Chef foraging for ‘bush asparagus’ on a Maori food excursion.

Pete Seaward

North Island

Packing in cosmopolitan cities, authentic opportunities to experience Māori culture, and the country’s bubbling volcanic heart, the North Island is an exceedingly versatile destination.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • One Tree Hill monument in Auckland, New Zealand.

    One Tree Hill

    Auckland

    Maungakiekie was the largest and most spiritually significant Māori pā (fortified village) prior to British arrival. At the top of this volcanic cone (at…

  • Huka Falls.

    Huka Falls

    Taupo

    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…

  • Pohutu Geyser in Te Puia, Rotorua, New Zealand.

    Te Puia

    Rotorua

    Te Puia dials up the heat on Māoritanga (things Māori) with explosive performances from both its cultural troupe and Pōhutu (Big Splash), its famous…

  • Orakei Korako geothermal park, New Zealand.

    Orakei Korako

    Taupo

    Tucked away from other more popular thermal fields, Orakei Korako is (since the destruction of the Pink and White Terraces, at least) arguably NZ's most…

  • Frying Pan Lake in Waimangu Volcanic Valley.

    Waimangu Volcanic Valley

    Rotorua & the Bay of Plenty

    The most visible wound from Mt Tarawera's 1886 eruption, the Waimangu geothermal area spreads down a valley to Lake Rotomahana (Warm Lake). The experience…

  • Auckland War Memorial Museum.

    Auckland Museum

    Parnell & Newmarket

    This imposing neoclassical temple (1929), capped with an impressive copper-and-glass dome (2007), dominates the Auckland Domain and is a prominent part of…

  • The Champagne Pool at Wai-O-Tapu or Sacred Waters – Thermal Wonderland, Rotorua, New Zealand.

    Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland

    Rotorua & the Bay of Plenty

    The most colourful of the region's geothermal attractions, Wai-O-Tapu (Sacred Waters) has a variety of features packed into a relatively compact, heavily…

  • The Wellington Museum.

    Wellington Museum

    Wellington

    For an imaginative, interactive experience of Wellington’s social and maritime history, head to this bewitching little museum, inside an 1892 bond store…

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Wildlife & Nature

Hikers face heavy fines for entering New Zealand's quarantined forests

Jan 23, 2020 • 3 min read

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