it really depends what you are looking to do.

also, how long you are looking to stay

and which locals.

personally i enjoyed way up north and along the northeast coast of the north island. also the south part of the south island. and if you make it to kaikoura (east side of south island) stop @ the bakery!

ok – so i was there for a really long time and really liked almost everywhere – i tried to stay out of the cities.

if you email me with more specifics i may be able to help a bit more. breath dot life at gmail dot com.

good luck

hope all be wonderful :)

Well, some cities I really enjoyed were Wanganui and Palmerston North. Both great places to hang for a day.

What are you planning on doing? Do you know what island you will be on?

Wellington is OK if you like big cities. I personally wouldn’t go there…not that I have anything against it but it’s kinda like going to chicago (Michigan avenue?!?) for fun. =) It’s cool but I don’t know. Not me. =)

Almost ANY little town is cool to stop in for a while as well. Totally awesome!!! =)

there are several mountains there, you might look into climbing one of those. (tiresome, but a great view you will not regret)

I used couchsurfing.com when I was in New Zealand and found myself hanging out with locals on my very first day. I stayed with friends in Christchurch and did several day trips including French Akaroa, wine lands, caving, Lord of the Rings inspired scenic drives and sea kayaking.

When I traveled solo, I used nakedbus.com for a $1 NZD each trip! If you are flexbile, this is an incredibly cheap way to see the entire country via the bus routes.

My best advice is not to underestimate New Zealand. There is no shortage of adventures and fun to be had here, that is for certain! I allotted three weeks just to see the South Island only and still was hard pressed to graze the surface. To be fair, NZ is worthy of a three month sojourn in order to give the country a good look-see. No less.

If you’re not going for cheesy tourist traps—stay well clear of Queenstown. If you find yourself in the area, Wanaka is quite a bit more laid back and not as developed. But even Wanaka is quite full of foreigners. Most of the ‘locals’ in Wanaka/Queenstown are transient travelers on working holiday visas. Though there are some great people there as well! Don’t get me wrong.

If you’re going for a more outdoorsy crowd, I’d suggest Christchurch as a city to visit. Dunedin is great (where I have been living for just over a year now), but it is more of a college town than anything. Surely if you head out on the town as a single woman you’ll meet some of the college crowd!

I didn’t spend much time on the North Island, so I can’t speak very well to those cities. Having said that I have spent a few weeks off and on in Wellington and would actually say Wellington is probably one of the best cities to visit as a single traveler. Great places to sit and have coffee on the wharf, nice museums, great cafe culture, a variety of night clubs, all in a wonderful artistic community. Oh and there are few gardens and historic buildings/cable cars nearby. Public transport is very decent, so much so that there is even a Zoo within reach of the transport system.

Yeah—I’d say give Wellington a go.

Best of luck! Enjoy!

For my money it would be Christchurch – nice human (walkable) scale yet with urban amenities. I found Wellington to be a little soul-less – but it may just be that I didn’t spend enough time there; other people seem to be keen on it. Auckland is by far the biggest city, with plenty of city “stuff”.

A dark-horse candidate would be Napier, a small city with a remarkable concentration of art deco architecture.

Have a great trip!

If your wanting to go to a city, I recommend Wellington. But there are also lots of good smaller places in New Zealand such as Nelson, which is a really sunny, friendly area. Good Luck with your travels.

I spent the most time in Auckland, although I hit some other places as well. Honestly, I have the same goal every time I travel, with regard to avoiding tourist traps- Scope out the coffee shops. A lot of the locals will be chilling there…Good place to people-watch and strike up conversations.

Also depends what time of year you go. I found that Wellington has a pretty decent crowd to hang out with, but it seemed like a lot of stuff closed up early while I was there. Queenstown can also have a pretty good nightlife, but again, I think it depends what time of year you go.

Christchurch, in South Island, definitely. It is one of the most beautiful city in the world.

I enjoyed Wellington too , in North Island, because there are plenty of cafés , but the city is very windy.

Remember New Zealand has a low population. There are no big cities there, except Auckland ( 1,3 million people). If you are looking a peaceful place, non-stressed people, breathtaking views this is the place.Enjoy your trip !
out/2009
From Brazil

I just have to point out quickly… not Palmerston North!! My husband lived there for 3 years and the bars are lacking class and filled with a lot of university students and army guys looking for fights all the time.

I’d recommend Wellington, as most people have. It’s a small city that is just so friendly and fun. I have to point out I’m used to New York City which I live a 45 minute train ride from and Wellington seemed like a small town to me when I visited. It was perfect and the people were great.

Christchurch is also one of the bigger towns on the South Island with breathtaking views, beautiful scenery, and great people, too. Not to be repetitive, but I just wanted to reinforce the good ideas already put out there for you.

You’d be surprised – the smaller the town, the more relaxed the people and the better time you’d have in a pub. Drive around if you have the time and just pop in and say hello! I’m sure they’d be keen to meet someone new!

I’m not sure exactly what you’re wanting but if you want men… well you should probably know we have a drought over here… :)

For city fun I’d stay in Auckland… for outdoor adventures I’d head to Dunedin and do things around the bottom of the south island.

As a single kiwi woman in Auckland, I’d be happy to show you around!

if your looking for men then auckland i think lots of bars and clubs it’s kind of like a real look at kiwi’s, the south island is absolutely beautiful for scenery and extreme sports are epic up north.

I spent a majority of my time in Picton. It’s a small town on the water with the Marlboro Sounds and boats everywhere. It’s probably one of my favorite places I’ve ever been to. It’s really beautiful and relaxing. But it’s extremely small and most of the people there are a little older and many are retired but there were some pubs, no “clubs.”

Hi, Tacogrrl-Without a doubt, in the short visit (1.5 weeks) I and my two children (2006; they were 15-daughter & 17-son-at the time) arrived in Christchurch from Sydney (our flight from Melbourne was re-routed) very late on the 3rd/early on the 4th July. We stayed exclusively at youth hostels: Rolleston House (Christchurch); Stafford Gables (Dunedin); Tautara Lodge (Invercargill); Lakeside (Queenstown); Franz Josef; Welling ton; Auckland International. Obviously, we spent most of our time moving, usually in a bus, though we took two trains (Greymouth-Christchurch, Christchurch-Picton
/ferry to Wellington). We never had any problems with anybody anywhere in Kiwiland. We never saw nor heard of anybody having problems, though there undoubtedly are…somewhere? Do I want to go back-that is not a question but a statement, just a matter of when (I can obtain sufficient funds) and timing. We went during the Southern Hemisphere Winter (Summer break from school for us) and actually bought some woolens at a thrift store in Dunedin. We bungied in Queenstown, sauna in as many locations as possible, saw the very active nightclub scene in the Windy City of the South (Wellington), used readily available ATMs for all needed cash as well as charge cards for major purchases. Be sure to let your charge/debit card companies know you’re traveling or they’ll block your cards-that could be a real disaster—which I thought had happened to us but not all ATMs take every card…! I think you’ll find virtually everything extremely safe for a single woman as long as you use your smarts and don’t put yourself into intractable situations. We used the travel services of the AYH with great success, and you’ll find hostels a tremendous resource of like-minded travelers, both female and male. Lonely Planet has excellent travel info, too. I wish you well on your journey, please let me know how it goes. You can visit my website for more info: www.juanitohayburg.com