Looking for your next escape? check out some of New Zealand’s hot winter destinations. As the winter season approaches, and the start of the ski season around the corner its time to start planning your next adventure in our homeland.

The future of the tourism industry is uncertain, But the signs are positive thanks to the collective effort from our team of 5 million here in New Zealand. With the New Zealand borders expected to be closed for an extended period of time, we must encourage domestic travel and support some of our struggling business’s here in our homeland. Still trying to decide where to go first? we’ve got you covered with some of our top picks! So let’s start planning New Zealand!

Queenstown

Queenstown is the perfect place to get over those post-COVID blues, from its picturesque scenery to the snow-capped mountains, this is the ideal destination for your winter escape. Whether you have an appetite for adventure and want to try your hand on the snow slopes, or just want to explore some of the breathtaking scenery, Queenstown is the place to be.

Milford sound

Hidden within Fiordland national park lies Milford sound, one of New Zealand’s most extraordinary national attractions, it’s one of those places that has to be seen to be believed. So, take a trip to Milford sound and discover its natural beauty.

Tongariro

Tongariro is one of the oldest national parks in New Zealand. Home to three active volcanic mountains, remarkable landscapes, and rich in Maori cultural history. They offer a wide range of accommodation, dining, and activities to make it an unforgettable experience.

Rotorua

Escape the cold weather and pamper yourself in Rotorua’s thermal hot spas. Rotorua’s famous geothermal hot pools have soothed tourists for years and is the perfect way to wind down after a long day of sightseeing and activities. Visitors can enjoy the stunning lake views, relaxing spa therapies, and hot mineral spring bathing.

Lake Taupo

Lake Taupo is home to some on the norths islands most breathtaking landscapes, with a wide range of outdoor activities, lakeside dining, and more. Taupo provides a variety of attractions such as fishing, water sports, sky diving, and kayaking. For a more relaxed experience unwind at Taupo’s DeBretts hot springs or play a round of golf at their pristine courses.

Wanaka

Located deep within the alps of the South Island in New Zealand, Wanaka is well known for its scenic lakes and mountains. But it’s not just the outdoor activities that attract people, there are plenty of galleries, stylish shops, multiple food trucks, and cafes.

International travel likely to be heavily restricted for an extended period of time. Nows the perfect time to rethink the way we approach tourism in New Zealand, ensuring that we make new Zealand a more sustainable place, and help with our financial recovery in the long run. So, we must encourage domestic tourism, in doing so will benefit some of the struggling businesses and communities here in our homeland.

New Zealand has an abundance of Wineries around the country, from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island there are approximately 500 Wineries throughout the country!

1. MARLBOROUGH: Marlborough is the largest wine making region within New Zealand, Marlborough holds 60% of New Zealand’s Vineyards, you’ll have trouble picking what
   winery to tour. Don’t forget to try the Sauvignon Blanc whist here, the region is known for it!

CENTRAL OTAGO: Visit Central Otago to experience some rare features of wine making. Tour around Queenstown, Gibbston Valley, Bannockburn and Cromwell to discover how cool-climate wine is made in the world’s most southern wine-making region. With vineyards overlooking stunning river views.

AUCKLAND: From the rural settings just outside Auckland City one of the to the stunning Waiheke Island, there are many wineries to choose from in the Auckland region. Auckland has become popular for winemakers of Cabernet Sauvignons and Chardonnays. If you are on Waiheke Island, just pick up a map, rent a scooter or bike, and go on a winery crawl. Otherwise, Kumeu in West Auckland is also a popular place for winos.

NELSON: Despite Nelson being the fourth largest producing wine region in New Zealand, geographically, it is one of the smaller regions. You can visit most of the wineries in a single day. Nelson produces a bit of everything from the Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris to the Montepulciano, Syrah and Pinot Noir.

HASTINGS: If you’re in Hastings, Napier and Havelock North, take the time to visit the scenic locations of the Hawke’s Bay wineries along the river valleys and hillsides. There are 72 wineries in the region producing the most Cabernet Merlot and Syrah wine grapes in New Zealand. Stay in the Vineyard for the New Year’s festival R&V!

NORTHLAND: Small wineries in the very north of New Zealand take advantage of the almost Mediterranean climate to produce tropical Chardonnays, Pinot Gris and Viogniers. With not many pre-made tours available in this region your best bet is a self-driven tour.

6. WAIPARA: 40 Minutes from Christchurch is the ever-growing wine region of Waipara. Known for its Riesling and Pinot Noir, you can learn how wine is made in the climate of hot and dry summers, and frosty winters. There are 31 wineries, 12 with cellar doors, and four with winery restaurants.

GISBORNE: Located on the East Cape of the North Island, Gisborne’s sunny climate and fertile plains contribute towards excellent Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Viognier, Pinot Gris, Merlot and Malbec. Taste from a variety of Gisborne wines in The Gisborne Wine Centre located in the harbour or go straight to the source with a tour operator.

WAIKATO: This wine making region combines two provinces south of Auckland. Producing Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc, Waikato – Bay of Plenty has small vineyard plantations that are steadily growing. There is not much choice in wine tours in this region, so a self-drive tour of the wineries in between visiting beautiful beaches or going black water rafting is your best option.

The Factory

The Factory is on the beach front at Hapuku, just north of Kaikoura.
Offering five-star luxury lodgings in a separate wing of the historic Hapuku Dairy Factory, with dramatic views of snow-covered mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. Your stay at The Factory is exclusive with only one party of six booked at any one time ensuring you are guaranteed privacy and peace to relax and enjoy the sun!!!

Aviator

Whether you’re looking for some long-term accommodation to thoroughly explore Taranaki or just want some luxury peaceful, private accommodation for a night or two then check out this beautifully architecturally designed one-bedroom residence that’s the perfect combination of convenience, comfort and contemporary accommodation!

Huntington Stables Retreat

Huntington Stables Retreat offers luxury, mid-range & budget accommodation in a beautiful semi-rural setting, conveniently located five minutes drive from the centre of Cambridge.
It is an excellent hideaway for couples, small groups, or solo travellers seeking rest & relaxation whilst being conveniently located in the centre of the North Island with multiple major cities within a hour or so drive.

Hi there,

Jeff from the Trade Me Travel team here. Like all of you lovely folk, our staff are certainly looking forward to a break over the festive season. That’s why I’m here to let you know when we’ll be in the office to give you a hand, should the need arise.

• 24 December: Email urgent requests only (no phone support)
• 25 December: Email urgent requests only (no phone support)
• 26 December: Open
• 27 December: Open
• 31 December: Email urgent requests only (no phone support)
• 1 January: Email urgent requests only (no phone support)
• 2 January: Open
• 3 January: Open

Outside of the dates above, we’ll be running business as usual so please, feel free to drop us a line and say hi!

Click here for our ‘Contact Us’ page, or use the link at the bottom of any Travelbug page.

We wish you and your families all the best for Christmas and New Years. Be safe, and have fun!

Last month I visited Arrowtown and Wanaka for the first time. All for work but it was hard to miss the amazing scenery and even in meetings, spectacular views were found from almost every office window.

Arrowtown is a charming riverside town steeped in gold mining history. Well-preserved cute cottages and overhanging shop fronts reminiscent of an old western town is the main drawcard but the best way to explore this area is to hire a bike from Arrowtown bike hire and discover both the town and surrounding nature at a leisurely pace.

The Lakes district museum will answer all your questions and here you can rent a gold pan to try your luck searching for the next big nugget. Just this year a gold nugget was found estimated to be worth close to $10,000! You can view it in the Gold Shop on Buckingham St.

Once you’ve worked up an appetite It’s hard to beat the Arrowtown Bakery for their fresh baked pies. I tried the lamb and mint and it was amazing. There is plenty of accommodation in Arrowtown and an overnight stay will ensure you have your best chance at striking gold!

Wanaka is just over an hour’s drive from Queenstown and its simply stunning. Driving over the hills on State Highway 6 will take you on the steepest gradient on a highway in NZ! Look out for the photo opportunity by the historic Cardrona Hotel, one of NZ’s oldest hotels about halfway between Queenstown and Wanaka and if you want to stay for the night you can’t go past Benbrae, where you can enjoy a pizza and Patron after a tough day’s sightseeing.

Lake Wanaka is not as deep as Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown so it is possible to swim in it during summer without freezing your bits off. There are a number of ways to enjoy the lake with a host of kayaking and boating options available from the i-SITE on the shores of Lake Wanaka.

Alternatively if you are happy to just sit and be inspired by its serenity and beauty why not stop at the Edgewater Resort for a freshly baked scone. Choose either savoury or sweet from their extensive scone menu. You heard right – scone menu! If you want to ensure your stay in Wanaka has a guaranteed lake view, every room at the Edgewater resort has exactly that.

Ridgeline adventures offers 4WD tours through the mountains surrounding Lake Wanaka and owner Mark Orbell will know just the right spot to get that perfect shot of the lake at sunset. It’s not possible to visit some of these places without permission so a 4WD tour is the ideal way to experience nature and scenery without all the crowds.

Overall  Arrowtown and Wanaka I found offers peace and relaxation in a magnificently inspiring setting. Whether you have a day or a week, these places should be at the top of your list. Plus it’s easy to see why many business owners who were just visitors to these towns, were so charmed, they never left!

Happy Travels!

Jade

Do you ever have those moments where you realise you’re turning into your parents? When I was a lad, I remember holidays where we visited museums and learned things. As I took my kids around the National Trout Centre outside Taupo a couple of weeks ago it struck me that I was forcing the same sort of holiday on my kids: I am officially turning into my Dad. Here is a short summary of what I made my kids do on our recent break when I was heading there for a slow plod around the half marathon course.

We arrived at midday on a chilly but fine Saturday after an unsuccessful attempt to transplant the kids from their beds and into the car still asleep for a quiet car trip north. The iPad provided us with a welcome respite to questions, fights and general discontent from the two in the back. (I can highly recommend turning the passcode requirement off for the duration if you don’t want to be left with a bricked tablet for the rest of your holiday).

Our first task was to find our Taupo holiday house and get the heater on. It was in a great location just a few blocks from town and close to the lake, with heaps of room for us to spread out. Travelbug has nearly 100 places to stay in Taupo but I can recommend Lakevisit as a good option. The kitchen was great, the décor simple but lovely and the gas heater made the place comfortable very quickly.

Dinner that night was at Lonestar Taupo. Not somewhere we would usually choose if at home in Wellington, it was perfect for the kids. A great selection of healthy options, colouring-in sheets and friendly staff as well as jelly beans on departure made for happy kids and happy parents. It was chocka block with everyone in town for the half marathon the next day, but the meals still arrived in reasonable time.

The next morning, I got the run out of the way (a personal best but still very slow) and it was time to get out and about and see a bit of the sights. First stop was Huka Falls, one of the best free sights around simply because it is an amazing natural feature and fascinating.  Amazing Dad fact – 220,000 litres of water flow through per second at times. That’s 5 Olympic swimming pools of water every minute! And not just any water, amazing cold cobalt blue water. These are the sort of fascinating facts I threw at my family to their general amazement and elucidation.

Last on the agenda that day was Huka Prawn Park, and oddly awesome attraction that you need more time at than you’d imagine. Set down along the banks of the Waikato River and next to the Huka Jet, Prawn Park does what it says on the box and offers a chance to learn about prawns, catch prawns, eat prawns and take prawns away. The kids loved it and the best bit – and the bit you should allow a good amount of time for – was fishing for prawns. You get a fishing pole, a little pot of bait and a bucket of water to put your prawns in when you’ve caught them. I thought this was a bit of theatre and that no one would actually catch any prawns but some people caught a real bucket full and you could see all the feelers poking their way out of the buckets.

We only had about 15 minutes there and despite initial difficulty, I eventually managed to get 1 lonely prawn which we cooked and ate as a family (times are tough) and that was pretty cool. Amazing Dad fact and top tip for prawn catching – let the bait go to the bottom, when the prawn takes it let it walk off with it for a bit and latch on properly before you gently pull it to the surface.

There are lots of thermal sights in and around Taupo, and if you want to have a swim you can head to the ever-popular Taupo Debretts thermal pools or the AC baths, but we chatted to some locals and found a much cooler (or hotter) option. Tucked away down by the river along a path that comes off a parking lot by an excellent playground is Otumuheke Stream at Spa Park. It gets quite busy in summer apparently, but there were just a few people there when we went, enjoying the hot stream as it mingled with the cooler water of the river. Highly recommended.

That was about the end of our trip and we had to pack up and head off on another long ipad-assisted drive to Wellington. Just out of Taupo we found our last stop, though, and the place where I realised I was turning into my Dad and Grandpa all at the same time. The National Trout Centre is just outside Turangi and offers a fascinating insight into the fishy lives of trout. You can see them at all stages of growth, feed them and even catch them in the pond if you go at the right time. Amazing Dad fact – a female trout lays 3000 eggs, which hatch under the rocks on the river bottom and live there until big enough to come up to feed. Amazing.

Taupo is a great place for a quick family holiday and offers a great mix of free sights and paid activities, plus a huge choice of places to stay. If you’re not afraid of turning into your Mum or Dad, you might even learn something.

What are your top tips or amazing Mum/Dad facts about Taupo, the lake, fish, geothermal activity or anything else?