Wellington
Housed in a heritage red-brick warehouse on the waterfront, this estimable gallery presents a diverse range of NZ portraiture and caricature from its own…
Must-see attractions in North Island
Kawhia Regional Museum & Gallery
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Kāwhia's modest waterside museum has local history, nautical and Māori art and artefacts, as well as regular art exhibitions. Don't miss the huge fossil…
Coromandel Peninsula
This expensive but intriguing Disney-meets-Polynesia thermal complex comprises a series of hot pools in a lush jungle-like setting complete with an…
Hemi Matenga Memorial Park Scenic Reserve
North Island
This 330-hectare reserve overlooking Waikanae contains a large remnant of native kohekohe forest. The reserve rises steeply from 150m to its highest point…
Bay of Islands & Northland
Green-fingered volunteers have transformed this old quarry into a blissful community park with a lake, waterfalls, pungent floral aromas, wild bits,…
Bay of Islands & Northland
The beach is a gazetted highway: you can drive along the sand at low tide, although it is primarily for 4WDs. Despite being NZ’s longest driveable beach,…
Waiheke Island
Showcasing its offerings in a modern bar-and-bistro complex, this winery and microbrewery offers tastings and activities including archery and laser clay…
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
The Raurimu Spiral, 30km south of town, is a unique feat of railway engineering that was completed in 1908 after 10 years of work. Rail buffs can…
Rotorua
The Wingspan National Bird of Prey Centre is dedicated to conserving threatened NZ raptors, particularly the karearea (NZ falcon). Learn about the birds…
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Four kilometres west of Kāwhia is Ocean Beach and its high, black-sand dunes. Swimming can be dangerous, but one to two hours either side of low tide you…
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Whale Bay marks the end of the sealed road, but a gravel road continues to the wild spans of Ruapuke Beach, 22km from Raglan. It’s dangerous for swimmers…
Wellington
Ngā Taonga is a vortex of NZ moving images into which you could get sucked for days. Its library holds tens of thousands of titles: feature films,…
National Aquarium of New Zealand
Napier
Inside this modern complex with its stingray-inspired roof are piranhas, terrapins, eels, kiwi, tuatara and a whole lotta fish. Snorkellers can swim with…
School of Mines & Mineralogical Museum
Coromandel Peninsula
The Historic Places Trust runs tours of these buildings, which house an extensive collection of NZ rocks, minerals and fossils. The oldest section (1868)…
Wellington
The small-but-nifty Cable Car Museum tells the history of the Wellington cable car, arcing back to when it was built in 1902. Take the cable car back down…
Pukorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre
Coromandel Peninsula
The Miranda Shorebird Centre has birdlife displays, hires out binoculars and sells useful bird-watching pamphlets. Nearby is a hide and several walks (30…
Auckland
This 64-hectare park has more than 10,000 plants (including threatened species), dozens of themed gardens and an infestation of wedding parties. By car,…
Wellington
Inside the Carter Observatory at the top of the Botanic Gardens, this full-dome planetarium offers space-themed multimedia shows and stargazing sessions…
Taupo
Named after one of the first settlers in Reporoa, this artificial pool is filled by a natural spring. Water levels can vary as a result, but with public…
Rotorua
Tucked in behind Mt Ngongotaha, 10km from Rotorua, this 6-hectare park has trout springs, native longfin eels, native birds and various land-dwelling…
Parnell & Newmarket
These formal gardens are blooming excellent from November to March. A stroll through Dove-Myer Robinson Park leads to peaceful Judges Bay and tiny St…
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Firth Tower was built by Auckland businessman Josiah Firth in 1882. The 18m concrete tower was then a fashionable status symbol; now it’s filled with…
Wellington
Built for the centenary of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1940, this gorgeous little art-deco building on the shell-strewn Petone foreshore contains a fun and…
Bay of Islands & Northland
Completed in 1839, this sweet wooden cottage contains relics of the missionaries who once inhabited it, and of Horeke’s shipbuilding past. In the grounds…
Wellington
There's a terrific vantage point at the top of Wellington's cable car tracks. Ride up the hill, ogle the view over the city and Cook Strait, then wander…
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Eight kilometres southeast of Cambridge, Lake Karapiro is the furthest downstream of a chain of eight hydroelectric power stations on the Waikato River…
Rotorua & the Bay of Plenty
Located near the northern shore of Lake Rotorua, these springs are a sacred place for the local Ngāti Rangiwewehi people. A pretty 1.5km walk leads…
North Island
This huge hangar-like museum looks like a 1960s university but houses one of Australasia’s largest collections of antique and unusual cars. Check out the…
Wellington
Just a five-minute amble from the top of Cuba St, Wellington's oldest cottage (1858) has been carefully restored, complete with an organic garden and…
Napier
On the run from the law? Assuage your guilt with a tour of the grim 1862 Napier Prison (the oldest in NZ) on the hill behind the town. There's a self…
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
At the street’s eastern end is Hauaroa Whare, a beautifully carved house. At the western end, Te Rohe Potae memorialises King Tawhiao’s assertion of his…
Taupo
The best spot to watch the raging Aratiatia Rapids. The first lookout is an easy five-minute walk from the rapids' car park, while the upper lookout takes…
Bay of Islands & Northland
For a bird's-eye view over the canopy, head to the forest lookout, near the very south end of the park. You can either drive to it (the road is well…
Tainui Historical Society Museum
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Mōkau's interesting Tainui Historical Society Museum has old photographs and artefacts from when this once-isolated outpost was a coal and lumber shipping…
Coromandel Peninsula
From Tapu, a mainly sealed 6km drive leads to the Rapaura Water Gardens, a marriage of water, greenery, sculpture and platitudes. It has accommodation on…
Hauraki Gulf Islands
This impressive wooden manor was extended from an 1845 structure by Governor George Grey, who purchased the island in 1862. It houses a fine collection of…
Bay of Islands & Northland
Native ferns, tropical plants and cacti are displayed in this little council-run fernery and conservatory, set on the edge of cute Cafler Park. The park…
Victoria Battery Tramway & Museum
Coromandel Peninsula
Across the river from the Waikino train station, the Victoria Battery Tramway & Museum is the former site of the biggest quartz-ore processing plant in…
Bay of Islands & Northland
Five kilometres west of Whangārei, this park complex includes 19th-century buildings, the Whangārei Museum displaying Māori and colonial artefacts, and a…
Bay of Islands & Northland
Occupying a century-old corner building originally built as a grocery store, this upmarket commercial gallery exhibits interesting work by local artists…
