Climbing in New Zealand?

Hi all, and thanks in advance for any advice you can give!

I'm planning a trip to New Zealand for Dec-Jan that will last between 2-3 weeks. Itinerary is pretty open right now, so any suggestions are pretty feasible. It's a surprise trip for my boyfriend so unfortunately I can't consult with him on this. We live in Wyoming and climb primarily at Vedauwoo, so we're used to gnarly fat crack. However, we're pretty much game for anything (he's been climbing for more than a decade, I just started three years ago).

So I'm looking for two things, if you'd be so kind!

1) Places to climb. Looking for fun day trip kind of stuff primarily. Our shared range is about up to a 5.11a/b or so. Trad or sport - fine either way, but that brings me to...

2) Logistically, what makes the most sense? Should we transport our own gear (I'm planning on renting a van anyway) or rent? Minimizing checked baggage is desirable, as we'll also be going to Fiji, but if it makes way more sense to plan to take our rack, we can totally pull that off.

Thanks again! I've been lurking Mountain Project for a while and I'm psyched to finally have joined up! I'm grateful for any help or tips folks can provide. Obviously I'm kind of a newbie at planning big trips, the farthest I've ever had to plan for was Jtree.....

Check out mojozone.co.nz/

If I went back, I would just take a rope and draws. I lugged a rack around NZ for a year and used it a grand total of two times.

I'd plan some time in Paynes Ford (northwest part of the South Island, near the town of Takaka in Golden Bay). Sweet campground there, even has a bunkhouse if you don't want to bring a tent. Limestone sport. It was my favorite climbing I did down there. There are a couple cool boulder problems with water landings, and a lot of 5.11 sport.

Perhaps check out Wanaka crags as well. Southern part of the South Island.

I know there's supposed to be some great harder sport climbing in the Darran mountains.

I don't know much about North Island climbing, perhaps someone else can fill in.

I went a couple of winters ago, went mostly for backpacking, but did a bit of climbing outside of Wanaka. I think whether or not you bring a rack/rope is dependant on how much of your trip you want to be climbing. We went mostly for backpacking, threw my harness and shoes in just in case, met some climbers in Wanaka and went out with them. Not very helpful as far as where to go, but something to think about when deciding what to bring. If you are going to be there a few months and only climbing a handful of times you may be quite annoyed carrying rope/draws around with you. If you plan on climbing once a week, it'll probably be worth it to bring your own. Kiwi's are as friendly as people say they are, if you meet some climbers, they will likely be stoked for you to come along.

Hey, thanks so much! If there's great sport climbing, then minimizing gear may make sense. Fortunately I have a little bit of time to fiddle with my "what to take, what not to" list.

So far most people I've talked to have been adamant that going to the South Island alone would be more than adequate. I'll wait to hear if anybody else has really compelling ideas about the North Island, but right now I'm thinking we may wind up traveling in and out of Christchurch instead of Auckland...

Paul -- we'll be there 3 weeks or so. Maybe more, maybe less. Depends on if and when we meet a friend in Fiji. At that rate, we'll definitely climb once a week, if not more. If there's a good chance we could meet up with folks who would have us along, then bringing trad gear seems less necessary.

The best places we made it to were Wharepapa on the North Island and around Takaka on the Northern end of the South Island, both are sport areas. We didn't bring a rack but we went there to primarily ski. I don't think you will get too bored between experiencing NZ and going to those areas. If you don't want to bring anything but shoes West of Christchurch is amazing bouldering in castle hill. A small number of routes from each of these areas are on this site.....

Hey
I live in NZ, on the North Island - been here for 6 years and lived on the south island for a year- and I can categorically say that if you're coming to NZ to climb - just skip the north island. There is some pretty decent rock up here (kawakawa bay, Whanganui bay, wharepapa area etc...) , but the south island has a greater diversity of rock - from granitic in the Darrans (far south) to limestone at Payne's Ford and you can usually find somewhere on the island that's sunny,or at least not raining. The south island has real mountains too. The north island, for the most part, sucks. With the exception of castle hill, and ignoring the Darrans because they get 7 meters (thats 21 feet) of rain/year, there's really not any super amazing rock in NZ. But fun can be had. I would leave the trad rack at home - there's plenty of sport climbing and not a whole lot of trad.

Good places to hit on the south island:
Castle Hill - you have to stop here. World class bouldering. Awesome. I don't even like bouldering.
Wanaka - cool town, good crags
Sebastapol Bluffs - near mt. cook, decent rock in a cool setting.
Queenstown - okay town, decent rock.

Guidebook: rock deluxe - one guidebook for the whole south island, sort of a "selected climbs". Out of print currently, but there's supposed to be a new one coming out soon.
Southern Rock - similar concept, more climbs but topos are not as good. Still in print.

PM me if you have any specific questions.

Takaka, Hangdog Camp and Paynes Ford. 'Nuff said.

Wanaka and Castle hill are pretty rad too.

Www.climbnz.org.nz
Best online resource for climbing in all of NZ.
You just need to know the name if the crag/area.
Way cheaper than buying any of the outdated guide books.
I just spent 5 months on the South Island and managed to keep myself quite entertained.
Enjoy!

Find some info here: ericandlucie.com/New%20Zeal…

I thought the sport climbing around Wharepapa South on ignimbrite was really great. The climbing is similar to textured limestone, nicely bolted, with diversity of routes. Bryce's in Wharepapa South rents rope and gear and has guide service, and Bryce and Wendy Martin were really friendly and welcoming. Terror Incognito (5.10) at Froggatt is one of the most fun and scenic climbs I have done anywhere, and the climbs Bryce showed me were all really fun. Ask Bryce how it comes to pass that crags named Stannage Edge, Froggatt Edge, and Smith Rocks (among others) are all in New Zealand.