Reddit reviews New Zealand (Country Travel Guide)

I lived in NZ for a year and a half. It's the easiest, most friendly place to travel.

Since this is your first time traveling, you might not know this: Buy the Lonely Planet for your destination. This is the first thing most travelers do once the destination has been chosen.

I highly doubt you will experience much culture shock. It's extremely western. English is spoken. Things might be a bit more expensive than you are used to.

There is a fantastic museum, Te Papa, in Wellington. Check it out. There's also a the National Film Archive which is cool to see.

But you don't go to NZ for the museums. You go for the natural beauty. Bring hiking boots, hire a car and drive to Taupo or Tongariro National Park, rent a surfboard & wetsuit or hire someone for a lesson (Check out Lyall Bay for surfing), etc etc etc..

But all of this is in the Lonely Planet. Particularly for NZ, since it's been so heavily traveled, LP is a pretty good resource.