Advantages: Value for money with amazingly friendly locals
Disadvantages: Hard to think of, trickier to get to than Auckland but well worth the effort.

...12 match, while I was able to see the Lions play Otago for $55 in the Neville St Stand. In Invercargill tickets for NPC games to see Southland Stags come from as little as $10 and of course there is the Southern Sting, 6 times netball champions to be seen for a very reasonable price. All in all Southland offers a lot to many different people despite being seen as remote from the rest of New Zealand. However its a home away from home, with a bit more besides.... Read review

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Advantages: dunedin nightlife, friendly people, beautiful countryside
Disadvantages: not enough time or money to see everything I wanted to

...that's a tad misleading as it's really just a rather large mansion. The grounds and the views surrounding it though are gorgeous. There's some great minibus tours that you can find out in the Dunedin tourist information bureaus that will take you down through Otago and into Southland. You can also fly to Stewart Island from Dunedin, you can get student discount so could go for as little as £50 return if you're lucky. Or if you're feeling adventurous then take the ferry over... But don't believe all the horror stories about the crossing that you'll hear. Stewart Island is also well worth a visit if you can go. There are several hostels on the island and can be as cheap as £3 a night, and who could resist going to the southern most pub in the world for an inexpensive beer. If you're feeling really adventurous then you can go to the chip... Read review

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Advantages: Lots of wide open spaces and great target practise!
Disadvantages: Can get quite cold so remember to take a woolly jumper.

...;Man! – not another bl**dy rabbit!’. Still – it’s the clean fresh country air that gets me every time – it’s like stepping into an oxygen tank! From Otago & Southland, drive up and visit the Manapouri Power Station, (it stinks like rotten eggs) then you’re ready for Fiordland – one of the most untouched places of the world. (Word of warning – do not leave ANYTHING lying around for the Keas, a very michievious and cunning bird and take lots of insect repellant! You might even catch a glimpse of another New Zealand bird called the 'Tui'.. pronounced 'Toooeeee') I’ve just got my map out, and the rabbit thing is little bit further up. However, if you do fancy a bit of shooting (namely Opposums), I’m sure some nice farmer will let you go out with them. This is a night activity... Read review

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Advantages:
Disadvantages:

...... Read review

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Advantages: a unique experience
Disadvantages: none

...Planning your holiday in South Island, New Zealand? This time last year we were getting ready for our trip in October and November. Down under it's Springtime. If you are intending to be in Dunedin you will certainly be looking for things to do in and around in this fine University city or, better still, you could be intending to travel between Dunedin and Queenstown. Either way a trip on the Taieri Gorge Railway could be for you. We were blessed with a day of brilliant sunshine, which showed off the magnificent scenery to best effect. The area of Otago through which the railway was cut, following the line of the Taieri river valley, has a rugged natural beauty, and the range of colours -with the early flowers, varied shades of green of the grass, trees, and shrubs, and the ever present yellow of the gorse covering the hillsides... Read review

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Advantages: Stunnig, exciting with plenty to do
Disadvantages: Not recommended if you don't like cold/rain

...Franz Josef is situated on the West Coast of New Zealand north of the Fox glacier and south of Greymouth. Its an easily accesible glacier with two tour guides running hikes of varying length up among the crevasses. I travelled up Highway 8 to Franz Josef in my beloved Mitsubishi, and its a stunning drove from Southland, however drivers do need to be a bit wary driving both the Haast Pass and the West Coast road. The Haast PAss can be a little treacherous, particularly if there has been snow while the West Coast Road is just particularly narrow and winding compared to some of the others in New Zealand. We stayed in the Franz Josef township in 'Glowworm Cottages' a BBH Backpackers. I am not a BBH member and so paid $20 which got me; a dorm bed, free spa, free soup, free videos to watch and free bike hire. Most of these things I didn... Read review

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Advantages: Outstanding scenery, fresh air, amazing mountains
Disadvantages: Not a one

...Memories, memories .... summer-time flower scents wafting over the stunning Cardrona Valley as your drive along beside a small, clear mountain-fed river. In New Zealand's South Island, Cardrona has a history of its own, centred around traversing the peculiar ''Devil's stair-case'' on the Crown Range from Queenstown to Wanaka. From the Queenstown end, when you come down off the old road, you come to the Cardrona Hotel. Actually, as far as buildings go, that is all you come to because it is the only one there. That's how it has been for ever. For New Zealand, this is a very old pub with a history of being the watering hole for travellers in this back-country part of the Central Otago province. We called one day and the pub was shut, we were shattered. We don't have many old pubs in our country and this one had been on our list... Read review

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Advantages: Beautiful, Breathtaking,Beer... Middle Earth is truly awesome
Disadvantages: None really, if you aren't a mountaineer, take the chopper!

...with. Air New Zealand are good, the food is above standard and the staff are great. I would allow $30 a day for being in the national park to cover food and hut costs if you stay. PS Camping I think is free or a couple of dollars! At Otago Boys Lodge the costs were minimal. This was organised through a friend. You could hire a van and drive straight to Raspberry Creek from you accomodation. Hope you have enjoyed my wonderful experiences and that this is helpful! Thanks for reading Naomi x Please bear in mind this is an active holiday adventure!Shopping is great in the towns but not in the sticks! If any one catches a hobbit please let me know ;-)!... Read review

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Advantages: A beautiful setting for doing some crazy things!
Disadvantages: A long way to get to

...My family and I took a 10 day holiday around the South Island which is no way near long enough and only allowed us to see a small amount of what was on offer. Although we visited several amazing places I am wanting to write especially about Queenstown based on the 'extreme' nature of the place! When I say extreme, I mean that in many ways. Firstly, like many places in New Zealand, Queenstown is a beautiful place. Located in Otago on the South Island, Queenstown is surrounded by mountain ranges and built around the northern shore of Lake Wakatipu, and unlike many other New Zealand towns, does not look to have been purpose built along one main street. The town itself contains everything you would need as a tourist or traveller. Information shops seem to be in every other building and there are plenty of accommodation options for all... Read review

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Advantages: It makes you appreciate a good narrative
Disadvantages: Ropey acting, devoid of narrative, a mess of ideas

...So you're a young director who makes a film that quickly becomes a cult classic, then you have people banging down your door to get something new. Needless to say Richard Kelly was pretty hot stuff after Donnie Darko that captured the imagination with a weird sense of reality, notions of time travel and a suicidal rabbit. So when his follow up Southland Tales debuted at Cannes in 2006, the anticipation was high but soon became a low as the end credits rolled. In the opinion of those at the first screening, Southland Tales was a complete mess. Needless to say after some recuts, a few special effects etc, Southland Tales was released in late 2007 and subsequently tanked taking under $300,000 in the US when it's cost was nearer the $20 million mark. Now I'd like to tell you that is one of those misunderstood films that will get it's day... Read review

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