Posts Tagged ‘New Zealand’
What A Waiheke Island Vacation Has to Offer
Waiheke Island is a quite beautiful sub-tropical island, situated in Hauraki Gulf. A half hour ferry ride from Auckland, New Zealand will take you to this haven of more than 100 kilometers of shoreline and golden beaches. It’s the perfect escape from the fast and stressful city life and even a short holiday here could fully replenish your body and mind.
The Frommers Travel Guide nominated it as one of the finest tourist locations on earth in 2009. It’s surrounded by the lovely blue Pacific Ocean and miles of breathtaking clear beaches. The residents make up about 3,000 of the overall population on this island. Waiheke Island features a characteristic unhurried pace of life because the inhabitants continue to be untouched by the frantic pace of city life.
This tropical isle has a wonderful climate and is simply an ideal getaway during the summer. It provides a number of accommodations to fit all types of pockets. Vacationers can opt for anything from private luxury accommodations to simple bed and breakfasts to motels and even cozy home-stays. But it is advisable to make earlier reservations as everything gets packed throughout the summer months or before an extended weekend. Permission for camping is also offered in certain regions of this island.
Waiheke Island is actually a terrific mixture of all good things in nature. Aside from the abundant sandy beaches, it features a quiet waterfall, many miles of scenic vineyards and exotic bays. It is wonderful for honeymoon couples and great for family vacations as well. Walking will be the ideal way to experience this area but one can additionally rent bicycles or cars when desired. Individuals could simply laze about on the beaches or opt for lengthy walks on the quiet yet safe hiking trails. But in case you are in for a bit of adventure, you could possibly go surfing, kayaking, swimming, sailing or mountain biking.
Here a person may find many excellent wineries producing superior white and red wines. The island is well known for its vineyards and wineries for more than 15 years. The Wine Festival celebrated annually is really popular amongst the connoisseurs of superior wine. People come from all over to acquire a taste of all sorts of wine, both fresh and also aged. In addition to the wine, good local and international food is additionally served during the festival.
There’s plenty to discover in Waiheke, such as the Man O’War Bay, Matiatia Church Bay Walk, Connells Bay Sculpture Park, Waiheke Community Art Gallery, Stony Batter and also the Ostend Market. There are many restaurants providing fresh and tasty foods. Do not neglect to pack plenty of light summer clothes and cameras while visiting. You’ll be sure to have a wonderful time!
If you’re taking a trip to Auckland, New Zealand, be sure to check out accommodations at Holiday Houses Waiheke Island. While you’re there, be sure to read up on what to do in Onetangi, Waiheke Island.
Things to do in New Zealand
There are a few things to do in New Zealand that most people will have heard of. The blockbusting movie trilogy ‘Lord of the Rings’ was filmed throughout the country and it is easy to get to many of the most well known locations. The national team, the All Blacks, are the top ranked rugby team in the world and grace billboards and news stories every day. There’s also the small matter of spotting the millions upon millions of sheep that the country is famous for.
A highly-active fault line runs right down the middle of the country and this provides some of New Zealand’s most amazing geographic features. The famous ‘rotten-egg’ smell of Rotorua’s bubbling mud pools attracts tens of thousands of annual visitors, for instance, while thousands more hike over a dormant volcano while undertaking the the best one day walk in the country – the Tongariro Crossing. The trout fishing, sailing and boating playground of Lake Taupo, the biggest body of water in the country, only exists because of a supervolcanic eruption. New Zealand is an active place in every sense of the word!
Would you like to throw yourself out of a plane? Hang from a bridge with a rubber band around your ankles? Swim with dolphins, raft turbulent rivers or be thrown around in a high speed jetboat? New Zealand is the place to do it! Adventure tourism is a huge industry throughout the country and although Queenstown is the most well known place for awesome adventures, it is far from the only one.
Does flying down towering sand dunes on a sheet of plastic sound like your thing? Take a trip to Ninety Mile Beach in the far north of the North Island. How about hiking through dense forests around Stewart Island at the bottom of the South Island for a week, spotting the kiwi bird, New Zealand’s national symbol? No matter where you are, you’ll always find something incredible to do.
If spending long lazy days riding through beautiful scenery and sampling some of the best wines in the world sounds like your kind of thing, New Zealand is the place to be. The Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir are famous around the globe, and wine tours can be found throughout the country or you can just turn up at many cellar doors. If wine isn’t your thing, the locally produced beer and spirits are also of exceptionally high quality and noticeably different from those found in other countries. Having a quiet sundowner at the end of long summer’s evening is one of New Zealand’s simple delights.
When it comes to natural beauty New Zealand is totally unique. You can stand on top of a snow-capped mountain and gaze out over the native forests to beautiful beaches and white-capped breakers. Glaciers slide slowly towards the sea, whales feed in the rich waters near Kaikoura and thousand-year-old kauri trees tower over the forest floor. From the picture-perfect Mitre Peak in Milford Sound to incredible diving off Poor Knight’s Island, New Zealand provides a vast array of things to see and do for nature lovers.
Looking for more incredible things to do in New Zealand? Check out thingstodoinnewzealand.net for detailed articles on the many great things that New Zealand has in store.. Unique version for reprint here: Things to do in New Zealand.
