The easiest way to get your hands on New Zealand rock is to go canyoning , which involves following a steep and confined river gorge or streambed down chutes and over waterfalls for a few hours, sliding, jumping and abseiling all the way. This is currently only commercially available in a handful of places, the most accessible being in Auckland , Queenstown, Wanaka, and Hanmer Springs , though there are bound to be more places in the near future.

In the main, New Zealand is better suited to mountaineering than rock climbing, though most of what is available is fairly serious stuff, suitable only for well-equipped parties with a good deal of experience. For most people the only way to get above the snow line is to tackle the easy summit of Mount Ruapehu , the North Island's highest point, or pay for a guided ascent of one of New Zealand's classic peaks. Prime candidates here are the country's highest mountain, Mount Cook (3754m), accessed from the climbers' heartland of Mount Cook Village, and New Zealand's single most beautiful peak, the pyramidal Mount Aspiring (3030m), approached from Wanaka. In both areas there is a comprehensive system of climbers' huts used as bases for what are typically twenty-hour attempts on the summit.