Celebrating the new year in New Zealand is a particularly unique experience! Because of its easterly position on the globe and its proximity to the International Date Line, New Zealand is technically one of the first places in the world to witness the dawn of a new year. New Zealand’s famously summertime Christmas traditions have also given way to particularly summery New Year traditions!
Kiwis love spending New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in three varying fashions. New Year’s is generally spent either living it up in the country’s urban centres like Wellington or Auckland, tramping and camping in the Kiwi bushland, or at a music festival that is the perfect venue to enjoy the gorgeous weather.
Celebrating New Year in New Zealand’s Cities
New Year’s in New Zealand is known for its extravagant manner of ringing in the new year and nowhere is this more especially evident than in cities like Auckland and Wellington.
Fireworks displays are common in Kiwi cities. They usually accompany a countdown to the new year, which is generally followed by a trip to the bar or a restaurant with a cohort of friends and family.
1. Auckland
2. Wellington
3. Christchurch
Hagley Park at Christchurch is another famous park in New Zealand that is notable for its lively new year's celebration and features live music and fireworks amongst other things.
4. Gisborne
Gisborne is also notable for being the first city or urbanized area to see the sunrise over a new year and is celebrated by enjoying the drinks at a seaside pub or restaurant.
5. Queenstown
Queenstown is also notorious for the lively party atmosphere that permeates the resort town during the time around the new year. The firework displays and other festive displays during New Year’s Eve in Queenstown are rife with live music, fantastic eateries, and great watering holes, making Queenstown among the most enjoyable destinations to spend the new year at.
6. Bay of Islands
Bay of Islands Firework displays to celebrate the dawn of a New Year in New Zealand can be found across the country. The displays at Paihia, seen from many Bay of Islands locations such as Russell and Waitangi, are amongst the best in the country. Napier and Dunedin are two other popular destinations known for their lively New Year parties and firework displays.
Celebrating New Year in New Zealand’s Wilderness
If celebrating New Year’s Eve amongst throngs of strangers at pubs and bars in crowded cities like Wellington and Auckland doesn’t sound like the best idea, enjoy the stunning wilderness of the New Zealand bush.
Tramping and hiking through the Kiwi bush is a tried-and-tested favorite pastime among locals, and celebrating the New Year in New Zealand by experiencing the bush is one of the ideal ways to ring in the new year.
7. Waitomo
Renting campervans and heading to the beach with a group of friends along the Waitomo area is a surefire way to catch a glimpse of one of New Zealand’s most famous sights; the Waitomo glowworms.
8. Mount Aoraki National Park
Stargazing around Mount Aoraki National Park to lay under the twinkling stars of the International Dark Sky Reserve at the Mackenzie Basin is another popular activity that locals are fond of, and with good reason.
Stunning beaches, beautiful waterfalls, and national parks that contain some of the most scenic landscapes in the world make for some of the best destinations to enjoy the new year in New Zealand with your friends and family.