North Island

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Chef foraging for ‘bush asparagus’ on a Maori food excursion.

Pete Seaward

Overview

Packing in cosmopolitan cities, authentic opportunities to experience Māori culture, and the country’s bubbling volcanic heart, the North Island is an exceedingly versatile destination.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

One Tree Hill
Auckland
Maungakiekie was the largest and most spiritually significant Māori pā (fortified village) prior to British arrival. At the top of this volcanic cone (at…
Huka Falls
Taupo
The Waikato, New Zealand’s longest river, squeezes through a narrow chasm at Huka Falls, making the dramatic 11m drop into a surging crystal-blue…
Te Puia
Rotorua
Te Puia dials up the heat on Māoritanga (things Māori) with explosive performances from both its cultural troupe and Pōhutu (Big Splash), its famous…
Orakei Korako
Taupo
Tucked away from other more popular thermal fields, Orakei Korako is (since the destruction of the Pink and White Terraces, at least) arguably NZ's most…
Waimangu Volcanic Valley
Rotorua & the Bay of Plenty
The most visible wound from Mt Tarawera's 1886 eruption, the Waimangu geothermal area spreads down a valley to Lake Rotomahana (Warm Lake). The experience…
Auckland Museum
Parnell & Newmarket
This imposing neoclassical temple (1929), capped with an impressive copper-and-glass dome (2007), dominates the Auckland Domain and is a prominent part of…
Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland
Rotorua & the Bay of Plenty
The most colourful of the region's geothermal attractions, Wai-O-Tapu (Sacred Waters) has a variety of features packed into a relatively compact, heavily…
Wellington Museum
Wellington
For an imaginative, interactive experience of Wellington’s social and maritime history, head to this bewitching little museum, inside an 1892 bond store…