA – LOS ANGELES – LONDON HEATHROW from £1271 per person inclusive of all pre payable taxes and fuel surcharges

For help with planning your trip to New Zealand, including arranging your flights, please contact Paul at Travel Nation : paul@travelnation.co.uk / 01273 320 571