KiwiFlyer didn't respond to the comment on NZ so I will... If you have time, get a hire car and drive north of AKL to the Bay of Islands, Rotorua and/or Taupo! Great fun, great food, good driving and roads, fun accents and people.
Not to mention wine trips south. I'd better leave it there.

AKL's a mini Sydney without the people IMO but outside the city is worth the trip!

(Back OT, maybe NZ has plans to take advantage through a NZ-US, NZ-AU OSA along similar lines to help NZ?)