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Originally Posted by jibber
I've thought about spending some time on the north island, maybe trying my hand at surfing (i'm aware it'll be winter, but hey, I'm canadian, cold water doesn't bother me). I know there are a lot of new zealander's on this board, so do any of you have any suggestions of what to do for the first month I'm there? I'd really like to see as much of New Zealand as possible, so any thoughts would be great. Keep in mind that I'm looking to do this as cheaply as humanly possible, like any student traveling to a foreign country.
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Depends what tickles your fancy jibber. If you enjoy scenery then you can basically go anywhere in NZ and find some form of it without having to pay the world to see it.
I'd recommend checking out Queen Charlotte Sounds, these are located at the top of the South Island and are pretty spectacular. I can't say much about the town though as it's pretty low key but definitely the scenic stuff up that end is fabulous. If you can't see any reason to go up there just for the Sounds, thats where the Ferry is situated too so maybe on your way from the South to North islands you might get to check them out, just passing by.
Also, by Wanaka where you're staying is a place called the Fiordlands. These are pretty beautiful. Then a little way up the West Coast from where you are is the Fox Glacier. I've been there once and it's an impressive sight. Just a big block of ice haha. And further up still, along the West Coast, above a town called Greymouth is a place called Punakaiki, which has the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. I'd post pics but it requires effort so heres a link to some visuals.
http://www.punakaiki.co.nz/photos.htm
Nelson is a fantastic tourist town. This is roughly top left of the Sth Island. Um Queenstown I'm sure you'll check out, another great tourist place apparently. Kaikoura, is 3/4 up the East of the Sth island and about 2 hours North of Christchurch. Kaikoura is a great place to see some whales. I think they do fairly cheap tourist trips out to have a glimpse of them.
Thats a brief layout of the South Island I don't know as much about the North Island but I could recommend you some places when the time comes
