What are some activities to do or places to visit with a family in New Zealand (both south and north island)?

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Picola

people have done a great job at answering this q so i'll just add a couple of specific fun family things you could do

1. Visit the International Antarctic centre in Christchurch, it has loads of fun, interactive information about Antarctica including a snow room - you are provided with warm jackets and waterproof overshoes and theres a snow slide in there and everything.
Also theres a hagglund ride which is really fun! (and worth the extra $10 orso) they have a course set up outside where you go over some big hills, in reverse etc
and there is now also a new penguin enclosure housing the New Zealand native little blue penguins
this will tell you all about it http://www.iceberg.co.nz/

2. Visit the cadbury chocolate factory in Dunedin, again lots of fun for the kids http://www.cadbury.co.nz/cadburyworld/visit.html

3. Puzzling world in Wanaka is a great set up for kids and adults alike http://puzzlingworld.co.nz/

4. Definetly visit one of our many zoos or animal parks. Auckland zoo is the biggest and overall the best in my opinion but if a close encounter with a kiwi is something you'd really like to experience then willowbank zoo in Christchurch has the best kiwi set up that i've been to - kiwi enclosures are always in the dark as they are nocturnal, the enclosure at willowbank allows you to witness them foraging within a very close distance!
http://willowbank.co.nz/

5. Going on the luge at the top of the Gondola in Rotorua would also be fun for the whole family.
http://www.skylineskyrides.co.nz/rotorua/

Have a great time here :-)

Albert R

beach and bungie jumpping is huge there

Les R

OK, when you arrive in the South Island, presumably on the ferry, take a cruise with ENDEAVOUR EXPRESS in PICTON around the Queen Charlotte Sound, day trips are good for families. Then visit Picton EcoWorld & Edwin Fox Maritime Museum. Go to Blenheim for a great Wine Tour experience, visit Nelson & adjacent beach resorts, Abel Tasman National Park, go the Westport, Greymouth and the rest of the West Coast including Fox & Franz Josef glaciers, cross over to Queenstown go on the S S Earnslaw for a lake cruise, go to Alexandra, Cromwell, Invercargill & Dunedin. There are just so many places to see & things to do. Go to Christchurch, see Lyttleton & Akaroa,on to Hanmer Springs for thermal pools, on to Kaikoura for whale & seal watching & back to Picton. For your few days in North Island try Taupo, Mt.Ruapehu, Rotorua, Tauranga and maybe some of the Northland peninsula for some sun before you leave from (dare I say it) Auckland.
Whatever you decide I hope you all enjoy your trip to Godzone!!

travel_stories

You will probably arrive in Christchurch and leave from Auckland from your description? I assume you plan on travelling around.

There are plenty of great child oriented activities - it depends on where you plan to spend your time as you will have to be fairly selective and plan where you go in such a short time.

Have a look at http://www.holidays-in-newzealand.com which gives you good descriptions of activities in Christchurch, Queenstown, and Auckland. The New Zealand scenery pages( open both ,the second is the South Island) will also give you ideas as does the Lord of the Rings pages where there is a tour description.

October could still be cool, especially down south. But it could also be warm if Christchurch gets the nor wester winds early - they are usually in November.

You will find your biggest problem is choosing from the huge variety.

I have chosen not to even try to offer ideas here as this website will be a much better option to choose from.

I hope you have a great holiday.

Zebra

newzealand.com

Your best bet is to get a lonely planet guide & ask questions on their website as recent travellers from here will be on there.

There's loads to do, it depends on what you are into. There is Larnach Castle in Dunedin, the only castle we have (but if you are from Europe you won't be impressed), if you're from somewhere else you might be, you can also stay there in their accomodation. Your kids might like a tour of the Cadbury chocolate factory in Dunedin too. There are eco tours on Stewart Island at the bottom of the South Island, they have night tours to see kiwi's in the wild but that won't be suitable for a 1 year old. In Oamaru & Timaru there is a penguin colony. Great train trips in the South Island, check out this site:

tranzscenic.co.nz

Fantastic scenery everywhere in the South Island, similar to Switzerland in places & other green areas resemble rural Ireland. Christchurch is a city that's identical to an English one, you can use foot pedal boats down the Avon River that goes through the city, there are interesting buildings like the Cathedral, etc & horse & cart tours around the city.

Akaroa is a French style town, we didn't get many French settlers in NZ but this is where the ones that came settled.

Whale watching in Kaikoura, Nelson is a nice sunny place near Kaikoura - you might find it worth your while catching the ferry over to Wellington at the bottom of the North Island - Te Papa is a child friendly huge museum & there's Karori Bird Sanctuary in central Wellington with native NZ birds (they also do night tours re seeing kiwi's), there is also a little boat ride on the lake there that your kids would like, including the one year old. The old houses in Wellington are interesting, like the ones in Mt Victoria (a 5 minute walk from downtown) - they are huge mansions. There's also a 4 wheel drive tour that takes you to a seal colony just out of Wellington, doesn't take long but little kids might get car sick maybe? Also bear in mind the ferry ride from Picton to Wellington can be a bit taxing, it's rough riding through the middle section & some people get seasick (although the rough patch isn't that long). www.interislander.co.nz the ferry trip takes 3 hours & you can take a vehicle on it, alternatively you can fly from Picton to Wellington.

Don't do any Lord of The Rings tours, they aren't worth it.

In the North Island there is Rotorua (volcanic activity, mud pools & geysers, be careful your kids don't fall in the boiling mud pools though!!). Waitomo Caves that have glow worms in them are another tourist attraction. Is worth doing a bus tour from Auckland up to Cape Reinga (the Northern most tip of NZ, great scenery up there) & the tour takes you up 90 mile beach & the bus travels along the sand. Is only a day trip so not time consuming. Also a bonus if the trip takes you to Tane Mahuta, an ancient kauri tree in the Waipoua Forest (is one of the oldest & largest trees in the world, is 1500 years old so was around before Christ!).

Auckland is dotted with hills that are actually volcanoes - Mt Eden is close to the city so might be nice to take your kids up there, they have cows to keep the grass growth down! Quite weird to see cows in the city. And you can see at the top that the "hill" has a big crater in it so is actually a volcano covered in green grass & it has a good view of Auckland from up there.

Also a ferry ride to the really big volcano, Rangitoto, might be worth it, sometimes dolphins follow the ferry, there is a fantastic view of Auckland from the summit but the lava sucks the moisture from the air so it can get very hot & not sure how suitable it is for kids re them walking 45 mins or so to get to the summit, but you can just do the ferry ride & go straight back without climbing up it. There is also Waiheke Island in Auckland Harbour, alot of Aucklanders holiday there or go there for weekends away. You can go on a day trip. Kawau Island is good too, it has wallabies & peacocks on it but even better is Tiritiri Island, it has loads of native NZ birds. All these are day trips from Auckland.

Kelly Tarlton's is an underwater aquarium popular with tourists to Auckland, it's near central Auckland, it has those giant emperor penguins from Antarctica there (they even have a pair of male penguins who are apparently a gay couple!! hopelessly devoted to one another.). From there you can walk around Tamaki Drive, it's a nice walk around the harbourside & you can see the huge dormant volcano, Rangitoto & there are cafe's etc around there (well at Mission Bay nearby there is). Also Downtown Auckland has the Sky tower where you can see a view of Auckland & dine in the revolving restaurant. People also do base jumping from the tower & a block from there there is a bungy jumping type ride you do, which is kind of weird to have right in the central city. It's seated so might be suitable for kids? But not a one year old. You might find Auckland Museum ok, it has Maori canoes, etc & some Maori dance performances but you'll need to find out the times they are on, etc. It's also in central Auckland.

buttons

i think everyone has mentioned already but...as far as the south island must do's -

Akaroa - dolphin watching
Hanmer Springs - hot pools & lots of touristy things to do
Kaikoura - Whale watching/seal watching/dolphins etc
Franz Josef Glacier - self explanatory
Queenstown - lots of touristy stuff
Aroaki Mt Cook - nz's biggest mountain some easy walks good for family
Tranz alpine train from christchurch to westcoast (or get off at athurs pass and do easy bush walks

hope you have a great trip

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