Kaikoura
Kaikōura’s oldest surviving building and the last remaining part of the Waiopuka whaling station, Fyffe House's whale-bone foundations were laid in 1844…
Must-see attractions in South Island
Queenstown & Wanaka
Strung along the creek, near the site of Arrowtown's first gold find, is NZ’s best example of an early Chinese settlement. Interpretive signs explain the…
Westland Tai Poutini National Park
It's a very long way from the actual glacier, but this parking area provides a surprisingly good view over fields to Fox Glacier (weather permitting)…
Oturehua
Wander about the chilly workshop filled with lathes, drills and pulleys where inventor and engineer Ernest Hayes manufactured all manner of useful farm…
Dunedin
This impressive brick-and-glass structure is the flash home of Emerson's, the microbrewery founded by local-boy-made-good Richard Emerson in 1992. Forty…
Kaikoura
Fill up a takeaway rigger or buy bottles of Emporium's tasty brews at this simple taproom. There are also escape rooms (two players $70; book ahead) and…
Timaru
Roman Catholic with a definite emphasis on the Roman, this beautiful neoclassical church (1911) impresses with multiple domes, Ionian columns and richly…
Christchurch & Canterbury
The picture window behind the altar of this pretty stone church (built in 1935) gives worshippers a distractingly divine view of the lake and mountains;…
Maerewhenua Māori Rock Painting Site
Dunedin & Otago
Sheltered by an impressive limestone overhang with amazing views over the valley, this site contains charcoal-and-ochre paintings dating to before the…
Takaka
Here's your chance to catch a salmon and have it smoked for lunch or prepared as super-fresh sashimi. Rods and instructions are provided, but the fish…
National Transport & Toy Museum
Wanaka
Mixing Smurfs with Studebakers and skidoos (and an authentic MiG jet fighter flown by the Polish Air Force), this completely eclectic and absorbing…
Dunedin
Founded in 1869, the University of Otago is NZ's oldest. Today the university is home to some 21,000 students, and is well worth a wander, with many…
Nelson Region
The Höglunds have had their art glass exhibited internationally and even featured on a jointly issued Swedish and New Zealand postage stamp. Call into…
Marlborough Region
Built near Calcutta and launched in 1853, the Edwin Fox is purportedly the world’s ninth-oldest surviving ship. During its chequered career it carried…
Franz Josef Glacier
The purpose of this feel-good attraction is breeding two of the world's rarest kiwi – the rowi and the Haast tokoeka. As well as a chance to hang out with…
Fiordland & Southland
Standing on a desolate but beautiful point surrounded by farmland, this 13.4m-high lighthouse was built after the SS Tararua disaster, an 1881 shipwreck…
Christchurch
Take a ride to the top of Mt Cavendish (500m) on this 862m cable car for wonderful views over the city, Lyttelton, Banks Peninsula and the Canterbury…
Greymouth
Good fun for kids and young-at-heart travellers, Shantytown is a recreated 1860s gold-mining town, 10km south of Greymouth. Peer inside a church, a tavern…
Queenstown & Wanaka
The area's oldest commercial winery (established in the early 1980s) offers tours of the winery ($35) and NZ's largest wine cave ($20). It also has a…
Dunedin & Otago
This weighty museum plans to reopen after renovation in March 2020. The new space will house Waitaki Taonga (the Willetts Collection), one of the most…
Christchurch
Wrapped around the Botanic Gardens, Hagley Park is Christchurch's biggest green space, stretching for 165 hectares. Riccarton Ave splits it in two, while…
Nelson Region
Sitting pretty in Upper Moutere, with views across the grapes to the mountains of Kahurangi National Park, bijou Neudorf produces gorgeous wines including…
Buller Region
Westport's 'black gold' is paid homage at this remarkably interesting museum, adjoining the i-SITE. A replica mine, well-scripted display panels and an…
Queenstown & Wanaka
With gold rushes came lawlessness. Arrowtown's prisoners were originally manacled to logs, but in 1876 this schist jail, now surrounded by homes, was…
Kaikoura
New Zealand fur seals can usually be spotted lazing around on the rocks at the end of the peninsula. Give them a wide berth (10m), and never get between…
Dunedin & Otago
Stop into this volunteer-run centre to dig out your own real limestone fossils (to keep!) or check out the frightening 25-million-year-old shark-toothed…
Lakes District Museum & Gallery
Queenstown & Wanaka
Exhibits cover the gold-rush era and the early days of Chinese settlement around Arrowtown. Kids are kept engaged by the likes of an 'Odd One Out' game…
Christchurch
Orana is an 'open range' zoo, and you'll know exactly what that means if you opt to jump in the cage on wheels for the lion encounter ($52.50 per person)…
Queenstown
These 2 hectares are home to 10,000 native plants, geckos, skinks, tuatara (an endemic reptile) and scores of birds, including kiwi, kea (alpine parrots),…
Marlborough Region
As well as offering lodge accommodation, this tourist complex can be visited on a variety of short cruises from Picton. Activities include kayaking; stand…
Dunedin
Gaze upon local and international art – including a small collection of Impressionists – at this expansive and airy gallery. Only a fraction of the…
Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial
Christchurch
Unveiled in 2017, this moving monument comprises a 100m-long memorial wall, curved along the south bank of the Avon and engraved with the names of the 185…
Greymouth
The original Monteith's brewhouse is the HQ for this nationally famous beer brand: glossy and a wee bit corporate, but it delivers a high-quality…
Nelson
A collection of heritage buildings has been relocated to this site, 2km northeast of the city centre, creating a Victorian-era village complete with a…
Fiordland & Southland
Marvel at the rare phenomenon of fossilised forest, extending south of Curio Bay. Preserved by silica in the ashy floodwaters that submerged these…
Dunedin
Dating from 1863, these 30 hectares of peaceful, grassy and shady green space include rose gardens, rare natives, a rhododendron dell, an exotic bird…
Christchurch & Canterbury
Scattered across lush paddocks around 33km from Springfield, these limestone formations reach up to 30m high, and look so other-worldly they were named …
Franz Josef Glacier
Survey the skies before embarking on the short, steep walk to the top of Sentinel Rock: the lookout reveals either impressive views of the glacier valley,…
Havelock
Cullen Point curves around to the northeast of Havelock, sheltering the marina from the rest of Pelorus Sound. A 10-minute walk loops up and around the…
Wanaka
It's worth raising a glass to the view alone at Rippon since the Tuscan-styled cellar door has surely the finest winery view in NZ. In a bid to contain…
