title: Lonely Planet Regional Guide New Zealand's North Island (Travel Guide)
author: Lonely Planet
description: Born in Rotorua and raised in Auckland, proud North Islander Brett still proudly supports the Auckland Blues rugby team, but needs no encouragement at all to regale friends and family with stories of wild West Coast scenery, hang gliding above Queenstown, and taste-testing South Island micro-breweries. Six weeks on the road impressed him so much that in his retirement Brett plans to build scale model matchstick replicas of all of the one-way bridges on the West Coast. Home is currently a cosy apartment in Auckland with Carol. It may not be big enough for all those bridges.
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  ![Lonely Planet Logo](../images/00001.jpeg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # New Zealand’s South Island
  
  
  ![Map](../images/00002.jpeg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![full page image for How to Use This eBook](../images/00003.gif)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![full page image for Language](../images/00004.jpeg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![button](../images/00005.jpeg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Contents
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Plan Your Trip
  
  
  
  
  
  ### [Country Map](part0004.html)
  
  
  ### [Welcome to the South Island](part0005_split_000.html)
  
  
  ### [The South Island’s Top 15](part0006_split_000.html)
  
  
  ### [Need to Know](part0007.html)
  
  
  ### [If You Like…](part0008.html)
  
  
  ### [Month by Month](part0009_split_000.html)
  
  
  ### [Itineraries](part0010_split_000.html)
  
  
  ### [Hiking in the South Island](part0011_split_000.html)
  
  
  ### [Skiing & Snowboarding in the South Island](part0012_split_000.html)
  
  
  ### [Extreme South Island](part0013_split_000.html)
  
  
  ### [Regions at a Glance](part0014_split_000.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## On The Road
  
  
  
  
  
  ### [Mar