Must-see attractions in New Zealand

  • Big Shearer

    Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula

    The 7m-high, 7.5-tonne Big Shearer statue is at the southern end of town.

  • Presbyterian Church

    Fiordland & Southland

    This wooden church has perched on a knoll overlooking the bay since 1904.

  • Passage Rock Wines

    Waiheke Island

    'Waiheke's most awarded winery' serves excellent pizza among the vines.

  • Hūria Marae

    Tauranga

    Located on a nondescript suburban street, this marae (traditional meeting place) has a sensationally carved wharenui (meeting house). This is the private…

  • Stony Batter Historic Reserve

    Waiheke Island

    At the eastern end of the island, privately owned Stony Batter has WWII tunnels and gun emplacements that were built in 1941 to defend Auckland’s harbour…

  • Ruapuke Beach

    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…

  • Hamurana Springs

    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…

  • Guy Menzies Site

    The West Coast

    Hari Hari is where swashbuckling Australian aviator Guy Menzies crash-landed his trusty biplane into a swamp after completing the first solo trans-Tasman…

  • Brain Watkins House

    Tauranga

    A fairly ordinary-looking Victorian villa stranded on a hill as the roads around it grew, Brain Watkins House (no, not Brian) was built in 1881 from kauri…

  • Bushman's Museum

    Fiordland & Southland

    Sharing a building with the Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track Information Centre, this modest museum features rusting relics and photographic records of the area…

  • St Mary's Catholic Church

    The West Coast

    This handsome Catholic church, completed in 1928, could only be admired from the outside when we passed through, due to earthquake-strengthening…

  • Clock Tower

    The West Coast

    Iconic only to West Coast locals, Hokitika's attractive clock tower was unveiled in 1903 to commemorate King Edward VII's coronation and to memorialise…

  • Rangiriri Heritage Centre

    Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula

    The Rangiriri Heritage Centre screens a short documentary about the battle of Rangiriri. There’s also a small museum and a cafe with good home baking.

  • Rainbow’s End

    Auckland

    It's a bit dull by international standards, but Rainbow's End has enough rides (including a corkscrew roller coaster) to keep the kids happy all day.

  • Māori War & Early Settlers Cemetery

    Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula

    The Māori War & Early Settlers Cemetery houses the soldiers’ graves and a mound covering the mass grave of 36 Māori warriors.

  • Karangahape Road Art Gallery Trail

    Ponsonby & Karangahape Rd

    Filling the spaces between ethnic restaurants, hip wine bars and vintage-clothing shops, Karangahape Rd is home to the highest concentration of studios…

    • placement: fullWidth
    • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
    • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [300, 250], [320, 50], [1, 1],
    • targeting:
      {
        "position": "superzone"
      }