Nya Zeeland

The slow-paced East Cape is a unique and special corner of New Zealand. It's a quiet place, where everyone knows everyone, and community ties are built on rural enterprise and a shared passion for the ocean. Horse riding, tractors on the beach, fresh fish for dinner – it's all part of daily life here.

Few people come to Queenstown to wind down. The self-styled 'adventure capital of the world' is a place where visitors come to throw their inhibitions out the window…and throw themselves out of planes and off mountain tops and bridges.

For many New Zealanders, the phrase ‘up north’ conjures up sepia-toned images of family fun in the sun, pohutukawa in bloom and dolphins frolicking in pretty bays. From school playgrounds to work cafeterias, owning a bach (holiday house) here is a passport to popularity.

Stretching between Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula, the Hauraki Gulf is dotted with motu (islands), and is as equally stunning as Northland's Bay of Islands. Some islands are only minutes from the city and make excellent day trips. Wine-soaked Waiheke and volcanic Rangitoto really shouldn’t be missed. Great Barrier requires more effort (and cash) to get to, but provides an idyllic escape from modern life.

Drömmer du om Cooköarna? – vi guidar dig rätt bland paradisöarna i Söderhavet för boende, mat och favoriter man inte får missa!

Two words immediately spring to mind when Kiwis think of their seventh-largest city: 'Scotland' and 'students'. The 'Edinburgh of the South' is immensely proud of its Scottish heritage, never missing an opportunity to break out the haggis and bagpipes on civic occasions. In fact the very name Dunedin is derived from the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh – Dùn Èideann – and the city even has its own tartan.

For many travellers, Marlborough and Nelson will be their introduction to what South Islanders refer to as the ‘Mainland’. Having left windy Wellington, and made a white-knuckled crossing of Cook Strait, folk are often surprised to find the sun shining and the temperature 10°C warmer.

Boasting New Zealand’s highest concentration of yoga pants, dreadlocks and bare feet in the high street, Takaka is a lovable little town and the last ‘big’ centre before the road west ends at Farewell Spit. You’ll find most things you need here, and a few things you don’t, but we all have an unworn tie-dyed tank top in our wardrobe, don’t we?

Close to Auckland and blessed with its own warm, dry microclimate, Waiheke Island has long been a favourite escape for city dwellers and visitors alike. On the island’s landward side, emerald waters lap at rocky bays, while its ocean flank has excellent sandy beaches.

Forest and coast unite in dramatic form in the Buller Region. This northwesterly expanse of the South Island is a promised land for trampers. Trails wend riverside through primeval forest, some accessing geological marvels like the Oparara Arch.