Posts Tagged new zealand vacation
New Zealand Vacation – West Auckland Attraction
For many tourists a New Zealand vacation is a dream destination. A green country situated south-west of the Pacific Ocean in the southern hemisphere with subtropical to moderate climate. The country is split into two main Islands North Island and South Island with numerous smaller ones. Stunning scenery and extreme adventures attract with their enormous variety on a relatively small landmass. There are glaciers to climb, trails to tramp or hike. On more than 15,000km coastline are endless beaches to walk, swim and surf, whales and dolphins to watch and swim with. Sea, lakes, and creeks are a fisherman’s paradise. Exhilarating are an active volcano, white water rafting, and exploring caves. Many things more are attracting tourists. Travellers come from all over the world all year round with the peak time during November and February, the New Zealand summer.
International flights arrive predominantly at Auckland or Christchurch. The country’s biggest airport and city lie in Auckland. Here is a chance to combine beautifully metropolitan excitement and cultural life with nature’s incredible beauty. The Huraki Gulf rims the inner City coastline leaving picturesque views over beaches, bays, inlets, and islands. A myriad of sightseeing and action opportunities are available or just passing time in the sun in a nearby cafe and strolling the promenade.
Water and strand activities involve sailing, sea fishing, kayaking, and island cruising to spend an idyllic stay on one of the gulf’s islands. Other man made pastime invite to bungee jumping, Harbour Bridge climbing, or golfing. There is also room to stretch out to the outskirts of the city. There twenty one regional parks encapsulate each a different quality of the rich variety surrounding Auckland. Like this they are accessible and enjoyable in many ways for everyone.
The Waitakere Ranges Regional Park in the west is one of the largest. Walk, swim, and surf endless black iron sand beaches at the west coast. Some popular beaches are effortless accessible like Piha or Muriwai. Others like Karekare and Bethells call for a short walk to get to the water. More remote places like Whatipu and Anawhata challenge with a gravel road and a walk to reach the beach. Perfect family beaches are assigned around the Waitemata Harbour and Manukau Harbour.
The parkland has a net of two hundred forty kilometre tracks acquiring varying degrees of fitness. Stunning views over the City, Ranges, valleys, wetlands, and coastlines are the reward. Offered are 10 minute walks to overnight tramps. Discover magical places with cascades and waterfalls, waterholes or a lake bordering an inland sand dune. Take pleasure in exploring the flora in its richness. There are kauri trees New Zealandss forest giants once desired for their wood, today valued for their uniqueness. More than one hundred specimens of fern grow in this park from sizes of a couple of inches to more than 12 metres height. This makes over half of the amount home to New Zealand. The nick name The Land of the Fern found its origin in this fact. Eye catching along the coast is also the New Zealand flax and the pohutukawa trees. Flax leaves are the resource for traditional Maori weaving. The iconic pohutukawa trees fringe the coasts. Often they are called New Zealand’s Christmas trees tributed to their blooming season around Christmas time. Through their crimson red blossoms they gained international recognition and are found in gardens as far as South Africa. All in all West Auckland is a region worthwhile your time on a New Zealand vacation.
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Luxury New Zealand Vacation Packages
Traveling to New Zealand offers you a choice of two regions – the North Island and the South Island. Wherever you choose to go, a luxury New Zealand vacation package offers you outstanding cuisine, fabulous accommodations and your choice of transportation. Your options are limitless and include transportation options, theme vacation packages. Once in New Zealand, you can stay in luxury lodges, bed and breakfasts cozy inns, or trendy boutique hotels. You can also stay in country homes or beach houses all noted for their service and amenities. Your luxury New Zealand vacation package also includes transportation.
If luxury is what you are looking for, your package can include a sporty BMW or Jaguar. You can even tour the countryside on a motorcycle or enjoy the scenery from your own private helicopter. There are also private chauffeur services available if you really want comfort and luxury.
Depending on what you want to do and see in New Zealand you can customize your package to include adventure, culinary feasts that include wine tasting from some of New Zealand’s best wine regions. If you are interested in purchasing property in New Zealand, you can even go on property investment tours that are arranged through various travel agents. When you travel to New Zealand and budget is not an issue, the choices are limitless. You can choose from high quality accommodations and unique activities that go beyond what most tourists’ experience. You can go online and search the many New Zealand luxury vacation package websites to help you map out a vacation of a lifetime.
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What To Expect On A New Zealand Vacation
New Zealand is one of the most isolated and beautiful countries in the world. Most people think of the country as being just off the coast of Australia and tend to lump the two together, in fact over 1200 miles of water separates the two countries.
On a visit to New Zealand, you can experience some of the most dramatic and unspoiled landscapes anywhere on earth. New Zealand boasts snow-capped mountains, deep blue lakes, forests, geysers and boiling pools of mud. The South Island contains most of the country’s highest mountains, including Mount Cook at 12,000 feet; while the North Island has more volcanic activity.
New Zealanders do not take their beautiful country for granted, many towns and cities have walking trails and around a third of the land is designated as National Park. Also, if some parts of New Zealand look vaguely familiar, the country’s dramatic and unspoiled landscapes are featured in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.
One thing that you will immediately notice about New Zealand is that it is sparsely populated. Sheep outnumber people by about ten to one. The sea has always been important to the people of New Zealand ever since the Maoris settled on the two islands around 1000 years ago. No place in the country is more than about 80 miles from the sea.
Although the country is sparsely populated, it has become increasingly cosmopolitan, attracting immigrants from all over the world. Many New Zealanders are of British descent; there are also many immigrants from China, Korea and Japan. Around 23% of New Zealanders were born overseas, one of the highest such percentages in the world. Visitors as well as residents enjoy a high standard of living in beautiful New Zealand.
New Zealand appeals to lovers of the great outdoors and in recent years, the country has become one of the main destinations for so-called adventure travel. You can find it all in New Zealand, white water rafting, skiing, hiking, (tramping as it is called here) sky-diving, hot air ballooning, kayaking and swimming with sharks. Also, for the true thrill-seeker, the most extreme of extreme sports, bungee jumping.
Queenstown has become the unofficial capital of adventure sports as well as the most visited destination in the country. The city boasts the world’s first commercial bungee jump site. It has also become a popular destination for skiing and winter sports. Queenstown is situated in some of the country’s most beautiful scenery, in a country that is not exactly short on natural beauty.
While New Zealand is undoubtedly a major destination for outdoors enthusiasts, the country also boasts sophisticated cities and a fascinating culture. New Zealand has also been recognized for its quality wines in recent years. The country has six major wine growing regions and it is possible to spend your entire time here simply touring vineyards. There are over 80 in the Auckland area alone.
Auckland, known as the City of Sails, is where most international visitors arrive. It is the largest and most cosmopolitan city in the country and offers a wide selection of shops, nightlife, galleries and restaurants. Many visitors are surprised at the quality of the dining in Auckland – particularly recommended are those restaurants specializing in Asian and Pacific Rim cuisine.
The Maoris were the first inhabitants of New Zealand and it is difficult to travel through the country without coming across reminders of their culture and influence. The Auckland Museum is a great place to become familiar with Maori culture. For a more hands-on experience, visit the reconstructed and authentic Maori village at Tamaki. One place not to be missed is the East Cape, one of the last places where the Maori language is part of everyday life.
For much of the 19th century, New Zealand was a British colony and one of the most noticeable things to any visitor is how much parts of the country feel like Britain. The city of Christchurch, with its squares and avenues and beautiful Victorian buildings, is perhaps the most “English” of New Zealand’s cities, it even has a River Avon running through the center. The delightful town of Dunedin might have been transplanted from Scotland. Also, another aspect of New Zealand life that is good to know, New Zealanders drive on the left.
Most visitors leave New Zealand with a favorable impression. It is a country that really does have it all, wonderful scenery, vibrant cities, excellent food and wines and a fascinating culture.
Tags: auckland, mount cook, new zealand, new zealand vacation, north island, queenstown, skiing, south island, travel, vacationRelated posts