Lake Taupo Region
Destination dining with a view across Lake Taupō and a menu that stays faithful to its favourites: generous pastas, salads, chowder, pan-fried snapper with hollandaise and Cajun tiger prawns, followed by sticky date pudding with maple-and-walnut ice cream. Craft beer from Tuatara Brewing is on tap. Eight kilometres northwest of Tūrangi, just off SH41. Bookings essential.
There's excellent accommodation on-site at Braxmere.
27.92 MILES
The Waikato, New Zealand’s longest river, squeezes through a narrow chasm at Huka Falls, making the dramatic 11m drop into a surging crystal-blue…
25.22 MILES
This small but fascinating museum has an excellent Māori gallery and quirky displays, which include a 1960s caravan set up as if the occupants have just…
20.68 MILES
Accessible only by boat or kayak, these 14m-high carvings were etched into the cliffs near Mine Bay by master carver Matahi Whakataka-Brightwell in the…
24.97 MILES
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,…
27.57 MILES
This geothermal area sprang to life when hydroelectric tinkering around the power station in 1958 caused water levels to fall. The pressure shifted,…
15.48 MILES
Northeast of Ruapehu, Mt Ngauruhoe (2287m) is the national park's youngest volcano and the most classically perfect in its conical shape. Its first…
Wairakei Natural Thermal Valley
29.5 MILES
This thermal walk (1.8km) on a secluded property explores the steaming banks of the Wairakei Stream and the deep pit of the Witches Cauldron. Kids will…
Tongariro National Trout Centre
5.95 MILES
Around 4km south of Tūrangi, this DOC-managed trout centre has a hatchery, an underwater viewing chamber, a museum with polished educational displays, a…
4.45 MILES
This interactive science museum inside the i-SITE is a little text-heavy but turns theory to reality with an earthquake simulator, a live seismograph…
4. Tongariro National Trout Centre
5.95 MILES
Around 4km south of Tūrangi, this DOC-managed trout centre has a hatchery, an underwater viewing chamber, a museum with polished educational displays, a…
13.65 MILES
Ongoing rumbles are reminders that all the volcanoes in this area are very much in the land of the living. In 2012 Te Maari, a crater on Mt Tongariro …