About Dayout

This website is dedicated to the idea that, wherever you go in New Zealand, you will find interesting things to see and do nearby. Yes, the iconic sights and activities shouldn't be missed but we suggest that, once you stop some place, the planet-friendly thing to do is to make the most of what the immediate locality offers. You can search for both live events and attractions.

A traveller with access to the internet can easily find and learn about nearby attractions or accommodation wherever she or he is within New Zealand. The centre of the search can be any one of the over 9,000 places listed in the database. As well as being a city, town, suburb or populated place these search centres include the accommodation places listed. The search results include a "miniguide" for each attraction that features an interactive map showing its exact location.

Dayout can be most useful if you have a PDA with internet access. Then by becoming a subscriber you can download maps and audio guides for the place you are in. You don't need a PDA though. You can also download the audio guides and play them on your computer or transfer them to an iPod or other mp3 player.

We are continuously working to add new audio guides.

How it works:

Name your starting place (city, suburb, town or population location). Choose an attraction type that interests you. Nominate a distance to define the area you wish to explore. Then search the DayOut database of over 3,300 entries.

The attraction types include:

Adventure/Sport
Architecture
Dining
Ecotours
Film Locations
Galleries
Gardens
Golf Courses
Heritage Sites
Information Centres
Internet Cafes
Museums
Scenic Routes
Sightseeing
Technology
Walks
Wine & Beer

Search results are presented in distance order, the closest attractions first.

Tabs on the results page allow selection of a map showing all the attractions found in the search and give a listing of the audioguides in the search area.

The miniguide link displays the attraction address and description together with an interactive map on a printable page.

Most search results also include, in the right-hand column, links to pictures of the attraction and relevant websites.

The Accommodation Database

DayOut lets you link to more than 3000 accommodation entries. These are in four categories:

Motels
Backpackers
Home stays and Farms stays (Bed and Breakfasts)
Holiday Parks (camping grounds)

You can search Accommodation entries in the same way you search DayOut Attractions.

We give maps, phone numbers and addresses in the search results. We give email addresses and websites where they are known.

Each accommodation place has been given a unique name so that it can also be used as the starting place in an Attractions search. Clicking on the "DayOut from here" link takes you to an Attraction search with the Starting Place filled in.

Clicking on the "Map" link will display the accommodation position on an interactive map.

DayOut Travel Guides

The right-hand column also shows when there is a link to a DayOut Travel Guide that tells you more about the Attraction. These travel guides are PDFs, designed so you can print them on A4 plain paper to take on your DayOut. DayOut's own writers have researched and compiled the guides. As well as being linked to the Attractions database they are listed by Region. New guides are being added and existing ones updated continuously.

Audioguides (mp3) specific to a particular attraction can be downloaded for use in a PDA, or an IPod, Zen or other MP3 player. Audio guides are now available for many of New Zealands best places to visit.

Walkway Maps

We are gradually adding to the site walkway maps which can be downloaded as pdfs. These high quality maps are sections of the specialist walkway maps issued by cartographer Geoff Aitken's company, NewTopo (NZ) Ltd

A useful point to note when using these maps is that the grid in all cases has a 1 km spacing

Subscriptions

The search function giving basic information on the attractions and accommodation is available to all site visitors as are the pictures, maps and miniguides in the attraction search results.

Credits:

Writers: Brett Atkinson, Jacquetta Bell, Sarah Bennett, Wendy Booth, Lorraine Brown, Susan Buckland, Alan Bunn, Denise Cowie, Mic Dover, Harry Duckworth, Sue Farley, Tommy Honey, Jenny Harworth, Julian Hulls, Murray King, Joanna Orwin, Hamish McKenzie, Geraldine McManus, Chris Parkin, Charmian Smith, Karen Stade, Andrea Stephens, Peter Taylor, Louise Thomas, John Wilson, Jill Worrall, Alan Wylde.

Photo Credits: Kevin Alekna, Annette Blattman, Kent Blechynden, Andrew Burgin, Neil Beckett, Alan Bunn, Denise Cowie, Martin Everton, Lisa Garrod, Chris Gee, Lee Greshon, Bruce Grigor, Helen Devereux, Harry Duckworth, Frank Froelicher, James Gilberd, Fay Graham, Doug Hamilton, Cark Jenkin, Ngarita Johnstone, Karen Lee, Joy McIvor, Nartasha Marshall, Steve Moss, Paul Nicholas, Werner van den Oudenhoven, Bruce Ross, Royal Albatross Centre, Ellen Smith, Cielle Stephens, Louis Schutte, Sharon Seath, Carolyn Sygrove, Peter Taylor, Taieri Gorge Railway, Aaron Thompson, Terry Thompson, Tourism Northland, Vivienne Waterer, Peter & Christine Whiteford, Wes Palmer, Bill Neal, Alan Wylde.

Audio: Brian Busby (production), Rob Mcewen (engineer). Wendy Booth, Brian Busby, Harry Duckworth, Frank Edwards, Tommy Honey, Paul Kitteridge, Konraed Kuiper, Timon Maxey, Chris Parkin, Jo Richardson, Bron Shrapnell, Robin Simenauer, Laura Solbak, Judy Southworth, John Sweetman,Susan Wylde (voices).

Research: Stephen Kaiser. Cielle Stephens, Veronica Gailitis.

Site Design: Amanda Kennett.

Backend: Bill Neal, Wolflight Design

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© Infotour Guides Limited 2001-2006 Maps used on this site are sourced from Land Information New Zealand data - Crown Copyright Reserved.