by Ying Yang

Created on: September 29, 2010

New Zealand is absolutely the place to go for the ultimate holiday experience. It may be a little, remote country, but it sure has lots of extreme sports and wonders to offer. Here are just a few reasons why New Zealand offers a more extreme experience than Australia:

1. Extreme all over.

From the black sand surf of Piha to the snowy white caps of The Remarkables, New Zealand was made for extreme adventures. The main tourist destinations of Taupo and Rotorua in the North Island, and Queenstown in the South Island, are a great place to base your travels. These destinations offer exciting, adrenaline-pumping activities like: bungy jumping, jet boating, extreme skiing, snowboarding, sky diving, and so much more. Most New Zealanders love the great outdoors as much as any foreign traveler, so these extreme sport providers are not just money-making tourist traps. Extreme sports activities are run by knowledgeable professionals with an excellent track record so you can be assured that you'll have a thrilling yet safe experience.

If you want to venture off the beaten track, New Zealand is the perfect place to go wandering. New Zealand’s natural landscape is varied, beautiful and full of adventure. You can go tramping in Tongariro; surfing along the extensive sun-drenched coastline; climb glaciers in the Southern Alps; or go black water rafting in underground caves. There are tons of opportunities for extreme adventures in New Zealand. Let’s face it, in comparison; Australia is just a large expanse of desert with the occasional venomous snake or spider.

2. Cost and accessibility.

The best thing about travelling in New Zealand is that it’s so simple! State highway 1 literally runs from Cape Reinga at the top of the North Island, to Bluff at the bottom of the South Island. The only thing that’s missing is a motorway tunnel between the two islands, but you can easily get across the Cook Strait on a ferry. By just driving along one road, you can traverse the length of the country.  State highways 2 to 8 can take you pretty much everywhere else. If you don’t want to drive, there are shuttles to most tourist destinations, as well as planes, buses, trains and boats. All are fairly reasonably priced and makes getting from one adventure to another extremely easy and care-free. The sheer size of Australia makes backpacking through the country incredibly difficult and expensive, so again New Zealand comes out on top as the better destination.

3. Kiwi hospitality.

Travelling in New Zealand is easy and enjoyable because the people are (generally) really welcoming and make you feel right at home. Locals are always happy to give a lost traveler a point in the right direction and bits of local knowledge. Even the buildings are inviting and traveler-friendly. For example, the little town of Kawakawa is famous for its artistically designed public toilets. Tirau is famous for its corrugated iron buildings, especially the sheep- and dog-shaped information centres. Overall, New Zealand is a friendly, all-welcoming country that offers travelers fantastic service and hospitality. After a long, action-packed day, a friendly face and yummy food is exactly what a tired traveler wants to come back to.

Australia and New Zealand are both amazing places that everyone should visit if they can. But, if you had to choose one destination, definitely go for New Zealand. It has the best of everything: loads of extreme adventure in a very compact and accessible country, plus lovely people to boot. Happy holidays!

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