my friend and i are planning a trip to new zealand on a whim.. except we have no earthly clue as to what to expect. we're defnitely forgoing the comforts of fancy hotels and all of that, more a backpacking/tent thing, but we have no idea where to look. any ideas? are direct flights cheaper? or would it behoove us to stop over somewhere in asia and get a flight there? and what are some cool natural landscapes there? i've heard about the hot springs and volanoes and such. we were thinking about working our way across the country working at botanicals, is that even possible? thanks.
My friend went and from what I've heard you can go to a lot of the areas that Lord of the Rings was filmed in. I listened to a lot of his ventures, but canoeing sounded like something you shouldn't miss out on. Have fun, it sounds like you'll enjoy it.
I don't know why you would stop over in Asia. When I went to Australia, it was a direct flight from LA . New Zealand is to the South East of Australia so there isn't anywhere else to fly.
Direct flights are cheaper - stopping in Asia would actually put you several thousand miles out of the way unless you're coming the long way round. The entire country is a backpacker's paradise. For thermal stuff you should go to Rotorua in the North Island - geysers, active volcanoes and so on. For mountainous stuff you need to go to Queenstown in the South Island (it's very touristy). You can also see fiords and glaciers from there. You can go to New Zealand on a working holiday visa but you would have to apply for it beforehand. US citizens who are just visiting without working don't need to apply for a visa for visits shorter than three months. Look here: http://www.purenz.com/ I've been there a few times, obviously.
