See & Do
Tours & Sightseeing
What do you get when you combine the natural entrepreneurial skills of New Zealanders with an innate pride in showing visitors their country? The result is an ever-increasing number of tours and sightseeing options, and because it's New Zealand, the best ones are run with a personal touch and usually include active ways to experience the spectacular New Zealand countryside.
A popular way for independent travellers to get around is in a self-catering camper van or in a rental car. Popular camper van companies include Maui (0800 651 080, www.maui.co.nz) and Britz (0800 831 900, www.britz.co.nz). Spaceships (09 309 8777, www.spaceships.tv/) are a unique Kiwi invention which combine the drivability of a car with the practicality of a camper fan. Younger backpackers gravitate to the intensely social hop on-hop off Kiwi Experience bus network (09 366 9830, www.kiwiexperience.com). In the North Island the most interesting tours showcase coastal areas such as Coromandel and the Bay of Islands, explore the wine areas of Auckland, Hawke’s Bay and the Wairarapa, and provide straightforward access to mountains, lakes and rivers.
Whether it’s by sea, by air or on land, and whether it’s from the comfort of a vehicle, the relative comfort of a bicycle seat or on your own two feet, sightseeing in the South Island is about as good as it gets anywhere in the world.
And with many of the tourists who have been drawn to New Zealand in recent years being of an adventurous bent, there has been a huge scramble to occupy adventure ‘destinations’, offering activities to the wandering adrenaline-junky.
The stream of sightseers to both islands was given a fillip by the use of much of the natural beauty of the landscape as locations and backdrops to the filming of The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. Many tour companies have added an extra string to their bow showing off sites that have acquired a whole new dimension from their screen roles.
A popular way for independent travellers to get around is in a self-catering camper van or in a rental car. Popular camper van companies include Maui (0800 651 080, www.maui.co.nz) and Britz (0800 831 900, www.britz.co.nz). Spaceships (09 309 8777, www.spaceships.tv/) are a unique Kiwi invention which combine the drivability of a car with the practicality of a camper fan. Younger backpackers gravitate to the intensely social hop on-hop off Kiwi Experience bus network (09 366 9830, www.kiwiexperience.com). In the North Island the most interesting tours showcase coastal areas such as Coromandel and the Bay of Islands, explore the wine areas of Auckland, Hawke’s Bay and the Wairarapa, and provide straightforward access to mountains, lakes and rivers.
Whether it’s by sea, by air or on land, and whether it’s from the comfort of a vehicle, the relative comfort of a bicycle seat or on your own two feet, sightseeing in the South Island is about as good as it gets anywhere in the world.
And with many of the tourists who have been drawn to New Zealand in recent years being of an adventurous bent, there has been a huge scramble to occupy adventure ‘destinations’, offering activities to the wandering adrenaline-junky.
The stream of sightseers to both islands was given a fillip by the use of much of the natural beauty of the landscape as locations and backdrops to the filming of The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. Many tour companies have added an extra string to their bow showing off sites that have acquired a whole new dimension from their screen roles.
