Hey Kiwis - looking for help/suggestions on New Zealand trip

[BYeh1]

Kia Ora! First time to New Zealand (or "Middle Earth"). Breathtakingly beautiful country.

For the next 5 days I'm traveling around South Island (Christchurch, Fox Glacier, Queenstown) then back up to Auckland for a couple days.

My wife's plotted our itinerary doing the usual tourist things.

Any suggestions from Kiwi JCFers on cool/interesting places to see or things to do? Things from a local's perspective you can't find on TripAdvisor. Like cool bars/clubs for live music, guitar shops, or anything else?

Thanks!

[DonP]

I'm envious. Would love to go there.

[Mr Sandman]

Not NZ but been close enough to know to stay away from the gangland areas, that shit is real man...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK_wznQwilM

[Grawnday]

Excellent film ^ , haven't seen the sequel yet................. http://youtu.be/c5TFQsXElvw

[VitaminG]

the second book was excellent. The second movie was ok

[BYeh1]

We're taking a Lord of the Rings tour on Friday, visiting some of the sites near Queenstown where they filmed parts of the trilogy.

The mountain landscapes are so dramatic they look like something out of a movie.

[BYeh1]

Never seen that movie before, will check it out.

Maoris are tough SOBs, they come from a gene pool of ancestors who survived 3000 mile migrations across the South Pacific in what were basically big canoes, over 1000 years ago. Stood next to a Maori dude at the Warehouse (Costco on steroids) in Christchurch on Monday, he was huge (about 6'4", 250 lbs and maybe 10% body fat), looked like he could've been a professional athlete.

The All Blacks (NZ's national rugby team, perennial world champs) perform an intense Haka dance (Maori war dance) before rugby matches, pretty intimidating...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g3Q...gdata_player:-)

[DonP]

We're taking a Lord of the Rings tour on Friday, visiting some of the sites near Queenstown where they filmed parts of the trilogy.

The mountain landscapes are so dramatic they look like something out of a movie.

Damn, post some pictures man! We are getting burried in snow.

[BYeh1]

Damn, post some pictures man! We are getting burried in snow.

Not sure how to post them, let me know if this works...

[VitaminG]

https://picasaweb.google.com/111229376441151631991/NewZealandDec2013Public?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJm5rICcuYuudQ&feat=directlink#

that URL doesn't work as an embedded image. Nice pics, man. So how was your trip?

[BYeh1]

In a word, awesome. New Zealand has some of the most beautiful natural landscapes I've ever seen. Amazing combination of the alpine mountains and glaciers of the Canadian Rockies, carved canyons and crystal clear waters of the Colorado River, lush and rolling green fields of the English countryside, and dramatic ocean cliffs of Big Sur. The people were really friendly and helpful. But it wasn't cheap. Also, it was sad to see Christchurch (once a vibrant city) struggling to rebuild after the devastating earthquake in Feb 2011. Overall, had a great time and highly recommend it.

[Amerturk]

New Zealanders know how nice they have it. I was attempting to live/move there in 1992...you can visit, you just can't stay.

Post some pics of your travels, I'd love to see them.

[Maiden89]

New Zealanders know how nice they have it. I was attempting to live/move there in 1992...you can visit, you just can't stay.

They don't allow foreigners to move to new zealand?

I would also love to see your pictures too, BYeh1. Hopefully a New Zealand JCF'er will come along soon and give you some advice. Have fun!

[Amerturk]

They don't allow foreigners to move to new zealand?

I would also love to see your pictures too, BYeh1. Hopefully a New Zealand JCF'er will come along soon and give you some advice. Have fun!

They do of course, but it's very difficult. You may be accepted if you meet the criteria based on your job (if they need your skills), education, finances, FBI background, among a few.

They know they have it good and want to keep it that way. Not a bad mentality if you ask me.

[VitaminG]

They don't allow foreigners to move to new zealand?

They don't even allow the locals! That's why so many Kiwis are living in Australia

I would also love to see your pictures too, BYeh1. Hopefully a New Zealand JCF'er will come along soon and give you some advice. Have fun!

click the link in post#10. the picasaweb link is to BYeh1's photos.

Sanctuary is a Kiwi but I haven't seen him post in a while