If you are an avid backpacker looking for a genuine summer adventure, New Zealand is the perfect destination for that. The land of scenic landscape, rocky mountains and lovely beaches will leave you speechless the moment you arrive. Since it has so much to offer, you should put on a backpack and start exploring. For a truly unique experience, you need to be prepared and informed, so here’s what you need to know.
Where to Start?
The most breathtaking beauties of New Zealand are at the South Island, which means that you should save the best for last. Therefore, start exploring the land of many unspoiled areas from North (the Coromandel Peninsula and the Bay of Islands, to name a few) to South. This way you can cover everything and leave the highlight of your trip for its ending. As you slowly progress towards the South, you will feel your excitement building up, so imagine how you will feel when you finally experience the best of the best that New Zealand has to offer.
How About a Free a Car?
You’ll have a lot of places to visit and a variety of activities to try out, so if you find it hard to keep up with the bus or train schedules or you are not particularly keen of hitchhiking, now there’s an option for free one-way car rentals in New Zealand, allowing you to go wherever you want and whenever you want. You can visit some secluded areas which you wouldn’t be able to reach otherwise, and you’ll have a completely different experience if you’re behind the wheel, not having to organise your trip to someone else’s schedule, but create one that actually works for you.
Where to Stay?
There’s a variety of different options when it comes to accommodation, but you should keep one thing in mind – stay away from the chain hotels. These hotels aren’t budget-friendly, which means that you’ll spend a lot of money and be broke by the time you reach the middle of your trip. Instead, you can find motels, hostels and resorts with self-contained accommodation, both in North and South, that are much more affordable, but equally comfortable. You can also go for AirBnB, which is a great opportunity to save money, and meet new and interesting people who can give you tips on which places to visit.
Buy a New Zealand Sim Card
While exploring New Zealand, you should use one of their operators to cut down on the roaming expenses. You should find the one with the best offer when it comes to the international calls and the Internet packages (assuming that you’ll keep in touch with your friends and family). You can inform yourself prior to your travel, pick one of the three operators and not worry about it when you arrive to the country.
Try Bungee Jumping
If you’ve always wanted to do something daring and exciting, New Zealand is the perfect choice for you. You shouldn’t miss the opportunity to do a bungee jump while you’re there, so make sure to put this on your to-do list. Since you’ll probably arrive in Auckland, you won’t have to go far for such experience. Just visit the Auckland Harbour Bridge, take a deep breath and jump! Your heart will be racing, you’ll be afraid and you’ll love it! Since it’s summer, you can try a jump with a river dip – you won’t be cold! And if you are looking for a more private experience, Kawarau Bridge in Queenstown is what you are looking for.
Don’t Miss Mountain Biking
It won’t be difficult to find mountain track where you can try this activity, but Rotorua, located on the North Island, is the centre of the mountain biking in New Zealand. It’s really simple – just rent a bike, and take a day to explore the trails in the Whakarewarewa Forest. This is a great opportunity to enjoy the scenic landscapes and get yourself in shape!
Summer time is the perfect period for exploring the natural beauties of New Zealand. Instead of retreating to your home, pack your bags, get your free car and go on the trip of your lifetime.
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