Nya Zeeland

Picton is the gateway to the South Island and the launching point for Marlborough Sounds exploration. A cork’s pop south of Picton is Blenheim and its world-famous wineries, and further south still is Kaikoura, the whale-watching mecca. Highlights of this region include negotiating the famed Queen Charlotte Track by tramping or mountain biking, and discovering the many hidden bays and coves of the Marlborough Sounds by boat. Relaxing over a glass of local sauvignon blanc is recommended at the end of a busy day.

On a sunny, windless day, Wellington is up there with the best of them. For starters it’s lovely to look at, sitting on a hook-shaped harbour ringed with ranges that wear a cloak of snow in winter. Victorian timber architecture laces the bushy hillsides above the harbour, which resonate with native birdsong.

New Zealand is known for its mix of wildly divergent landscapes, but on the East Coast it’s the sociological contours that are most pronounced. There's a full spectrum of NZ life here, from the earthy settlements on the East Cape to Havelock North’s moneyed, wine-soaked streets.

Queenstown is as much a verb as a noun, a place of doing that likes to spruik itself as the 'adventure capital of the world'. It's famously the birthplace of bungy jumping, and the list of adventures you can throw yourself into here is encyclopedic – from alpine heliskiing to zip-lining. It's rare that a visitor leaves without having tried something that ups their heart rate, but to pigeonhole Queenstown as just a playground is to overlook its cosmopolitan dining and arts scene, its fine vineyards, and the diverse range of bars that can make evenings as fun-filled as the days.

Before Whanganui was Whanganui, it was Petre, a town built at the mouth of the river in 1940. As one of New Zealand's oldest towns (and the fifth-largest until 1936), it's an amalgamation of Māori culture, heritage buildings – take a 60-minute self-guided tour with the free Whanganui Heritage Guide from the i-SITE – and a thriving local art community.

Landlocked cities in an island nation are never going to have the glamorous appeal of their coastal cousins. Rotorua compensates with boiling mud and Taupo has its lake, but Hamilton, despite the majestic Waikato River, is more prosaic.

Vild västkust, bohemisk östkust och krokodiler i norr och Australiens röda inre. Upplev vingårdar och kängurur innan Nya Zeeland väntar med turkost vatten, vita stränder och utomjordiska landskap. Ta del av Vagabonds bästa tips på en långresa i Oceanien.

Det lider ingen brist på magiska naturunder i Nya Zealand. Fjordlandskapet i Milford Sound tillhör ett av landets mest besökta plaster, vill man däremot uppleva mer natur och färre turister ska man bege sig till intilliggande Doubtful Sound.

Gorgeous Banks Peninsula (Horomaka) was formed by two giant volcanic eruptions about eight million years ago. Harbours and bays radiate out from the peninsula’s centre, giving it an unusual cogwheel shape. The historic town of Akaroa, 80km from Christchurch, is a highlight, as is the absurdly beautiful drive along Summit Rd around the edge of one of the original craters. It's also worth exploring the little bays that dot the peninsula's perimeter.