New Zealand!

[Hawgndaaz]

I will be unemployed as of January 1st. Corporate America has taken a toll on me after only a year and a half out of college, having numbed my brain and made me want to get out of this country for a breath of fresh air. I've never been outside the states other than a cruise in the Caribbean about 6 years ago. So, I am getting a generous severance package when my department is cut and I want to get away for a while! I figured it is a good opportunity to do it while i can, as I am still young and single, no kids, and have the financial means to go on a trip for once.

NZ is where I have decided to go, because it is beautiful, clean, and the locals speak some form of English!

I was hoping some of you folks that have been might give some advice on where to go, stay, etc. I am wanting to go mid January for at least a few weeks maybe up to a few months. What the heck do y'all think? I've looked at some adventure tours at www.hakatours.com and might go that route if it is a reputable company.

thanks in advance!

[go hogues]

NZ is a great place to go!  I went there as part of a study abroad in 2002 but we went on a cruise ship (I discourage you from exploring this option).  That said, both islands offer so many different things, from skiing to surfing.
On the south island, you should find a company that offers boat tours of Milford Sound. 
If I got to go back again, I think I'd do some backcountry hiking and camping as well.
Make sure you check out Wellington, Dunedin, Christchurch Tauranga and Auckland too.  Wellington was my favorite city. 
Have fun planning your trip and tell them kiwi's hi!

[yeti]

 I recently got to spend four days in Christchurch on the company dollar and it was a really awesome place. It can be a little expensive but everything is fairly nice. Lyttleton Harbor is also close to Christchurch and its a fairly cool place as well.

Now if you  want to see some interesting places that are very inexpensive I would suggest South East Asia. It really is a whole lot cheaper than New Zealand and you can get by fairly easy on the language part of the deal because a fair amount of the people in the bigger cities speak English and most are also very very friendly and helpfull. It was amazing to me how friendly and helpfull some people really were.
 

[HighcountryHog]

I traveled and lived there for about 18 months(circa '04-'06).  I was able to get a working-holiday visa a lot easier than I expected, and found work on the first day I tried.  I would travel and tramp for a few weeks or a month at a time, then find a job close by to cover my living costs.  My longest "stay" for work was in Wellington, for 6 months.  It's by far the best city I've ever been to in the whole world(and I've been to a lot).  It's got such a small town feel, but it's overflowing with culture.  I even bought a vehicle and used it to explore the South Island, both deep in the Southern Alps as well as all the towns. 

I'm willing to answer any questions you have to best of my ability and memory.  I still have a lot of maps and stuff that really helped me get to all the "off the beaten path" type places.

[Boardon Hamsay]

Thanks for the info, fellas. I'm heading to Auckland, et. al. for 9 days at the end of August/Labor Day weekend.  Really looking forward to exploring as much as I can and the 16 hr, DFW to BNE Qantas flight should be interesting.

[McKdaddy]

I will be unemployed as of January 1st. Corporate America has taken a toll on me after only a year and a half out of college, having numbed my brain and made me want to get out of this country for a breath of fresh air. I've never been outside the states other than a cruise in the Caribbean about 6 years ago. So, I am getting a generous severance package when my department is cut and I want to get away for a while! I figured it is a good opportunity to do it while i can, as I am still young and single, no kids, and have the financial means to go on a trip for once.

NZ is where I have decided to go, because it is beautiful, clean, and the locals speak some form of English!

Solid idea, Hawg. Like you said, great timing in your life to do something like this.