Any recommendations for places to visit in NZ (December) with 2 kids in tow?

Question

Have been reading some excellent responses to a previous question on what to do in NZ, but would love to hear peoples' views on things to do specifically with children (ages 9 and 6). One loves LOTR and the other loves animals! We are arriving inAuckland and departing from Christchurch, have 3 weeks and are driving. Thank you!

Answer 1

http://www.aatravel.co.nz has a feature at the moment on 101 must-dos for Kiwis - tourists are welcome to sample it too!

Just a few things off the top of my head:
On your way south from Auks, try Waitomo Caves - a short walk through the caves, then take a boat ride in pitch blackness to see millions of glow-worms (my daughter, aged 6 and quite scared of the dark, loved it!).
From Matamata, in the Waikato, you can take a guided tour to Hobbiton (buy that LOTR sites book!)
Otorohanga has a famous Kiwi House - http://www.kiwihouse.org.nz/ , more than just kiwi.
Just north of Auckland, inland from Whangarei, is Zion Wildlife Gardens, a big cat sanctuary. Check out http://www.zionwildlifegardens.co.nz/ . Tours are quite expensive to my eyes, but you may decide it's worth it!
Hot Water Beach on the Coromandel (http://www.mercurybay.co.nz/activities/hotwaterbeach.php) may be a little out of your way, but there's also hot water at Kawhia, on the west coast of the King Country - see http://www.kawhiaharbour.co.nz/ .

Driving with two small people in the car, you'll want to watch out for playgrounds to stop at ("Look at the awesome scenery" is a learned response!). There's a great one at the southern end of Foxton in the Manawatu (unfortunately on the RH side of the road, but traffic's light). If you stop at the Army Museum in Waiouru or on the Desert Road to see Mts Ruapehu, Tongariro and Ngauruhoe (on the NI's central plateau), have warm clothes ready to put on.

Here's a bunch of other websites to have a look at:
http://www.tourism.net.nz
http://www.newzealand.com
http://www.nz.com
http://www.greatnewzealand.co.nz

Haere mai (usually translated as “welcome”, also means “come here”) and kia ora (often used in greeting, conveys wishes of good health).

Answer 2

Does departing from Christchurch mean you're not going further South? reading the other answers - I agree that it would be a shame not to get down to the Southern Scenic route. I did this as a kiwi with 3 friends a couple of years ago and it was really amazing. The Manapouri power dam trip was incredible!!
LOTR fans though... hmm methinks you need to spend lots of time in Wellington!! I presume you're stopping for a couple of days there anyway... so make sure you take a walk up to Mt Victoria and into the bush there - it's where they filmed the bits where Frodo & Sam were hiding under the tree roots etc (plus loads more of course!). Perhaps before you go you should buy Ian Brodie's 'Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook'. Everyone thought the guy was a big geek when he wrote it (it basically details everywhere in NZ where they shot the film) - but of course fans now buy it and travel around the country visiting every place he mentions!
Animals - obviously Wellington Zoo -it's really good now with the new Monkey Island, or you can just hang out in Eva Dixon's cafe and look at the Meer Cats through the window. There's Staglands just out of Wellington and there's also the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary (suburb of Wellington) and you can do day trips around the coast to the red rocks and see penguins and seals and stuff. Auckland - you could always go to Kelly Tarlton's Underworld (big sea place where you walk through underwater and see loads of sharks and scary stuff!)
Whale watching in Kaikoura maybe?
I'm sure you'll have a fabulous time wherever you go! best country in the world and all...

Answer 3

I would probably just spend a week in the North Island and two weeks in the South. Rotorua is good with lots of geysers and smelly pools. There is quite a bit to do in Auckland - so worth a day or two there. Fantastic beaches north of Auckland and interesting buildings in Wellington. When you get to the south island you can have lovely walks in Picton/Nelson and the Marlborough Sounds, go whale watching in Kaikora, enjoy the glaciers at Mount Cook, take a boat ride to enjoy the dramatic scenery of the Milford Sound, lots of water sports etc in Queenstown and Wanaka and if you have time loads of wildlife on Stewart Island near Invercargill. You will have a lovely time and not want to ever leave.

Answer 4

Auckland and Wellington both have excellent zoos. Better still is Orana Park in Christchurch. You don't say which country you're from or what LOTR is, but the Southern Scenic Route at the bottom of the South Island, where I live, is good value. You'll see yellow-eyed penguins and seals. Also near our place is a boat trip across Lake Manapouri to the underground power station, where you'll see keas, one of our native parrots. A 20 minute drive from Manapouri is the Dept. of Conservation centre at Te Anau, where you'll see various rare native birds. Enjoy.

Answer 5

Horse trekking outside Christchurch - camping.

White water rafting down the Rakaia River - better than the Queenstown one - and a superb camping site with stunning views. Not too many tourists know this one!!

Whale watching

Auckland Beaches - west coast definately Piha and Keri keri...awesome surfing and totally stunning scenery

East beaches - tamer, but good with the kids

Also the hot water beach on the Coromandel

Answer 6

The harbour-side town of Auckland is New Zealand's true area and the vivid economic heart of the country, know it with hotelbye . Auckland can be known as the "City of Sails" and it sprawls out in helter-skelter style between Manukau Harbour (to the west) and Waitemata Harbour (to the east) with the compact key town region right beside the waterway. For most readers to New Zealand, Auckland is the idea of birth, and a couple of days soaking up the cultural and outdoor attractions here ought to be on every tourist's to-do list. The monuments, museums, and artwork galleries listed below are some of the best in the country. The suburban coastline of the town is speckled with great beaches, and the hawaiian islands of the Hauraki Gulf provide a taste of New Zealand's magnificent national park landscape close to the city's doorstep. Auckland is definitely a town worth seeing.

Answer 7

Geothermal area central Nth Island. Off the beaten track, down west coast nth island, Taranaki, (New Plymouth). Wellington and across to Sth Island. Time spent in the top of south island well spent. Head down the west coast. Amazing scenery, across the Pass and into Queenstown. Tour the south and then back up to Christchurch. Plenty to do & see for all. Laid back and you'll love it.

Answer 8

Rotorua, on the thermal curcuit in the NI. The kids will adore it, give it 2 or 3 days, go up the gondola, down the luge, check out the fish and sheep parks, rent a boat/kayak/pedalboat, catch and cook a trout, go to a maori concert, sit in a hot water river under the hot waterfall, swing about at rock'n'ropes. Nicknamed RotoVegas by us kiwis, my italian wife and 7yo son adore it. If you are doing it in a motorhome, even better.

Answer 9

Queenstown is gorgeous at any time of the year although quite expensive so you mightn't want to stay there overnight. Lots of LOTR sets down there. There's also a wildlife park, bird park and aquarium down at the lake.