Food The food in New Zealand is very similar to that in Australia. There might be a few more lamb chops and venison on offer, and New Zealanders seem to also love fish. Kumera (NZ sweet potato) is also a common menu item. It’s also worth trying the manuka honey if you haven’t already.

Much of the cuisine is “international” but depending upon the size of the town, there are also lots of country specific restaurants such as Japanese, Indian and Mexican.

If you’re being a real tourist you might partake in a hāngi meal. Hāngi is the traditional Maori method of cooking food using super heated rocks buried in the ground in a pit oven. Typical hangi food includes meats such as pork, mutton, lamb, or chicken, and root vegetables. Herbs may be added such as rosemary and garlic. In years gone by the food was laid out on sticks, bark and leaves, but nowadays the food is typically placed in cloth lined wire baskets.

The price of food in New Zealand is comparable to that in Australia when buying a simple pub style meal. However, the snow currency doesn’t seem to be as apparent up at the resorts, so it is easy to find low-cost meal options. At the other end of the spectrum, it is possible to dine in upmarket restaurants and also get great value for money.

The quality of New Zealand wine is fantastic and they are renowned for their sauvignon blanc and pinot noir. New Zealand beer is absolutely lovely too.

Unfortunately many of the wines seem quite expensive to buy by the glass in restaurants and bars (about $10-12 a glass), and wine in general is more expensive than other countries. For wineries around the Queenstown area, the prices are somewhat understandable considering that the wine yield is quite low. Here were a few of our favourites: Montanna Reserve Chardonnay – Marlborough; Framingham Sauvignon blanc – Marlborough; and Huntaway Chardonnay – Gisbourne.

Nightlife Après is somewhat different at the resorts in NZ due to the lack of on-mountain accommodation. The perilous drive down the mountains puts a bit of a dampener on things. Après generally happens back in town and blurs into the nightlife.

All the towns have nightlife, but Queenstown has the most active bar and pub scene. If you’re staying somewhere off-the-beaten-track such as at a club lodge, or up in the Canterbury Plains, you’ll need to make your own fun with your fellow lodge inhabitants.