Bay of Islands & Northland
The hilltop Dargaville Museum is more interesting than most regional museums. There’s a large gumdigging display, plus maritime, Māori and musical…
Must-see attractions in New Zealand
Coromandel Peninsula
Around 3km northwest of Paeroa on SH2, this excellent riverside maritime museum includes details of Captain James Cook's visit to the Firth of Thames and…
Rotorua
Drink in the view from the top of the Skyline gondola at this winery tasting room. The wine is made at the bottom of the hill from grapes sourced from NZ…
Auckland
Politics, harbour views and lush lawns combine on this pretty headland with a chequered history. An elaborate clifftop garden mausoleum honours Michael…
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…
Bay of Islands & Northland
Abbey Caves is an undeveloped network of three caverns full of glowworms and limestone formations, 6km east of town. Take a torch, strong shoes, a mate…
Wellington
Across the road from Parliament, this grand Italianate structure (1876) is the largest wooden building in the southern hemisphere, although it does a…
Karangahake Gorge Historic Walkway
Coromandel Peninsula
The very worthwhile 4.5km Karangahake Gorge Historic Walkway takes 1½ hours (each way) and starts from the car park 14km west of Waihi. It follows the…
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 …
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…
Bay of Islands & Northland
This pretty cottage was built in the bustling 1860s by James Clendon, a trader, shipowner and magistrate. After his death, his 34-year-old half-Māori…
Coromandel Peninsula
This expensive but intriguing Disney-meets-Polynesia thermal complex comprises a series of hot pools in a lush jungle-like setting complete with an…
Christchurch & Canterbury
Perched on a hillside overlooking the valley, this striking black barn is home to some excellent drops – try the pinot noirs from the winery's three…
Fiordland & Southland
Built in 1889, this elegant brick-clad structure resembles a lighthouse more than it does a water tower. Almost 43m high, it was built to supply the city…
Dunedin & Otago
Offering over 40 local wines by the glass, including River T's own well-regarded pinot gris and chardonnay, this new cellar door is gaining a reputation…
Hemi Matenga Memorial Park Scenic Reserve
North Island
This 330-hectare reserve overlooking Waikanae contains a large remnant of native kohekohe forest. The reserve rises steeply from 150m to its highest point…
Bay of Islands & Northland
Green-fingered volunteers have transformed this old quarry into a blissful community park with a lake, waterfalls, pungent floral aromas, wild bits,…
Bay of Islands & Northland
The beach is a gazetted highway: you can drive along the sand at low tide, although it is primarily for 4WDs. Despite being NZ’s longest driveable beach,…
Waiheke Island
Showcasing its offerings in a modern bar-and-bistro complex, this winery and microbrewery offers tastings and activities including archery and laser clay…
Christchurch & Canterbury
The variety of craft beers available to taste at this wee brewery never wanes. Stop in to fill a rigger (flagon) to take away, or sup an ale alongside a…
Queenstown
Peregrine by name, peregrine by design…the award-winning construction of the cellar door, shaped a bit like a falcon's wing in flight, looks particularly…
National Aquarium of New Zealand
Napier
Inside this modern complex with its stingray-inspired roof are piranhas, terrapins, eels, kiwi, tuatara and a whole lotta fish. Snorkellers can swim with…
School of Mines & Mineralogical Museum
Coromandel Peninsula
The Historic Places Trust runs tours of these buildings, which house an extensive collection of NZ rocks, minerals and fossils. The oldest section (1868)…
The West Coast
At nightfall, bring a torch (or grope your way) into this grotto on the northern edge of town, signposted off SH6. The dell is an easy opportunity to…
Pukorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre
Coromandel Peninsula
The Miranda Shorebird Centre has birdlife displays, hires out binoculars and sells useful bird-watching pamphlets. Nearby is a hide and several walks (30…
Christchurch
Universally known as the Cardboard Cathedral due to the 98 cardboard tubes used in its construction, this interesting structure serves as both the city's…
Dunedin & Otago
Housed in an elegant, temple-like former bank building, the Forrester Gallery was closed for renovations at the time of research, but should be open in…
Wellington
Inside the Carter Observatory at the top of the Botanic Gardens, this full-dome planetarium offers space-themed multimedia shows and stargazing sessions…
Tauranga
Country-club-like Mills Reef, 7km southwest of the city centre at Bethlehem, has tastings of its award-winning wines. This isn't grape-growing country, so…
Christchurch
Willowbank focuses on native NZ critters (including kiwi), heritage farmyard animals and hands-on enclosures with wallabies, deer and lemurs. There's also…
Parnell & Newmarket
These formal gardens are blooming excellent from November to March. A stroll through Dove-Myer Robinson Park leads to peaceful Judges Bay and tiny St…
Dunedin & Otago
If you've ever fantasised about being transported back to Ancient Rome, stroll through the Corinthian columns and into this gorgeous Catholic church …
Wellington
Built for the centenary of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1940, this gorgeous little art-deco building on the shell-strewn Petone foreshore contains a fun and…
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Eight kilometres southeast of Cambridge, Lake Karapiro is the furthest downstream of a chain of eight hydroelectric power stations on the Waikato River…
Fiordland & Southland
Half-wild, half-tamed Queens Park encompasses a whopping 80 hectares, with various gardens themed from Japanese to native NZ plant life. There are also…
Taupo
The best spot to watch the raging Aratiatia Rapids. The first lookout is an easy five-minute walk from the rapids' car park, while the upper lookout takes…
Christchurch & Canterbury
Sitting in a pretty glade right next to the general store, this gorgeous little Anglican church (1885) has a warm wooden interior and some interesting…
Wanaka
A 3D Great Maze and lots of fascinating brain-bending visual illusions serve to keep people of all ages bemused, bothered and bewildered at this…
Queenstown & Wanaka
The most picturesque of the Gibbston wineries, Chard Farm's rustic cellar door is reached by a precipitous 2km road overlooking the Kawarau Bridge Bungy…
Coromandel Peninsula
From Tapu, a mainly sealed 6km drive leads to the Rapaura Water Gardens, a marriage of water, greenery, sculpture and platitudes. It has accommodation on…
- placement: fullWidth
- path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
- possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [300, 250], [320, 50], [1, 1],
- targeting:
{ "position": "superzone" }
