The best summer experiences NZ has to offer

A group of horses have the beach to themselves near East Cape. Photo / Alan Gibson

Wondering what you're going to do with yourself over the summer holidays? You can keep it low key — one of the great joys about January in New Zealand is that you can always grab a bottle and a picnic and find a deserted beach. Or take our tips for summer, the best season of the year, and the best that New Zealand has to offer.

Best beaches and sunsets

Abel Tasman National Park. Photo / Supplied

There's nothing like watching the sun dip below the waves, so it makes sense we'd pair up beaches and sunsets. Try Piha for its surfing, velvety black sand and wild, isolated backdrop of rugged cliffs. Dig your own sandy spa at Hot Water Beach to watch the setting sun, or take a dip in warm, family-friendly waters at Waimarama Beach, Hawkes Bay. Abel Tasman National Park is at the tippy top of the South Island with white sand, turquoise water, and native bush backdrop, while Koekohe Beach is home to the Moeraki Boulders; up to 3m across and partially submerged in golden sand, they're an artistic addition to any sunset photography. For a taste of the real New Zealand, the South Island's West Coast beaches are rugged, with dramatic coastlines edged by lush rainforest.

Best fish and chips

After all that sun, sand and surf, you'll be ready to unwrap a newspapery feast. While the Best Chip Shop competition has taken a recent hiatus (returning 2017) the 2013 winners still hold true. Greenwood's Fresh Catch was the Auckland-wide regional winner, presenting chips in cardboard trays to keep them super-crisp.

Fish and chips on the beach. Photo / Herald on Sunday

Further down the North Island, Cambridge's Queen Vic Chippy uses only quality oil, while Fielding's Fish King Takeaways cooks strictly to industry standards. Heading south, Nelson's Victory Square Fish & Chips offers only the best chips, while The Naked Chip, Waimate, promises a healthier feast because of its oil and cooking techniques. The secret to Oceanz Seafood Silverdale's Grand National Winner success is: give the chip basket a good shake and bang.

Best pies

Tauranga pie baker Patrick Lam. With no formal bakery training Patrick Lam has won 56 Bakels pie awards. Photo / Bay of Plenty Times

You can't have a road trip without a tasty savoury pie. The best were named in the 2016 Pie Awards, with Tauranga's Patrick's Pie Group named supreme winner for its bacon and egg banquet. Also in Tauranga is the steak and cheese winner, Baker Bob's Bakery; if you prefer your cheese with mince, drive north to the Panmure Bakehouse. Fancy chicken and vege? Savan's Bakery in Warkworth has the best in the country, while Counties Bakeries in Pukekohe lays claim to the finest diced steak and gravy. For mince and gravy, Napier's Angkor Wat Kiwi Bakery and Café (we appreciate there are quite a few gastronomic concepts to consider in that name) is worth a stop, as is Petone's Pak'n Save for potato-top as well as steak and mushroom (and that's one of the things we love about Aotearoa. Even a supermarket chain can win a cuisine award). Seafood lovers will be rewarded with smoked warehou and tarakihi from Motueka's Ginger Dynamite Café; vegetarians will revel in the broccoli, pumpkin and carrot from The Bakery Wholesale, Wanaka.

Best Historic Sites, Museums and Galleries

The Govett Brewster Len Lye centre in New Plymouth. Photo / Supplied

Almost as Far North as you can get, Waitangi Treaty Grounds is New Zealand's most significant historic site, and features daily cultural performances, guided tours, and summer concerts and hangi. For one of the best thermal areas, the "Hidden Valley" of Orakei Korako, just north of Taupo, provided the backdrop to scenes from Walking with Dinosaurs. Then there are the quirky museums like Inglewood's Fun Ho! National Toy Museum, Whangarei's Clapham's Clocks Museum, Palmerston North's Rugby Museum, and Geraldine's Vintage Car and Machinery Museum. Or explore regional art galleries like the internationally renowned Aigantighe in Timaru, the Whangarei Art Museum / Te Manawa Toi, and New Plymouth's smack-gobbing Len Lye Centre.

Best Farmers' Markets

The Hobsonville Point Farmers' Market in Auckland. Photo / Supplied

Farmers' Markets NZ has a membership of around 25 independent markets representing more than 1000 small food businesses. They include Hobsonville Point market, housed in a historic seaplane hangar at The Landing, Auckland's only covered waterfront market. Open Saturday and Sunday, there's plenty to fill the pantry. Whanganui's Market by the River is open Saturdays with up to 100 stalls offering a diverse range of products, while Northland growers and producers delight locals in Paihia (Thursday) and Kerikeri (Sunday). Canterbury's Ohoka market supports up to 55 growers and food artisans on Fridays; it's listed as one of the top four markets in 2016. For healthy, local, seasonal food, the Otago market, held every Saturday at Dunedin's Railway Station, offers 65 different vendors from throughout the province.

Best PYO fruit

Fresh stone fruit - the taste of summer. Photo / 123RF

Perhaps it's the thought that having wrecked your back, you deserve a treat, but nothing beats warm, sun-ripened fruit that you've picked yourself. In Central Otago you can pick apricots and cherries at Coal Creek Gardens, Roxburgh, while Pataka Berries, Christchurch, has row upon row of raspberries, plus a great gift store if you need a break. In the Wellington area you can pluck blueberries at Berry Healthy in Patahunui, or try the raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries and tayberries at Ruby Glen Orchard, Napier. Julian's Berry Farm & Café, Whakatane, offers a range of berries as well as fresh berry ice creams for the hot and hungry. Plums and nectarines can be plucked from Valley Orchard, Whangamata, while there are plenty of blueberries at Blueberry Country, Ngatea. And in Auckland you can't go past Best Berries in Kumeu and Whenupai.