8 days in NZ-north or South?
 

Taking my son on spring Break to NZ and we will have about 8 touring days, so that means only one island. Probably won't be able to go back, so if you could only do one island-which is best? He is 22 and active. I can keep up a bit, but will be doing more spectating!

No contest, the South Island!

Ditto--the South Island. And if he's an active 22 year old, he'll probably enjoy a lot of the activities around Queenstown.

Do you like mountains or beaches? What kind of activities does you son like? Would he want to bungee jump, hike, or surf? How about you? What do you like to do? Do you like looking at wildlife, scenery, visit towns and cities or prefer more rural activities? Are you interested in history and culture?
Queenstown is beautiful, for sure, but there it isn't the only beautiful place in NZ. You can see more in eight days.

I agree. South Island.

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Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

South.

thanks-I think South wins! He likes hiking, beaches, adventure-I will have to step up and do some spectating!

out of curiosity for those who posted South - I'm planning a similar amount of time later this year (october) - are there any must-see locations on the North Island? We'll be flying in from Fiji, so I think the Mountains and Hiking will be more on order. Several friends did a 'famous' bungee jump, and I've read other posts about whale watching and whitewater rafting. Anyone have info/POCs? My wife, myself, and the friends we'll be traveling with are all active and love the outdoors, but we'll also be traveling with small kids and my parents (65+). Looking to maximize the fun for everyone.

Husky922 -

In our many visits to NZ, we've only visited the NI once. We visited Rotorua, Napier, Bay of Islands, Coromandel Peninsula, did some diving at Poor Knights, Waitomo Caves, Wellingon. We enjoyed it well enough, but not enough to make a return visit. It just didn't speak to us the way the SI does, and it's more densely populated which doesn't appeal to us. Yes, there are plenty of reasons to visit, but if you have to choose between the two, the SI is the way to go IMO.

awesome, thanks! I guess I'll bypass NI then. Will probably feel less hectic and let us enjoy the time a bit more too!

How much time do you have altogether Husky?

North Island has more in the way of thermal areas, volcanos (including the Tongariro Crossing with views of Mt. Doom), several gannet colonies (Muriwai is very accessible), and some beautiful swimmable beaches up in the far north (Matai Bay). Also more of the Maori culture is evident in the NI.

South Island has the alpine scenery, sheep farms, glaciers, fiords, and chances to see penguins, albatross, etc. It's more the typical scenery that NZ is famous for.

hmm... I guess I'll have to start doing some serious research then. :) We have roughly 3 weeks to see all 3 countries, I'm trying to figure out how to divide it up still. As a jumping off point, was figuring a week in each, with maybe a couple extra days in Australia.
We're currently living on Guam and with Fiji and the Barrier Reef on the itinerary don't feel a strong need to see/do beaches unless there's a specific reason. My Dad and I are huge Tolkien fans, so we're naturally drawn to want to see some of those landscapes. Mountains, volcanoes, wildlife, cultural experiences, etc sound perfect.

Regarding Lord of the Ring shooting locations:
http://www.filmnz.com/middleearth/locations/index.html

haha, nice! Thanks, this might be fun. We aren't so crazy about it that we feel a need to see the actual locations, merely wanted to get a sense of the places that inspired the films.

Agreed with above, go to the South Island and definitely look into a walking tour by The Wayfarers. I do some work with Lexus Magazine and The tour group was actually listed in their top Hot & Cold destination spots. You'd walk for about 4 - 7 miles a day, but that isn't so bad when you are surrounded by such gorgeous scenery.

I totally suggest it: http://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexu...-and-Cold.html

It has to be the South Island, especially if he's very active.

I just came back from NZ with my sons who are 18 and 20. We all loved the south island. Scenery and hiking is amazing everywhere. Doubtful Sound and Milford are not to be missed. If I were choosing for one week, I say south. But, that said, on the North my boys loved Zorbing in Rotorua (we skipped all the rest of touristy Rotorua), and the highlight was the Tongariro Crossing on a beautiful day. They even climbed Mt. Ngauruhoe (Mt Doom) and have some amazing photos of each other on the crater.

This article just came out about "Extreme Queenstown":
http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/01/30...pagewanted=all

I am another one for the South Island.