Just to get you started, here’s a far-from-exhaustive list of various things to do and see around New Zealand.

North Island

The Bay of Islands is definitely the place to soak up the sun, enjoy beautiful tropical beaches and try water sports. Perhaps try a kayak tour.

Auckland has a lot of things to explore. One must-see activity is the Sky Tower, you can even jump off it if you wish. Also in the climbing theme, Harbour Bridge offers tethered walks over the top.
If cute animals are your thing, Auckland Zoo can introduce you to some of our local oddities.
There are several shopping hubs, such as Queen St in the central business district, or Newmarket. For quirkier items, try the Victoria Market which ranges from gem crafting and woodcarving right through to sunglasses and clothing.
To dig deeper into NZ’s past, both natural and political, try the Auckland Domain Museum. Afterwards you can have lunch in the Domain while fighting off the geese and pukekos.
Despite being our largest city, Auckland is not without its fair share of natural beauty. You can take tours out to Rangitoto Island in the harbour, or relax and unwind in the Waiwera geothermal hot pools.

Hamilton lacks a beach but has a beautiful shallow lake. This is the perfect spot to eyeball pukekos and black swans. It also has extensive botanical works at the Hamilton Gardens. Its zoo may not be as big as Auckland’s, but has an impressive full open air aviary.
For the gadget geeks, try the interactive science Excite exhibition (its not just for kids: in fact you see more adults there than kids some days!) at the Waikato Museum, a stone’s throw away from Hamilton’s cafe strip. And for Lord of the Rings fans, near Hamilton is the famed Hobbiton site. To be fair it’s mostly just a field with some props now, so you may find the Southern Alps a more memorable movie sight.

South of Hamilton are a couple of rural places worth a mention. The famous Waitomo Caves are a natural limestone formation with glow-worms that you can walk through, float gently through, or madly tube through in the dark, depending on your taste. And if you hope to spot our elusive national icon, try the Otorohanga Kiwi house.

Rotorua is also a major tourist hub. It happens to be rather geothermically active, which means it’s not uncommon to see steam venting from the pavement or gardens, and the town has a distinct sulfurous odour (but don’t worry, you stop noticing the smell after a few hours!). Its the home of the Zorb ride. It also has a Lion Sanctuary if you’d like to see England’s icon, and another chance to spot a Kiwi at Rainbow Springs wildlife park.
For pampering there’s the Polynesian Spa which has segregated leisure pool and spa treatment areas.

Tauranga and Mount Maunganui (aka The Mount) are back on the coast and have plenty of surf beach to enjoy. Chris learnt to boogie-board here, but if you feel more adventurous you can also take surfing lessons.
The Mount itself is a gentle (2-3hr long and winding) or strenuous (1hr straight up) climb, with a picnic area at the top so you can marvel at the views out to sea and over Tauranga harbour. When you come back down, there are more thermal pools and an ice-cream parlour at the base.
Tauranga also boasts the Bayfair shopping centre if you have need to pick up souvenirs or sunglasses. Tauranga’s domestic airport operates some tour flights, including glider planes.

Wellington is the political and cultural capital, and as befits its status it is a great place to shop and drink coffee. It has electric buses and some of the most hair-raising clifftop bus routes around.
Apart from the great shopping, my best memory of Wellington is a dessert speciality restaurant called Strawberry Fayre – don’t miss it! You can visit Parliament at the Beehive, and marvel at the swaying skyscrapers designed to ‘go with the flow’ in the event of an earthquake.

South Island

… is down south. On a more serious note, I’ve never been there. I understand it has the southern alps, glaciers, carrot farming and the tourist mega-hub, Queenstown – the place to bungy jump.

More to come!

For more ideas, try browsing Tourism NZ