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New Zealand Cricket Museum

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The New Zealand Cricket Museum is a small museum that has exhibits relating to New Zealand’s involvement in the game of cricket. It is well worth the walk down to Basin Reserve if you’re a cricket fan.

The museum is located in the Old Grandstand at Wellington’s Basin Reserve (also known as simply The Basin), which is New Zealand’s oldest test cricket ground.

New Zealand Maritime Museum

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The New Zealand Maritime Museum in Viaduct Harbour is an excellent museum that features exhibits on New Zealand’s maritime endeavours from Maori canoes right up to the recent America’s Cup yacht race.

The museum’s permanent galleries include Maori and Polynesian canoes, displays on early European exploration of New Zealand and the Pacific region and the subsequent settlement and immigration, whaling and sealing, and the development of modern commercial shipping.

The Blue Water Black Magic exhibit focuses on New Zealand’s role in the America’s Cup yachting competition. The exhibit features NZL32, New Zealand’s winning America’s Cup entry from 1995 as well as Sir Peter Blake’s famous lucky red socks and a replica of the America’s Cup trophy.

The museum is also home to several ships including restored ships from the 19th century to more recent reproductions of historic vessels. Some of these ships, including the Ted Ashby (a ketch-rigged deck scow) are available for sailing trips (at an additional charge).

North West & Southern Circuits

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If the Rakiura Track is too easy for you, the North West and Southern Circuits (125km, 8–12 days) may be more your style. The complete hike covers most of the northern half of the island, but it can be broken into two segments, both which provide the opportunity to see kiwi in their natural habitat.

This track has huts spaced approximately one day’s walk apart.

Nydia Track

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The Nydia Track (27km; 2 days) connects Tennyson Inlet with Kaiuma Bay, near Havelock. It follows the shoreline of Nydia Bay and crosses the Kaiuma and Nydia Saddles.

The Pelorus Mail Boat offers transport packages with a bus or ferry drop off at Shag Point near the start of the track and pick up at Duncan Bay.

There is a DOC hut on the track; but most backpackers prefer to stay at the On The Track Lodge, on Nydia Bay about halfway along the track.

Oamaru blue penguin colony

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Blue penguins, also known as fairy penguins or little penguins, can be seen from the viewing platforms at the blue penguin colony at the end of Waterfront Road. This is one of the best spots in New Zealand to see blue penguins, although there are far fewer penguins here than in penguin colonies in Australia. The number of penguins that you can expect to see varies depending on the time of year, for instance between March and August you may see fewer than 30, but in December you might be able to see 200 penguins swim in to shore and waddle home to their nests.


Old St Paul's

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Old St Paul’s near the railway station is an excellent example of colonial Gothic Revival architecture. This former cathedral was built from native timbers in the 1860s and features beautiful stained glass windows.

Olveston

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This opulent 35-room mansion is home to an astounding array of treasures from around the world that were collected during the extensive travels of its former owners. A visit includes a one-hour guided tour of the property.


Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre

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The excellent Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, 5km south of Blenheim, is home to a large collection of rare aircraft.

The museum is split into two main exhibition galleries: Knights of the Sky, which focuses on aviation during The Great War (WWI) and Dangerous Skies, which focuses on aviation during the Second World War.

The Knights of the Sky exhibition features aircraft from the personal collection of film director Sir Peter Jackson as well as an excellent series of dioramas and Dangerous Skies features interactive exhibits that utilise CGI and laser projection. Both exhibitions feature mannequins from Weta Workshop.


Orakei Korako Cave & Thermal Park

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Orakei Korako (also known as the Hidden Valley) is one of the world’s largest geothermal areas, famed for both its geysers and its silica terraces including the jade-green Emerald Terrace.

Although two-thirds of the active thermal area – some 200 hot springs and 70 geysers – were flooded when a lake was formed for a hydro power plant in 1961, Orakei Korako remains the largest geyser field in New Zealand with 35 active geysers.

The most famous geyser is the Diamond Geyser, an unpredictable geyser whose eruptions of up to 9m sometimes last for several hours and other times only for a few minutes.

Orakei Korako is also home to the Ruatapu Cave – one of only two caves in the world to exist in a geothermal field.

Access to the park is by a ferry trip across Lake Ohakuri. This impressive thermal park features a dazzling array of thermal features that include hot springs, geysers and silica terraces and there is also a rare geothermal cave with a warm mineral pool.


Orana Wildlife Park

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Orana Wildlife Park is New Zealand’s only open range zoo. It is home to a large variety of animals from around the globe with the focus on African animals such as cheetahs, giraffes, lions, monkeys and meerkats. Native animals include birds such as the kaka, kea and kiwi and reptiles like the tuatara.

Otago Museum

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The excellent Otago Museum features well presented displays in three major categories: culture, science and natural history. The cultural displays include Maori and Pacific Island artefacts plus a maritime gallery and archaeological treasures from around the world. The natural history section features an animal attic with a huge collection of specimens plus unique displays about extinct birds such as the laughing owl and the massive moa. Discovery World, as the science area is known, has lots of hands-on exhibits such as a water wheel and an indoor waterfall.

Pacific Coast Lodge coach stop

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InterCity Coachlines and ManaBus coaches stop at the bus stop outside the Pacific Coast Lodge at 432 Maunganui Road south of central Mount Maunganui.

This stop is handy if you’re staying at Pacific Coast Lodge or if you’re travelling with ManaBus (which doesn’t have a more central Mount Maunganui stop).

There are direct coach services connecting Mount Maunganui to Auckland, the Coromandel Peninsula, Hamilton, Napier, Palmerston North, Rotorua and Taupo.

InterCity coach services that stop here, also in central Mount Maunganui and at the Bayfair shopping centre. There is a wider choice of coach services departing from the busier InterCity coach stop outside the i-SITE information centre in central Tauranga, including coaches to Wellington.

Paihia Wharf

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Paihia Wharf near the bus and coach stop on Marsden Road is the departure point for ferries to Russell as well as sightseeing cruises.

Fullers InterCity Ferries operate between Paihia and Russell; the 15-minute trip costs $12.50 return and ferries depart from Paihia Wharf every half hour.

There is also a car ferry, which leaves from Opua (6km south of Paihia) every 10 minutes, which can be better value if several people are travelling together.

The most popular sightseeing cruises are the cruises to the Hole in the Rock on Motukokako Island, which also offer opportunities to see dolphins.

Palmerston North bus and coach stop

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InterCity Coachlines stop in Palmerston North on their Auckland–Wellington, Gisborne–Wellington, Napier–Wellington, New Plymouth–Wellington, Palmerston North–Auckland, Tauranga–Wellington and Whanganui–Wellington routes. ManaBus coaches also stop here en route between Auckland and Wellington.

This gives Palmerston North direct coach connections with Auckland, Gisborne, Hamilton, Hastings, Napier, Ohakune, National Park, New Plymouth, Rotorua, Taupo, Wanganui and Wellington.

InterCity services (except overnight services on the Auckland–Wellington route) stop outside the i-SITE Visitor Information Centre in The Square carpark.

ManaBus and InterCity overnight services between Auckland and Wellington stop outside the courthouse on Main Street, just a short walk from the daytime coach stop.

Palmerston North railway station

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The Northern Explorer train stops at Palmerston North railway station en route between Auckland and Wellington, which runs daily (except Wednesdays). The station is also the terminus for the Capital Connection rail service that runs between Palmerston North and Wellington Monday–Friday.

The train station is on Matthews Avenue, off Tremaine Avenue, around a half-hour walk northwest of the city centre.

Paradise Valley Springs

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Paradise Valley Springs is a wildlife park/zoo just outside Rotorua that has lots of trout as well as New Zealand wildlife and a lion enclosure.

It’s not a big attraction for most budget travellers, although you can hand-feed animals such as deer, pigs and wallabies, which makes it popular with families.

 

Picton Aerodrome (PCN)

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Sounds Air fly between Wellington and the small Picton Aerodrome (PCN), also known as Koromiko airfield, which is located 9km south of town. Sounds Air also operate their own shuttle bus to and from Picton, which picks up and drops off at most hostels and hotels in town.

Flights from Wellington are competitively priced, often working out at around the same price as the ferry and they also offer scenic views over the Marlborough Sounds.

Picton ferry terminal

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The Picton ferry terminal handles Blue Bridge and Interislander ferries to Wellington.

The ferry terminal has quite good facilities including a cafe (open 8am–2pm daily), storage lockers, vending machines and Wi-Fi internet access (free in the Blue Bridge waiting area, but $2/hour in the Interislander waiting area). There is a complimentary shuttle bus that connects the ferry terminal with the Picton i-SITE information centre and Picton town centre (stopping outside Oxleys Tavern on the corner of Wellington Street and London Quay).

Most car rental agencies have their offices outside the ferry terminal and along nearby Auckland Street. InterCity coaches to Christchurch and Nelson also depart from outside the ferry terminal.

There are also water taxis that connect Picton with various spots in the Marlborough Sounds. Many backpackers use these to get to the Queen Charlotte Track and some of the more remote hostels in the Sounds.

Book Bluebridge ferry tickets here:

Picton railway station

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Picton is the northern terminus of the South Island’s rail network and the terminus for the Coastal Pacific train that runs between Picton and Christchurch via Kaikoura.

Picton train station is on Auckland Street, across the road from the i-SITE Visitor Information Centre and just a 200m-walk from the Interislander ferry terminal.

Pompallier Mission

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New Zealand’s oldest building associated with the Catholic Church has been used as a printer’s workshop as well as a tannery and storehouse. It is unique in the fact that it is the oldest surviving example of a rammed earth building. There is a museum on site featuring demonstrations of printing, binding, leatherwork and tanning.

Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre

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The Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre is a conservation centre, 25 minutes north of Masterton, where endangered wildlife including kiwi, kaka and tuatara are bred and looked after before being released into the wild.

The wildlife centre features aviaries and a nocturnal kiwi house where you can see kiwi and there are also guided tours and feeding for eels and kaka.


Punting on the Avon

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Christchurch is no substitute for Cambridge, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t try.

Punting on the Avon is one of the more pleasant ways to see the city from the river. You ride in a flat-bottomed boat propelled by a punter dressed in traditional Edwardian garb.

The standard ride is in a shared boat that holds up to 10-people with a return trip that takes around 30 minutes. For a more romantic option, go for the 45-minute private tour on a smaller boat.


Quake City

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The Quake City exhibition has displays that show the story of the earthquakes that shook Christchurch in 2010 and 2011 including exhibits on the city’s efforts to rebuild. The exhibition is run by Canterbury Museum.

Queen Charlotte Track

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The Queen Charlotte Track (71km; 3–5 days) takes in beautiful scenery on the stretch of land between Kenepuru and Queen Charlotte Sounds. Although the trail can be hiked in either direction, most people start at Ship Cove (where Captain James Cook took shelter between 1770 and 1777) and walk back toward Anakiwa near Picton.

The Queen Charlotte Track is also popular with mountain bikers, except in summer (Dec–Feb) when bikes are not permitted. It takes around 13 hours to ride the length of the track.

Ship Cove to Resolution Bay (4.5km; 2 hours)

The track begins at Ship Cove, a one hour boat ride from Picton. Captain James Cook took shelter here on five separate occasions between 1770 and 1777. There is an historic reserve here that features Cook’s Monument.

From Ship Cove, the track climbs through native bush to a lookout that offers breathtaking views to Mount Egmont (Taranaki) in the North Island and then descends to Resolution Bay where there are cabins and a campsite.

Resolution Bay to Endeavour Inlet (10.5km; 3 hours)

The track from Resolution Bay follows an old bridle path to Endeavour Inlet where there are a couple of accommodation options, but no campsite.

Endeavour Inlet to Camp Bay (11.5km; 4 hours)

From Endeavour Inlet, the track follows the shoreline to Camp Bay where there is a DOC campsite and backpackers’ accommodation at Mahana Homestead Lodge and the Punga Cove Resort.

Camp Bay to Torea Saddle (20.5km; 8 hours)

This is the hardest part of the track, but you are rewarded by breathtaking views of the sounds from the ridge-top walk. Although there are a couple of campsites on this section, many people hike it all in one day and stay in the small village of Portage, near Torea Saddle.

Torea Saddle to Mistletoe Bay (7.5km; 4 hours)

This section climbs out of Torea Saddle and follows the ridge along the highest points of the track offering more spectacular views. There is a DOC campsite at Mistletoe Bay.

Mistletoe Bay to Anakiwa (12.5km; 4 hours)

The final leg of the walk follows old bridle paths descending to a DOC campsite at Davies Bay (Umungata) before the final easy walk into Anakiwa. At Anakiwa there’s a backpackers’ hostel and a shelter with a toilet and payphone where you can wait for your transport back to Picton.

Queenstown Airport (ZQN)

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Queenstown Airport (ZQN) is New Zealand’s fourth-busiest airport. It is located in Frankton, around 8km outside Queenstown’s town centre.

Air New Zealand has direct flights to Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington as well as international services to Melbourne and Sydney; Jetstar has domestic flights to Auckland and Wellington and international flights to Gold Coast, Melbourne and Sydney; Qantas fly to Sydney and Virgin Australia fly to Brisbane and Sydney.

The airport is easily accessible by local bus (route 1) which runs every 15 minutes 6am–7pm and every half hour outside these times. The cash fare is $10, but the bus fare is only $2 if you buy a GoCard (for $5, plus a minimum $10 top-up).