Bay of Islands & Northland
Handcrafted wines include chardonnay, pinot gris and Bordeaux-style reds, and the beautiful vineyard is a great spot for a shared antipasto platter to…
Must-see attractions in North Island
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…
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…
Gisborne
Some 7km west of the town centre in the suburb of Matawhero, this historic Presbyterian church is the only building in the village to have survived the…
New Plymouth
A short drive uphill from the city centre in Brooklands Park is this farmy little zoo. Adorable cotton-top tamarins, wandering chooks and the walk-through…
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…
Tauranga
On clear days this lofty wooden viewing platform, located about 13km west of the city centre, provides a panorama of nearly the entire Bay of Plenty – see…
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…
Gisborne
Near the summit of Kaiti Hill in Titirangi Reserve is Cook's Plaza. Due to a cock-up of historic proportions, the Cook statue here isn’t garbed in British…
Whanganui
Ride the ratchety old Durie Hill Elevator up to the top of Durie Hill, then keep climbing skywards up the austere War Memorial Tower. It's 176 steps and…
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,…
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…
Taranaki & Whanganui
In little drive-through Pātea, 27km south of Hāwera, this creative museum does its impressive new timber facade and Māori maihi (entrance bargeboards)…
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,…
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…
Central Hawke’s Bay Settlers Museum
Hawke's Bay
The interesting old Central Hawke’s Bay Settlers Museum in Waipawa has plenty of pioneer artefacts, old photos and a good specimen of a river waka (canoe)…
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…
New Plymouth
The wonderfully eccentric Wind Wand at Puke Ariki Landing was designed by Len Lye – the artist who has put this town on the map in modern times. This 45m…
Whanganui
Set 11km from Whanganui centre (pair it with a trip to Kai Iwi Beach), these gardens spread over 25 hectares and feature orchids, tropical plants,…
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…
Taranaki & Whanganui
The austere, 55m-tall Hāwera Water Tower is one of few noteworthy attractions in quiet Hāwera. Grab the key from the neighbouring i-SITE, ascend the 215…
Taranaki Aviation, Transport & Technology Museum
New Plymouth
Around 9km south of New Plymouth is this roadside museum, with ramshackle, interactive displays of old planes, trains, automobiles and general household…
New Plymouth
Tupare is a Tudor-style house designed by the renowned architect James Chapman-Taylor. It's as pretty as a picture, but the highlight of this 7km trip…
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…
Taranaki Cathedral Church of St Mary
New Plymouth
The austere Church of St Mary (1846) is NZ's oldest stone church and its newest cathedral! Its graveyard has the headstones of early settlers and soldiers…
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…
Bay of Plenty
Transplanting Cape Dutch architecture from South Africa's wine country to SH2, 8km south of Katikati, this excellent winery is open for tastings and stock…
Tauranga
At its best in late spring and summer, this verdant pocket of roses sits behind an ivy-covered colonnade on a cliff overlooking the harbour, and is like a…
East Coast Museum of Technology
Gisborne
Think analogue not digital; old-age not space-age. About 6km west of the town centre, this improbable medley of farm equipment, fire engines and sundry…
Bay of Islands
A walking track (one way 1½ hours, 5km) leads from the Treaty Grounds along the Waitangi River to these attractive horseshoe falls. Part of the path…
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…
Bay of Islands
North of Russell, on the other side of Maiki hill, Tapeka Rd heads down to a sandy beach in the shadow of a craggy headland. A pā once stood at the top of…
East Cape
Tree-huggers will enjoy the 3000 rare plants at Hackfalls, a 3km detour from the turn-off at the Tiniroto Tavern. Explore by yourself, or book a guided…
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…
East Cape
Not far from the Nuhaka roundabout is Kahungunu Marae. From the roadside (it's not open to the public), check out the carving at the meeting house’s apex:…
New Plymouth
This 1856 cottage, 8km south of New Plymouth, was built by four-time NZ prime minister Harry Atkinson. The cottage is the sole survivor of a settlement…
