Help needed - interesting places to visit in NZ

[Bob]

Hi All,

A friend of mine at work is going to be visiting New Zealand for three weeks - in about a fortnight I think.

His itinerary is:

Wellington,
Palmerston North,
Taupo,
Rotorua,
Tauranga,
Auckland

He will be over with his wife and two boys (aged something like 10 and 12 I think).

What I was wondering was... do you have any suggestions for interesting - and possibly even "unusual/not touristy" places to visit at the above destinations? Bear in mind wife and two kids, so they have to be 'family friendly'!

Sadly, he won't be riding a bike when he is there (due to wife and two kids...), but he is a Boxer Cup replica rider, so he is "one of us" as it were.

Any suggestions hugely appreciated.

Thanks in advance for the assist,

Bob.

[Cajun]

Hi All,

A friend of mine at work is going to be visiting New Zealand for three weeks - in about a fortnight I think.

His itinerary is:

Wellington,
Palmerston North,
Taupo,
Rotorua,
Tauranga,
Auckland

He will be over with his wife and two boys (aged something like 10 and 12 I think).

What I was wondering was... do you have any suggestions for interesting - and possibly even "unusual/not touristy" places to visit at the above destinations? Bear in mind wife and two kids, so they have to be 'family friendly'!

Sadly, he won't be riding a bike when he is there (due to wife and two kids...), but he is a Boxer Cup replica rider, so he is "one of us" as it were.

Any suggestions hugely appreciated.

Thanks in advance for the assist,

Bob.

tauranga - not really a hell of alot, people come here the beach, thats really about it.

[White trash]

The Hutt motorway from Melling south on a Thursday night after 11pm is a fairly interesting spot.

[marty]

there's nothing interesting in palmerston north, unless you like flat, windy places.

rotorua just smells, although i would recommend a MTB ride in the forest (hire bikes from one of the shops) followed by a swim in the blue lake.

a walk around, or better, to the top of the mount (tauranga) is awesome on a nice day

wellington? how about a return ferry trip to picton for a day trip.

taupo - it's all go this weekend with the ironman, otherwise it's just a tourist spot. Nonni's Cafe is the pick of them.

Auckland? i was there yesterday, and it's still a shambles. how about a walk/swim on takapuna beach, the sky tower is ok for a visit, but a ferry trip to waiheke, or over to rangitoto and walk up to the top is an awesome day out.

shame he's not stopping in hamilton..........could do laps with the boy racers :)

[bear]

Te Papa (museum) in Wellington is good for kids and adults, apparently the National Museum, and it's free!

[PSYCHO]

Sounds like your mate is goin to the wrong island! :spudwhat:

[moko]

Cant believe all the negative stuff posted here so far.
Taupo?,fair enough,it`s like Southend and even had the same shit weather when I was there.Rotorua,loads to do.Up in the cable-car,the museum`s good.Before you go to sleep they do a great show about the time the top blew off of Mt.Tarawera(think that`s right),dont spoil it for them but the fun bit is that when the fireworks start on screen(and it`s kid-friendly entertainment as well as informative)the seats shake,brilliant.Then they can go and see the buried village that the show`s all about.All around Rotorua are things to do,ride horses,quad bikes,fish whatever.O.k. it smells but where are they going to see geysers and mud-pools in Britain?London smells but that dosnt seem to put the tourists off and the people are 100% friendlier,much better chance of finding an English speaker as well.The Tamaki Maori village is great fun too,in fact a must for the foreign tourist I`d say.
The glow-worm caves at Waitomo are good.I had dinner in the Sky-tower in Auckland but didnt spend a lot of time their,semed a bit too much like home to interest me a lot,the absence of random acts of violence and vandalism by marauding drunks was a pleasant change.

[Holy Roller]

Craters of the moon in Taupo is a free board walk to view geothermal activity though in recent years the display has not been the best. Across the road at Huka Falls is an awesome waterfall very spectactular.
In Rotorua's Hells Gate the geothermal activity is the best as it is condensed into a smaller area.
Depending on finances there is heaps of fun things to do in Taupo and Rotorua. Horse treks, quad bike adventure rides through the forest, mazes, 4X4 adventure rides just out of Rotorua. Gravity hill in Taupo is an off road boarding course, skate boards with huge wheels the kids love this.

Looks like your friend will only have a couple of days in each place including travel. They will see lots of the country but will need to choose what they do and see. Do a google search on each of the areas to see some of what is there to help with planning.

[Motu]

They need to see Southwards Museum if he's into cars/bikes/mechanical things,do a cape,either west or east - better yet,don't do a cape and take a short cut,like SH43 on the Taranaki side,Coromandel is a must...right to the top,not the sports bike tour.Just tell him to stay off SH1 and follow his nose...better yet,get his kids to tell him where they want to go.

[vifferman]

Wellington: Definitely Te Papa, and (surprisingly) the Maritime Museum nearby was excellent. Also the cablecar is worthwhile.

Taupo: Apart from Craters of the Moon, there's a honey place just north of there that's good, and we went sailing on a barque there one time, which was really good, trout hatchery at Turnagi (south of Taupo).

Rotorua: The luge, trout hatchery at Paradise Valley, visit Mokoia Island, Polynesian Pools, drive around the lakes, Whakarewarewa, Waimangu Thermal resort (just south of Rotorua) combined with a boat trip on Lake Tarawera which adjoins Waimangu.

Tauranga: The Mount, Tauranga Historic Village, The Gables.

D'Auckland: SkyTower, Kelly Tarltons, Tiritiri Matangi Island, Rangitoto, the picnic in the Domain or at Western Springs.

[Blakamin]

Cant believe all the negative stuff posted here so far.
after all that, you still didnt come up with anything for palmerston north... I cant either...
Palmerston North has no tourism!!!!

[vifferman]

after all that, you still didnt come up with anything for palmerston north... I cant either...
Palmerston North has no tourism!!!!
Actually, the gallery there is very good.

[bugjuice]

kinda agree with Moko about all the bitchin.. I think some people here need to go on holiday else where so they can appreciate NZ a bit more.

I met an older couple at Mission Bay a few weeks ago with Swanman, they were from the UK and had just arrived. They asked us where they should go to and not miss etc. They had plans to hire a vehicle and travel down to the South Island.. Compared to most places, there isn't anywhere they shouldn't really visit. Almost everywhere has it's own thing, and if not, then there's normally something just down the road to make up for it..
The amount of people (not just here) who bitch on about NZ, how many of those have lived outside of NZ for a good period of time? You all make it out to be the hell-hole of earth..

[jimbo600]

Karori wildlife sanctuary in Wellington is good for the family as is Mount Bruce reserve North of Masterton. Ferry ride to Somes Island then onto Eastbourne is good too.

Watching boy racers get their cars towed on a Thursday nights is also good family value.

[Bob]

Thanks all... when the suggestions started rolling in, anyway! I'll be sure to pass them on - and I'll give thanks on his behalf. Especially for the ones that the kids can enjoy as well - it'll be very useful.

As for the bitching... it just seems to be a fact of life - if you live somewhere, you take it for granted.

For example, I lived in Southend (as it was mentioned) for three years... within a mile of the famous pier. I went there exactly once in all that time. I now live in London - but it is only recently we've got back into exploring it a bit more. And a friend of mine actually works 2 minutes from the Tower of London (he sees it out of his office window), but has never visited it.

My wife is originally from Gloucester - and is going back for a visit soon and mentioned a friend of hers said she's like to go there. Laura's response was "It's only Gloucester". To her yes, but to her friend? Somewhere she has never been, beautiful countryside, lovely country pubs etc.

I think sometimes you have to try to think like a stranger in your own backyard... suddenly you realise there is a lot more around than you first thought.

(Though I did have to smile when one of Laura's friends came down from Gloucester to us in London with her boyfriend - who was a pompous twat. He sat down and announced "Well what is there to do in London then?" as if there was nothing at all in the largest city in the country! We turned it on it's head and asked what he'd like to do "Well a show would be good" - we've got more theatres per mile than just about anywhere barring Broadway! And then he said something about sharks... so we took him to the giant aquarium on the banks of the Thames... Smug grin wiped neatly off face...)

[Motu]

I lived on Waiheke Island and was totaly blasie about it - I walked over a totaly deserted gravel road every morning and got a panoramic view of Auckland from the top of the hill,on the way home I saw out to Gt Barrier.If I rode home in summer I'd look down at the beach,if I saw our car parked there I would go and have a swim and picnic dinner with the family.Tourists would come over and go..like...wow! I was like...so what? I gotta earn a bloody living in this dump!

[Blackbird]

Bob, if they have time, they should go up to the Coromandel Peninsula which is (sort of) between Tauranga and Auckland. Breathtaking scenery, unspoiled and lots to do: http://www.thecoromandel.com/coromandel.html. With all the stunning bike roads up there, it will drive him mad in a car!!!

I'll be up there this weekend with another Kiwibiker website member with a 'bird, plus a 'bird owner from the UK who is honeymooning up there! Birds of a feather etc.... :done:

Geoff

[marty]

who was bitching? i've been all round the world, and i love THIS place. bob was asking for non-tourist things to do. i did forget about the luge at rotorua though - that is cool fun. a lot of non-tourist things need a local guide to maximise the time spent (same anywhere in the world). hey if they wanted/had time, i'll take them waterskiing at karapiro, or a pillion ride over hobbitville way...

[FROSTY]

Bob--Ill see if I can dig up one of those touristy web site things.
There tons to do all over this country.
Thres bike racing -um Bike racing -ohh and bike racing. :wari: :wari:
Wellywood welll for me the highlight was Te Papa -its a meuseum but really cool.The night life is pretty good down there too.
Taupo has bungy jumping ,quad rides ,sailing ,jetskis,and a bunch more.
Rotovegas has much the same thing --If hes staying in a motel tell him to make sure he gets one with a thermal spa pool.
Auckland has Kelly Tarltons,The skuytower,cool vinyards,harbour cruises,and a whole bunch more.
Id suggest he heads up to the bay of islands if hes into cool scenery -that place rocks.
Now if hes a biker wanting good bike roads --well then MAYYYTE
then we'd be talking a whole new kettle of fish.

[Rainbow Wizard]

Tauranga: The Mount, Tauranga Historic Village, The Gables.
The village is gonzo, and I think by The Gables you mean The Elms Mission House.
For $100 per person you can go on an all day dolphin watch cruise aboard a 60 foot cat that will eventually have a sail.

[Skyryder]

Sounds like your mate is goin to the wrong island! :spudwhat:

Definately, but with wife and kids the Coro loop has be one of the places to visit.
Do the loop so that the coast is on the left side. That way if you want to stop and look at the view or whatever there is no sitting in the middle of the road etc. Take your time on this. Great trip.

Skyryder

[riffer]

There's also the Elvis Museum in Hawera.

I'm serious here... :yeah: