Backpacking 

When you’re young (or young at heart) there’s no better way to travel than with a pack on your back and a country at your feet. And if you’re looking for a place to start, there’s none better than New Zealand. New Zealand is a backpacker’s paradise. It’s a place where the outdoors is celebrated, where you can take a tour or head off on your own, hiking and camping along an amazing number of tracks and trails. It’s the place of the working holiday, a bit of time here, a bit of time there, catching the locals and catching the scenery in a rental car, staying at hostels or hotels or bed and breakfasts, whatever your fancy. It’s a place of the must do’s and the gotta do’s, the bungys, the skydiving and the kayaking down a rocketing river. But it’s also the place for quietness and contemplation, cycling along an old rail trail, meeting people, finding friends and, the big secret of New Zealand, finding yourself.

Don't know where to start?  Check out The Great Backpacking Adventure Handbook (pdf), and Backpacking New Zealand Map (pdf) for all the information you need.