For many Kiwis and visitors to New Zealand, ‘The Great Outdoors' is the nation's greatest gift. New Zealanders love to take their recreation outside, enjoying the thousands of lakes and rivers, stunning coastal scenery, high mountains and dense native forest the country is blessed with. Unsurprisingly, boating is one of their favourite pastimes.
For visitors, too, New Zealand's natural beauty and outdoor lifestyle is a huge attraction. Stunning landscapes, lush vegetation, and unique wildlife make the country a paradise for nature lovers.
New Zealand's ‘Great Walks' are world-renowned. These are the Milford Track in Fiordland, the Routeburn Track, the Kepler Track, Stewart Island's Rakiura Track, the Heaphy Track, Abel Tasman Coastal Track, the Tongariro National Park and Lake Waikaremoana.
In addition, there are more than 150 walkways around the country, including heritage trails, with walks of up to a day's duration to be found even in urban areas. Many of these walks are in New Zealand's extensive network of National Parks, which may be enjoyed free of charge by Kiwis and visitors alike. All New Zealand cities have wonderful native bush walks nearby, meaning you're never far from peace and relaxation. Whatever a person's fitness level, there's a suitable walk on offer in a country of people that relishes the opportunity to get outdoors.
New Zealand's landscape and temperate climate lends itself to outdoor activity. The country is renowned for its range of adventure pastimes - the best known being bungy jumping, jetboat riding, rafting and skiing. One advantage the New Zealand adventure scene has is that it provides activities rated from ‘soft' to ‘extreme' - from hiking and waterskiing to mountain climbing and caving. The adventure tourism industry makes the most of having a country surrounded by sea, criss-crossed by rivers and lakes, covered in native bush and with a central spine of spectacular, snow-capped mountains. There's something for everyone who enjoys the outdoor lifestyle and the special sense of freedom the relatively sparsely populated land provides.
ON, IN & UNDER THE WATER
In an island nation of rivers and lakes where no one lives more than two hours from the sea, it's not surprising that waterborne recreation is hugely popular with New Zealand families.
New Zealanders' passion for sailing is revealed by the huge number of craft on its harbours at weekends and evenings, particularly in summer. Auckland is known as the ‘City of Sails' and the opportunities there for the experienced sea-adventurer, as well as the timid beginner, are un-rivalled. Day trips on Auckland's Waitemata Harbour are available year-round. Four-to-six berth yachts can be chartered for cruises of several days or weeks, and yachting schools are keen to impart their wisdom to visitors on short courses.
The city was most famously host to the America's Cup, international
yachting's premier trophy, successfully defending the Cup in Auckland
in 2000 before losing it in 2004 to a Swiss boat ironically skippered
by a New Zealander who steered the Kiwi boats to victory in 1995 and
2000.
In 2007 Emirates Team New Zealand narrowly lost the America's Cup final
to the Swiss in Valencia, the thrilling last race decided in a photo
finish. The team remains committed to contesting the next Cup, if and
when Team Alinghi and Team Oracle finally resolve their legal wrangling
and announce a date.
Other destinations that offer charter yachts and excellent cruising
grounds are the Bay of Islands north of Auckland, and Picton in the
Marlborough Sounds, an extensive area of fiords at the head of the
South Island. Many idyllic out-of-the-way places are best accessed by
boat, which provides a unique way to explore the country.
In a country with such a vast coastline and hundreds of rivers and
lakes, it is little wonder that fishing is a popular pastime. Anglers
come from all over the world to try their luck in New Zealand's
crystal-clear waters.
New Zealand has some of the best and most challenging trout fishing in
the world, from the volcanic Taupo-Rotorua region in the central North
Island, to the glacial-formed lakes and gin-clear, freestone rivers of
Marlborough, Westland, west Otago and Fiordland.
Sea fishing offers almost guaranteed success, with strict regulations
on daily allowable catch ensuring sustainable resources. Sea fishing
runs the gamut from shore fishing from wharves, rocky headlands and
sandy beaches to big game fishing for world-class tuna, marlin, sharks
and swordfish. With such a high level of boat ownership, coastal
fishing is enjoyed by over a million New Zealanders a year, most boats,
regardless of their size or type, being used for fishing at least
occasionally.
Scuba diving is popular and productive: crayfish (lobster), scallops
and abalone is the quarry of local divers and spear fishing is
productive. There is a network of marine reserves right around the
coast for those divers wanting to look but not touch and plenty of
qualified dive instructors, charter operations and dive shops offering
hire gear and instruction.
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