Top Things To Do When You Visit New Zealand

I was born and have grown up in New Zealand. Therefore In this article I thought that I would share some of my favorite places to visit and my favorite things to do whilst travelling around New Zealand. This may be interesting for you if you are planning to travel to New Zealand in the near future.

The hot water beach is located on the Coromandel Peninsular which is a region of New Zealand located on the east coast of the north island. The Hot Water Beach is called this because when you dig holes in the sand the holes fill with water which is hot. People usually dig holes to create small baths a long the beach. Below is a video of this beach.

The Bay Of Islands is located a few hundred kilometers north of Auckland. The Bay Of Islands is a beautiful place to visit. When I was a kid I stayed in Russel which is located in The Bay Of Islands and it was one of the best holidays of my life. To get to Russel you need to take a ferry from the mainland. The ferry ride doesn't take too long and you can take your car onto the ferry. There are many beautiful beaches located on the bay of islands and also plenty of things to do. We took a boat ride and went dolphin watching while we were up there. Below is a nice video which shows you some of the beautiful beaches and landscapes of The Bay Of Islands.

Hobbiton is located in Mata Mata which is located in the Waikato region of New Zealand. Hobbiton is a very popular place for tourists to visit as it is where The Lord Of The Rings movie was filmed. Although I have never visited this place myself from what I have seen from photos and videos it looks like a great place to visit. I have left a video below so you can find out a little more about this place.

Huka Falls is located near Taupo in the central north island. It is pretty much just a big river with a lot of rapids I guess is what you would call it. You can walk out onto a bridge and stand over the river and watch it flow below your feet. The amount of water flow this river has is crazy. I believe you can also go for jet boat rides on this river too. Below is a video of this amazing place.

Cape Reinga is located at the very top of the North Island. There is nothing more than a light house and a look at located at Cape Reinga but it is a beautiful place to visit. You can see both oceans from the east coast and the west coast of New Zealand meet together. I remember someone telling me that someone lives in the light house at Cape Reinga however I am not sure if this is true or not.Check out the video below for some nice views of this incredible place.

Kaikoura is a small coastal town located on the east coast of the south island. Kaikoura is one of my favorite places to have ever visited and I think if you are going to visit New Zealand you definitely have to check this place out. There are many beaches in the Kaikoura town itself and plenty more only minutes from town.I'm not sure if many people swim at these beaches or not as when visited this town it was autumn time and I don't remember them being suitable for swimming however a lot of people did surf there. The beaches often have seals on them which is pretty cool. Sometimes there are hundreds of them. Another popular thing to do is go whale watching in Kaikoura. There are boats that go out especially for this everyday. Below is a little clip of Kaikoura.

Rere rockslide is a natural water slide located near Gisborne which is located on the east coast of the north island. Many people like to slide down this rock slide on something like a body board or a tire tube. I went down this rock slide many times when I was a kid and I can assure you it is a lot of fun. I have left a video below so that you can see how fun it looks.

The luge is a very fun thing to do in Rotorua. The luge is like a kart thing which you ride down these massive hills. There was about 3 different tracks when i went. There was an easy, medium and hard track. They were all a lot of fun. When you get to the bottom you leave your cart at the bottom and get onto one of those things that they have in the ski fields which takes you back to the top and you grab another kart. I remember this being a lot of fun. I have left another video below of the luge so you can check it out for your self.

Franz Josef Glacier is a beautiful place in the south island of New Zealand. I have never been there personally but from what I have seen it is an incredible place. You can do a hike to the top to see the great scenery or you can take a helicopter ride over. Check out the video below to see more.