top 10 Things To Do During Your Working Holiday Visa www.thekiwikit.com , If you’re going to enjoy a small Dear Adventurer slice of this island nation, you’re going to need to do as the locals So, you’ve decided to do a year of do during your year here. Most Ki- working & holidaying in New Zea- wis are active, kind, fun, adventur- land? ous, and embrace a well-balanced lifestyle. CONGRATS! You’ve just made one of the best decisions of your This list of TOP 10 THINGS TO DO life. DURING YOUR WORKING HOLI- DAY VISA is a sure-fire formula to Think epic-stories-to-tell-your- have you walking away feeling like grandkids-when-you’re-older kind a new person who can of decision. accomplish anything. You may even leave here with “heaps” of New Zealand is the small country kiwi spirit in you and a “She’ll be tucked away at the bottom of the right” kind of attitude. world, minding its own business, chilling out in its own breathtaking Life is too short, “cuzzie,” make the beauty. most of it while you can! But, just because it’s a humble oa- sis most people overlook, doesn’t Here to make New Zealand happen, mean it doesn’t have big adven- ture, can’t-miss attractions, and The Kiwi Kit unforgettable personality. Top 10 Things To Do During Your Working Holiday Visa thekiwikit.com Bungy Jump 1. Let’s kick this list off with a bang! With multiple sites across the Since bungy jumping was invent- world, but only one “World Home ed in New Zealand, it means it’s of Bungy,” AJ Hackett Bungy in part of its culture. If you’re go- New Zealand has become the ing to spend a year in Aotearoa, trusted place to conquer your big- the land of the long white cloud, gest fears. you’re going to need to do a bungy jump. With three bungy jumps in Queen- stown, one in Auckland, and a After seeing the rite of passage slew of other adrenaline-inducing ceremony, land diving, in Vanu- activities (Swings, a bridge climb, atu, AJ Hackett & Henry Van Asch, SkyWalk, SkyJump, a Zipride, and felt inspired to bring that concept a Catapult!), AJ Hackett Bungy is a back home and take it to a whole must-try for your year in New Zea- new level. They founded the land. world-renowned, first ever, bungy jumping company, AJ Hackett Do as the kiwis do and you won’t Bungy. go wrong! Right? Top 10 Things To Do During Your Working Holiday Visa thekiwikit.com Visit Fiordland National Park If you’ve ever spoken to Carved out from glacial erosion, 2.anyone about their travels to New Milford & Doubtful Sounds are the Zealand, I will guarantee Fiordland most commonly visited fiords in National Park will come up in con- New Zealand. versation. With day cruises available and an ar- By means of Milford Sound or ray of alternative activities (kayaking, Doubtful Sound, you’ll definitely helicoptering, scuba diving, hiking), hear about this jaw-dropping nat- you have no excuse, but to get out ural wonder & know it’s a must-do and see the waterfalls and wildlife in during your working holiday year. rain or shine. Top 10 Things To Do During Your Working Holiday Visa thekiwikit.com Do A Great Walk 3. One of the most remarkable THE TEN GREAT WALKS things about New Zealand is the ABEL TASMAN COAST TRACK number of walking tracks interwo- ven across the island landscapes. HEAPHY TRACK (PICTURED) Whether you’re a hiking expert or a short stroll taker, there is a trail KEPLER TRACK here for you. LAKE WAIKAREMOANA Most famously, New Zealand has GREAT WALK 10 tracks they’ve dubbed “Great MILFORD TRACK Walks,” and people travel from far and wide to get their hiking boots PAPAROA TRACK & PIKE29 on these trails. MEMORIAL TRACK With the most recent addition of RAKIURA TRACK the Paparoa Track and Pike29 Me- ROUTEBURN TRACK morial Track, the 10 Great Walks are an endeavor unlike anything TONGARIRO NORTHERN else. CIRCUIT WHANGANUI JOURNEY PHOTO ROBERT PERRY Top 10 Things To Do During Your Working Holiday Visa thekiwikit.com Go on a Road Trip 4. New Zealand may seem tiny If you pick up a camper van, you on a map, but its long & winding can even roam with the freedom roads are the arteries of adventure to stop as you please. Being a people often never want to end. very campervan friendly country, New Zealand makes it relatively With so many quirky towns, beach- easy to allow you to customize scapes, mountain ranges, lake- your road trip and park up when fronts, waterfalls, rolling hills, and you find a spot you like. open plains, New Zealand is a roadtrippers paradise. A four-hour drive may inherently seem long and daunting, but as soon as you start, your eyes won’t be denied eye candy and the drive will go by faster than you can imagine. PHOTO CURTIS SIMMONS Top 10 Things To Do During Your Working Holiday Visa thekiwikit.com Learn the Lingo You knackered after all that It’s a crack up when you’re sitting 5.hard yakka so far? around during your smoko taking the piss with your mates listening Yeah, nah. She’ll be right. to them talk about the mare they had last night or sussing out the You might be heaps confused plans for the weekend. right now, but after a year in New Zealand, most of this Kiwi-talk will After a year of Kiwi talk, you won’t make sense to you and you may even bat an eyelash at what any of even be stoked to incorporate it that means. Chur ? into your own slang. Top 10 Things To Do During Your Working Holiday Visa thekiwikit.com Hitchhike or Pick up a Hitchiker Thumbing it for a ride is a very normal way to get around here. As one of the safest countries in the world, New Zealand makes it easy to get a lift with a kind soul 6. Just about everywhere else who is going the same way you in the world, hitchhiking is frowned are. upon. In New Zealand, it’s com- mon practice. During your year in New Zealand, try hitchhiking or picking up a No, people who hitchhike aren’t hitchhiker at least once. It’ll get murderers. And people who pick your heart pumping for sure, but it up hitchhikers aren’t even con- could also leave you with a friend cerned about being murdered. or even a free ride! PHOTO GILLES HERAUD Top 10 Things To Do During Your Working Holiday Visa thekiwikit.com Enjoy a Hangi on a Marae 7. If you want to try a tradition- Once the fire goes out and the al Māori meal while you’re living in stones are hot, food is placed on New Zealand, visit a marae (com- racks above and covered with wet munity meeting place) and learn cloths or leaves and then followed about cultural practices of cook- by dirt. Hot water is tossed on to ing food in an earth oven (transla- create steam for this slow tion of hāngī). cooking process that creates a meal unlike anything you’ve had A hāngī is created by digging a before. deep hole in the ground, lighting a wood fire at the bottom, then While you’re waiting a few hours layering it with hot stones and for your food to cook under- rocks. ground, watch a traditional haka and learn more about the Māori people and their unique culture. Top 10 Things To Do During Your Working Holiday Visa thekiwikit.com See a Kiwi Bird 8. While New Zealanders are You can visit animal sanctuaries or known as Kiwis, there is a fun- kiwi bird life parks for guaranteed ny little bird that shares the same viewings of these unique crea- name. With a long beak and a foot- tures. Or, you can venture out into ball-sized body, this nocturnal, flight- the New Zealand wild at night and less bird is the most famous of all of hope one shows its cute face. New Zealand’s wildlife. Places like Stewart Island and Ulva When predators were introduced to Island are where you’re most likely New Zealand by outsiders, the pop- to see a kiwi bird in the wild, but ulation of kiwi birds took a downturn there are other pockets of New sending them into endangered sta- Zealand that may make this tus. possible. Many wildlife initiatives have been Either way, during your year here, working hard to preserve the lives of you need to make friends with the kiwi birds still in existence today. New Zealand’s cutest bird mascot. Top 10 Things To Do During Your Working Holiday Visa thekiwikit.com Visit Unique Natural Wonders 9. There are a few things about AORAKI/MOUNT COOK New Zealand that make it the magical place that it is. Besides BLUE POOLS being home to hobbits and Mid- GEOTHERMAL MUD POOLS dle-earth, New Zealand hosts & GEYSERS some natural features that set it apart from the rest of the world. GLACIERS GLOW WORM CAVES (PICTURED) During your working holiday year in New Zealand, make sure you MIRROR LAKES visit a few of these natural won- ders before they’re gone or ruined MOERAKI BOULDERS by climate change. Here’s a com- PANCAKE ROCKS piled list of some of our favorites; WAIPOUA FOREST This mini-list within the top 10 list is just skimming the surface.