Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre
New Plymouth
This two-headed artistic beast is arguably NZ's best regional art gallery, presenting contemporary – and often experimental and provocative – local and…
Must-see attractions in Taranaki & Whanganui
Whanganui
Spend an hour or two in one of NZ’s better natural history museums. Te Atihaunui-a-Pāpārange Māori exhibits include an amazing waka (canoe), …
Taranaki & Whanganui
Elvis lives! At least he does at Kevin D Wasley's astonishing museum, which houses more than 10,000 of the King’s records and a mind-blowing collection of…
New Plymouth
Lush Pukekura has 49 hectares of gardens, playgrounds, trails, streams, waterfalls, ponds and display houses. In summer, rowboats (per half-hour $15)…
New Plymouth
Translating as ‘Hill of Chiefs’, Puke Ariki was once a pā (fortified village) site, and is now home to the i-SITE, a fab regional museum, a library, a…
Palmerston North
Fans of the oval ball holler about the New Zealand Rugby Museum, an amazing space overflowing with rugby paraphernalia, from a 1905 All Blacks jumper to a…
Palmerston North
Palmerston's North's iconic new landmark is this elegant 194m-long bridge over the Manawatu River – a critical link in a 9km network of cycling and…
Whanganui
The elegant old neoclassical Sarjeant Gallery building in Queens Park is closed for earthquake-proofing. In the interim, the gallery's estimable art…
Whanganui
The pick of Whanganui's many glass studios. Watch glass-blowers working, check out the gallery, take a one-day glass-blowing course ($290, four people max…
Palmerston North
Te Manawa merges a museum and art gallery into one experience, with vast collections joining the dots between art, science and history. The museum has a…
Whanganui
Across City Bridge from downtown Whanganui, this elevator was built with grand visions for Durie Hill’s residential future. Beyond an entrance lined with…
New Plymouth
At 156m, this craggy, steep-sided hill is almost as tall as New Plymouth's old power-station chimney down at the port (198m). Paritutu translates as …
Taranaki & Whanganui
With no roads on either side, you don't need to be a genius to decipher this bridge's name. Originally built so that horses could cross the river to…
Whanganui
The historical displays here are interesting, but everyone's here for the PS Waimarie, the last of the Whanganui River paddle steamers. In 1900 it was…
Whanganui
Across the City Bridge from town and 1km towards the sea is the Putiki Church (aka St Paul’s Memorial Church). It’s unremarkable externally, but just like…
Taranaki & Whanganui
The town of Whangamomona (population 40) is a highlight. This quirky village declared itself an independent republic in 1989 after disagreements with…
Whanganui
Follow the Whanganui River's western riverbank seawards for 8km and you'll arrive in Castlecliff, a wonderfully low-key beach 'burb dominated by a huge…
Taranaki & Whanganui
You can access Waihi Beach by turning into Denby Rd and descending the steep gravel track from the carpark. At low tide you can walk to Ohawe Beach (or do…
New Plymouth
This sprawling garden, 23km south of New Plymouth, is home to thriving masses of rhododendrons and azaleas. The blooms are at their bloomin' best between…
Whanganui
Kai Iwi is a wild ocean frontier, strewn with black sand, a ruined WWII gun emplacement and masses of driftwood (you might see locals collecting it for…
New Plymouth
Just past the Fitzroy Golf Course and accessible via Fitzroy Seaside Park or Peringa Park, this 83m-long bridge crosses Waiwhakaiho River and is part of…
Whanganui
A couple of kilometres northwest of the centre, Virginia Lake is the perfect place for a stroll (around the lake or the woodland walk). Aside from the…
Taranaki & Whanganui
Around a corner in the Whanganui River Rd in Jerusalem, the picture-perfect, red-and-mustard spire of St Joseph’s Church stands tall on a spur of land…
New Plymouth
Adjoining Pukekura Park, Brooklands Park is home to the Bowl of Brooklands, a world-class natural amphitheatre and sound-shell that hosts the annual WOMAD…
Sugar Loaf Islands Marine Park
New Plymouth
About 1km offshore, these rugged islets (Ngā Motu in Māori) are eroded volcanic remnants, offering refuge for 10,000 sea birds and a colony of NZ fur…
Palmerston North
Taking the English village green concept to a whole new level, The Square is Palmy’s heart and soul. Its Māori name, Te Marae o Hine, was chosen to…
Taranaki & Whanganui
Spinning north of Manawatu Gorge is Te Āpiti Wind Farm. The 55 turbines create enough power for around 39,000 New Zealand homes each year. It's on private…
Taranaki & Whanganui
A replica of the Cape Egmont Lighthouse, the Historic Cape Light & Museum is at the end of Bayly Rd, a touch further north around the coast from the…
Taranaki & Whanganui
On the southwestern edge of Manawatu Gorge, about 40-minutes' drive from Palmerston North, is the Tararua Wind Farm, allegedly the largest wind farm in…
New Plymouth
Developed in the 1980s, Puke Akiri Landing connects the city centre with the foreshore. The grassy area in front of Puke Ariki features a large, carved…
Taranaki & Whanganui
About 1km south of Stratford on SH3, the Taranaki Pioneer Village is a 4-hectare outdoor museum housing 40 historic buildings, many dating back to the…
Taranaki & Whanganui
The quirky Tawhiti Museum houses a collection of exhibits, dioramas and creepily lifelike human figures modelled on people from the region. A large…
Taranaki & Whanganui
About 20km south of Okato, a coastward turn-off at Pungarehu leads 4.5km to Cape Egmont Lighthouse, a photogenic cast-iron lighthouse fabricated in London…
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…
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…
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)…
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,…
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…
