Chat Plus

Navigating a Visit to New Zealand

During our online chat (most Mondays at 2 p.m.), you ask and we answer your travel questions -- mostly. Here's one we couldn't get to last week.

I'll be spending a week in New Zealand in September (first time!), and to stay sane I'd like to limit my exploits to one of the two islands. So if you had to choose North Island or South Island, which would it be? If it helps, I'm a big fan of natural scenery.

Smart idea to stick to one island, and even then you'll wish you had more than a week. Since you like nature, I'd go with the South Island, with its spectacular mountain ranges, rain forests, glaciers, fiords and beaches. Oh, and penguins and whales, too. Save some time for Christchurch, a delightful city, and Queenstown, which is bungee central. True, you'll miss the dramatic volcanic attractions of the north, but that will just give you something to go back for.

-- K.C.S.