Seasonal September - Things to do this month in New Zealand

by Dominic - 03/09/2012 16:20:00

So while winter edges its icy fingers around the corner in the UK, it's only just beginning to recede in New Zealand, meaning that thanks to a landscape with more beaches and mountains and fields and lakes than Peter Jackson could swing a camera at, there's all sorts of cross-seasonal fun to be had in New Zealand this September.

Who can tell whether this guy is
having the time of his life or is
right now regretting not stopping
to smell the roses once in a while?

Freeskiing - Wanaka - until the 8th

If watching idiots hurtling down a giant rock strapped to two pieces of lubricated plastic while protected only by a thin layer of Lycra doesn't quite promise enough danger for you, try freeskiing.

The purpose in regular skiing is to stay on the ground with your skis kept parallel to each other; the purpose of freeskiing is to spend as little time on the ground as possible with your skis going all over the shop.

The North Face Freeski Open of New Zealand is one of the largest events of its kind in the world and is now in its eighth year.

While the event is open to amateur skiers, we recommend that you simply stand under the ramps and 'oooh' and 'aaah' as some crazy people contort themselves over your heads.

There's also bound to be some pretty spectacular crashes.

Ice Skating - Napier - 13th to the 17th

While New Zealand might be easing its way into a spring mood with longer nights and warmer mornings, if you're British, you know what September really means. It means get the heating turned on, the kettle boiled and the Christmas tree up.

It could be hard for you to fight your Northern Hemisphere roots while all the Kiwis around you start whipping out the flip-flops, so don't. Embrace the change and head down to the Harcourts Winter Wonderland Ice Rink later this month to get all your nostalgic homesickness out of you so you can just appreciate not being at home, where it's almost definitely raining.

Gig time

Old school gigs are the best: a chance to revisit your youth, pluck out some old albums, dress like it's 1982 and get some body poppin' done.

OK, so you might not want to embarrass yourself that much but if you're up for some old school flavours this month and you're in Auckland, head on down to the Bacco Room on the 7th to see Photek, one of the pioneers of the Drum n Bass genre, tear it up like these young whippersnappers wouldn't believe.

Alternatively, Bone Thugs N Harmony will be playing Studio on the 28th. One of Hip Hop's original and best duos, get down there for some ultra high speed rapping fun.

Fringe fever - Hamilton - 20th to the 6th October

Fringe festivals are where it's at. You might not see any big names or famous shows, but there's always plenty of names and shows of the future on offer, giving you ample opportunity to get on your future high horse about how you 'saw them when they were good'. The 16 day Hamilton 2012 Fringe is no exception.

With plenty of comedy, music, film and theatre shows, as well as just abundant opportunity to get drunk, what more could you want?

People will tell you you'll never
be able to afford one of these,
but don't let anyone ever tell
you you can't ruin a party on one.

Ships Ahoy - Auckland - 27th to the 30th

And speaking of opportunities to get drunk, where else better, or cooler even, to get drunk than on a boat? The Auckland On Water 2012 Boat Show held in Viaduct Harbour will be so full of rich people boasting about how rich they are that it seems almost insulting not go to down there and drunkenly insult them. What's the point in them having ill informed stereotypes about the 'youth of today' if you're not going to go and reinforce them every now and then?

Or if you're rich enough you could just buy a boat and change teams. Bring your own beer (and cotton Dockers). Unfortunately it's not likely that there'll be any spectacular crashes.

Mountain biking - Taupo - 15th

You never forget how to ride a bike, that's what they say. Let's see how quickly you forget when you're flying down hills scattered with very solid trees, in the dark.

That's right, the Jamis Bicycles Day-Night Thriller's main event - the Rocky Mountain relay - is a 12 hour relay event where teams of up to five take it in turns to ride down hills as fast as possible without becoming a kerplunk ball.

While we would love it if some of our lovely Visa Bureau clients managed to win, we think watching again is the safer option.

Pretty awesome crashes are almost a guarantee here.


- Dominic Ladden-Powell is Online Editor with the New Zealand Visa Bureau, an independent migration consultancy specialising in helping people lodge applications for a Working Holiday Visa to New Zealand.

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

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