Rotorua & the Bay of Plenty
Known as Tikitere to the Ngāti Rangiteaorere people, this highly active geothermal reserve lies 16km northeast of Rotorua on the Whakatāne road (SH30). It…
Must-see attractions in New Zealand
Wellington
Housed in the monumental old library in Civic Sq (the new library is next door), Wellington’s much-loved City Gallery does a cracking job of securing…
Okains Bay Māori & Colonial Museum
Banks Peninsula
Northeast of Akaroa, this museum has a respectable array of European pioneer artefacts, but it is the nationally significant Māori collection, featuring a…
City Centre & Britomart
Built in 1856, this stately building was the colony's seat of power until 1865 when Wellington became the capital. The construction is unusual in that it…
Rotorua
Constructed in a striking faux-Tudor style, this museum, which began life in 1908 as an elegant spa retreat called the Bath House, has been closed since…
Tauranga
The city's pre-eminent gallery stages challenging exhibitions of thought-provoking contemporary work. The building itself is a former bank, though you’d…
Coromandel Peninsula
Long, lovely Hahei Beach is made more magical by the view to the craggy islands in the distance. From the southern end of Hahei Beach, it’s a 15-minute…
Parnell & Newmarket
The Wintergarden, with its fernery, tropical house, cool house, cute cat statue and neighbouring cafe, is in the Auckland Domain.
Christchurch & Canterbury
Located within Lewis Pass Scenic Reserve, Marble Hill is home to one of NZ's most beautiful DOC camping grounds – a row of sites tucked into beech forest,…
Wanaka
Wānaka Station Park is a piece of Wānaka that existed before Wānaka did. This remnant of the sheep station that once covered the entire south side of the…
Buller Region
Six hundred metres above sea level, Denniston was once NZ's largest coal town, with 1500 residents in 1911. By 1981 there were eight. Its claim to fame…
Dunedin
The centrepiece of this august institution is Southern Land, Southern People, showcasing Otago’s cultural and physical past and present, from geology and…
Rotorua & the Bay of Plenty
The village of Te Wairoa was once the main staging post for Victorian-era tourists coming to visit the famous Pink and White Terraces. When Mt Tarawera…
Fiordland & Southland
Fifty-eight kilometres north of Te Anau along the Milford Hwy are the Mirror Lakes, a popular stop on this world-renowned road trip. A five-minute stroll…
Christchurch
Historic Riccarton House (1856) sits proudly amid 12 hectares of pretty parkland and forest beside the Avon River. The grounds host the popular…
Taupo & the Ruapehu Region
Mt Ruapehu (2797m) is the North Island's highest mountain and one of the world’s most active volcanoes. One year-long eruption began in March 1945,…
Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
A community trust has erected 47km of pest-proof fencing around the triple peaks of Maungatautari (797m) to create the impressive Sanctuary Mountain…
Gisborne
High on a hill overlooking Gisborne, Titirangi was once a pā (fortified village). Reach it via Queens Dr, or on the steep track from the revamped Puhi Kai…
Buller Region
Remote Waiuta is one of the West Coast's most famous ghost towns. Spread over a plateau, this once-burgeoning gold town was swiftly abandoned after the…
Taupo & the Ruapehu Region
For some peaceful moments away from the mountains, consider a walk to this bush-smothered lake, the centrepiece of the Lake Rotokura Ecological Reserve,…
The West Coast
Lying at the heart of a 7000-hectare scenic reserve, 18km southeast of Hokitika, beautiful Lake Kaniere is 8km long, 2km wide, up to 195m deep, and…
Tauranga
Surrounded by mature trees and lovely gardens, Tauranga's original mission station incorporates the Bay of Plenty's earliest buildings, along with one of…
The Wairarapa
Standing like giant organ pipes, these 'hoodoos' were formed by rain washing silt and sand away, exposing the underlying bedrock. It's an eerie landscape,…
Puhi Kai Iti Cook Landing Site
Gisborne
At the foot of Titirangi Reserve is the spot where Captain Cook first landed in NZ in 1769, and where nine Māori were killed by Cook's crew. In 2019, a $5…
Otago Peninsula
Standing proudly on top of a hill overlooking the peninsula, this gorgeous Gothic Revival mansion was built in 1871 by Dunedin banker, merchant and Member…
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Due to copyright, all the movie sets around NZ were dismantled after the filming of The Lord of the Rings, but Hobbiton’s owners negotiated to keep their…
The West Coast
Water this turqouise doesn't come easily. Half a million years of glacial movement sculpted Hokitika's ravine; the rock 'flour' ground over millennia…
Kelly Tarlton’s Sea Life Aquarium
Auckland
In this topsy-turvy aquarium sharks and stingrays swim over and around you in transparent tunnels that were once stormwater tanks. You can also enter the…
Fiordland & Southland
In the early 20th century, Gore's enterprising Scottish immigrants responded to 50 years of prohibition by distilling their own moonshine. This museum…
Fiordland & Southland
Cutting back into cliffs right on the beach, the huge, arched Cathedral Caves were carved out of the limestone by 160 million years of waves. Named for…
Dunedin
This street proudly held the title of steepest street in the world until July 2019, when Ffordd Pen Llech in the Welsh town of Harlech was officially…
Dunedin & Otago
Oamaru’s main drag owes its expansive girth to the need to accommodate the minimum turning circle of a bullock cart. The town's grand pretensions reached…
Taupo
Two kilometres off SH5, this gorge was a spectacular part of the Waikato River until a hydroelectric dam was plonked across the waterway, shutting off the…
Fiordland & Southland
Incorporated in this new centre is a pleasant cafe (lunch mains $10 to $22, dinner $26 to $38), visitor centre and the Gateway, a modern museum with a…
Fiordland & Southland
Your best chance of spotting rare yellow-eyed penguins (hoiho) is from a hide at Roaring Bay, 8km south of Kaka Point's main drag. The hide is accessible…
Westland Tai Poutini National Park
Follow Cook Flat Rd for its full 21km (the final 12km is narrow, winding and unsealed) to this remote beach, a ruggedly beautiful, wind-blasted length of…
Owaka Museum & Catlins Information Centre
Fiordland & Southland
Vaguely canoe-shaped in honour of the town name (Owaka means 'place of the canoe'), this modern museum is a pleasant surprise. Salty tales of shipwrecks…
The Far North
This civic and community centre features a cinema, a theatre, a tourist information centre, a gallery and the Te Ahu Heritage exhibits of the Far North…
Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre
The Wairarapa
About 30km north of Masterton, this 10-sq-km centre is one of NZ's most successful wildlife and captive breeding centres. The scenic two-hour Te Arapiki o…
Gisborne
An arboreal paradise, Eastwoodhill Arboretum is the largest collection of northern-hemisphere trees and shrubs in the southern hemisphere. It's…
