Oh no, bro!
Aussie travelling across the ditch are returning home somewhat unsatisfied, according to new data released by Tourism New Zealand, as 20 per cent of us regret not seeking authentic experiences or asking for local recommendations.
According to a post-holiday survey among visiting Aussies, 25 per cent bemoaned visiting overcrowded tourist spots and were left craving something further off the beaten path.
Twenty-four per cent also felt their trip lacked adventure, and instead rigid itineraries and a lack of spontaneity stifled them.
However, I was not one of them after a late April trip to New Zealand.
Far from the brightly-coloured jetboats, selfies at Auckland’s Sky Tower, skiing in Queenstown or cramming into Hobbiton, I took to some stunning South Island stunning regions often overlooked, but no less worth a visit.
And the authenticity, uncrowded experiences and local vibes were aplenty.
The wide-open West Coast
New Zealand’s West Coast region has one of the country’s largest geographical footprints, a roughly 520km long, 50km wide strip of coastline pinned to the Tasman Sea by the Southern Alps, spanning about a third of the length of the entire country.
Home to just 31,000 between just a handful of settlements, the region offers a sparse range of experiences like charming port towns, coastal subtropical rainforests or some of the most accessible glaciers in the world.
Kicking off my trip to the region, I opted to cross coast-to-coast across the Southern Alps from Christchurch by rail.
As we traversed the South Island from east to west, we were captivated by the majestic cliffs lining the river gorges, the vast high-altitude mountain plains, and the pristine lakes nestled amid the peaks.
The TranzAlpine route is a fusion of two railways. Starting in Christchurch, we embarked on the South Island Main Trunk line, crossing the expansive Canterbury Plains. But it was at Rolleston where the real magic began when the train veered north onto the Midland Line, tracing the footsteps of ancient Maori trails and the visionary engineer Arthur Dobson.
The awe-inspiring passage through the Southern Alps evokes the empathetic imagination of Maori traversing the peaks on foot and what challenges European settlers must have faced during construction and the ongoing battles to maintain this treacherous railway.
The journey across one of South Island New Zealand’s thinnest points shows a radical change in landscape – from the green farmland of the Canterbury Plains, to the epic peaks of the Southern Alps, to the drenched rainforests of the West Coast on approach to Greymouth.
With a trip length of about five hours, TranzAlpine reputation of being one of the “world’s best train journeys” is warranted by not only the views it offers, but also by the genuinely practical traverse it is for travellers.
I departed the TranzAlpine in the old coal mining port town Greymouth and went straight to Monteith’s Brewery, New Zealand’s first-ever brewery, for lunch.
The Brewery blends seamlessly into the small town, beachy vibe of Greym...
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