New Zealand Guide
Things not to miss
1 Milford Sound
• Experience the grandeur and beauty of Fiordland on the area's most accessible fiord, especially atmospheric when the mist descends after heavy rainfall.
2 Abel Tasman National Park
• Kayaking the shoreline or hiking the Coast Track is a great way to see the Abel Tasman National Park.
3 Wai-O-Tapu
• The best of Rotorua's geothermal sites, Wai-O-Tapu offers beautiful, mineral-coloured lakes, plopping mud pools and a geyser that erupts on cue each morning.
4 Bungy jumping
• New Zealand's trademark adventure sport can be tried at Kawerau Bridge, the original commercial jump site, or some of the super-high mega jumps nearby.
5 Surfing at Raglan
• A left-hand break that's one of the world's longest, coupled with reliable swells, makes Raglan a prime surfing destination.
6 Christchurch Art Gallery
• The South Island's most extensive collection of New Zealand art is housed in a striking modern building in the heart of Christchurch.
7 Taieri Gorge Railway
• Dating back to 1859, the Taieri Gorge Railway penetrates otherwise inaccessible mountain landscapes and is a dramatic journey at any time of the year.
8 Farewell Spit
• This slender 25km arc of sand dunes and beaches is a nature reserve protecting a host of bird species including black swans, wrybills, curlews and dotterels.
9 Moeraki Boulders
• Don't pass through the Oamaru area without a visit to the these large, perfectly round, natural spheres with a honeycomb centre, just sitting in the surf.
10 White Island
• Take an appealing boat trip out to New Zealand's most active volcano, and stroll through the sulphurous lunar landscape to peer into the steaming crater.
11 Hangi
• Sample fall-off-the-bone pork and chicken along with sweet potatoes and pumpkin, disinterred after several hours' steaming in a Maori earth oven.
12 Otago Central Rail Trail
• Taking three leisurely days on a bike is the best way to tackle this 150km trail, which follows the route of a former rail line through some ruggedly barren country.
13 Wine
• New Zealand produces some world-beating wines, especially Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region.
14 The Routeburn Track
• One of the country's finest walks, showcasing forested valleys, rich birdlife, thundering waterfalls, river flats, lakes and wonderful mountain scenery.
15 Whanganui River Journey
• This relaxing three-day canoe trip along a historic waterway takes you far away from roads through some of the North Island's loveliest scenery.
16 Whale watching
• Whale watching off the Kaikoura Peninsula is justifiably highly popular, and you don't have to stick to a boat trip to do it, with plane and helicopter rides on offer to up the adrenalin ante.
17 Tongariro Alpine Crossing
• A superb one-day hike through the volcanic badlands of the Tongariro National Park, passing the cinder cone of Mount Ngauruhoe, along the shores of turquoise lakes and with long views right across the North Island.
18 Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa)
• A celebration of the people, culture and art of New Zealand that's as appealing to kids as it is to adults, with an impressive use of state-of-the-art technology.
19 Hokianga Harbour
• As a low-key antidote to the commercialization of the Bay of Islands, the sand dunes, quiet retreats and crafts culture of the Hokianga Harbour are hard to beat.
20 Art Deco, Napier
• The world's most homogenous collection of small-scale Art Deco architecture owes its genesis to the devastating 1931 earthquake that flattened Napier.
21 Diving at the Poor Knights Islands
• Two-dive day-trips visit any of several dozen sites at one of the world's best diving destinations. A couple of nearby naval wrecks add to the possibilities.
22 The glaciers • The steep and dramatic Fox and Franz Josef glaciers can be explored by glacier hike, ice climbing and helicopter flights landing on the snowfields above.
23 East Cape
• A varied coastline and the slow pace of life make the East Cape a place to linger.
24 Ninety Mile Beach
• This seemingly endless wave-lashed golden strand is a designated highway, plied by tour buses that regularly stop to let passengers toboggan down the steep dunes.
25 Karori Sanctuary
• On the edge of Wellington yet seemingly a million miles from anything urban, this beautiful fenced-in nature reserve is restocking its 235 hectares with purely native flora and fauna.
26 Jetboating
• This countrywide obsession finds its most iconic expression in Queenstown's Shotover River, but there are excellent jetboating opportunities all over the country.
27 The Catlins Coast
• Seals and dolphins and a slow pace of life make the Catlins a great place to unwind for a few days.
28 Penguin watching
• Penguin Place, on the Otago Peninsula, offers the rare chance to see a protected penguin nesting area close up from a unique system of hides and trenches.
29 Caving and cave rafting
• Enter Waitomo's labyrinthine netherworld on huge abseils and explore its glow-worm-filled cave systems while floating down streams on inner tubes.