Point Kean Seal Colony

Kaikoura

　　New Zealand fur seals can usually be spotted lazing around on the rocks at the end of the peninsula. Give them a wide berth (10m), and never get between them and the sea – they will attack if they feel cornered and can move surprisingly fast. Since the uplift of...

Emporium Brewing

Kaikoura

　　Fill up a takeaway rigger or buy bottles of Emporium's tasty brews at this simple taproom. There are also escape rooms (two players $70; book ahead) and an on-site minigolf course (adult/child $10/5). Check out the hole featuring the 'earthquake cows', three bovine locals that were stranded on a tiny...

Fyffe House

Kaikoura

　　Kaikōura’s oldest surviving building and the last remaining part of the Waiopuka whaling station, Fyffe House's whale-bone foundations were laid in 1844. Fronted with a colourful garden, the little two-storey cottage offers a fascinating insight into the lives of early British settlers. Interpretive displays are complemented by historic objects (including...

Zealong Tea Estate

Hamilton

　　Interesting tours learning about the only tea plantation in NZ, located around 10km northeast of Hamilton. Delicious high-tea experiences offering tea-infused treats are also available (adult/child $49), as is a full cafe menu (mains $28 to $39). ...

ArtsPost

Hamilton

　　This contemporary gallery and gift shop is housed in a grand former post office. It focuses on the best of local art: paintings, glass, prints, textiles and photography. The Hamilton i-SITE is also located here. ...

Hamilton Zoo

Hamilton

　　Hamilton Zoo houses 500-plus species including wily and curious chimpanzees. Guided-tour options include Face2Face opportunities to go behind the scenes to meet various animals, plus daily Meet the Keeper talks (free) from the critters’ caregivers. The zoo is 8km northwest of Hamilton city centre. ...

Classics Museum

Hamilton

　　Travel back through time amid this collection of more than 100 classic cars from the first half of the 20th century. Even if you’re not a motorhead, you’ll still be dazzled by the crazy Amphicar and the cool Maserati and Corvette sports cars. The museum is just off SH1, northwest...

Riff Raff

Hamilton

　　One of Hamilton’s more unusual public artworks is a life-sized statue of Rocky Horror Picture Show writer Richard O’Brien, aka Riff Raff, the time-warping alien from the planet Transsexual. It looks over a small park on the site of the former Embassy Theatre where O’Brien worked as a hairdresser, though...

Waikato River

Hamilton

　　Bush-covered walkways run along both sides of the river and provide the city’s green belt. Jogging paths continue to the boardwalk circling Lake Rotoroa, west of the centre. Memorial Park is closer to town and has the remains of PS Rangiriri – an iron-clad, steam-powered gunboat from the Waikato War...

Hamilton Gardens

Hamilton

　　Spread over 50 hectares southeast of the city centre, Hamilton Gardens incorporates a large park, a cafe, a restaurant, and extravagant themed and enclosed gardens. There are separate Italian Renaissance, Chinese, Japanese, English and American gardens, and the Char Bagh Garden is inspired by the gardens near India's famed Taj...

Ohinemutu

Rotorua

　　Ohinemutu is a lakeside Māori village that is home to around 260 people. Highlights include the 1905 Tama-te-Kapua Meeting House (not open to visitors), many steaming volcanic vents, and the wonderful Māori-British mash-up that is St Faith’s Anglican Church. Be respectful if you visit the village: this is private land,...

Rainbow Springs Nature Park

Rotorua

　　The natural springs here are home to wild trout and eels, which you can peer at through an underwater viewer, and plenty of animals, including tuatara (a native reptile) and native birds. The star feature is the National Kiwi Hatchery (tour only $24, with park admission $10), which hatches around...

Rotorua Museum

Rotorua

　　Constructed in a striking faux-Tudor style, this museum, which began life in 1908 as an elegant spa retreat called the Bath House, has been closed since 2016 due to earthquake damage, but it remains one of New Zealand's most photographed buildings. Plans are for it to hopefully reopen in 2021....

Kuirau Park

Rotorua

　　Thermal activity comes no cheaper than at this free public park that runs along the western edge of the town centre. It's a wonderful juxtaposition of genteel gardens and nature at its most unpredictable – Dante's Inferno with green grass. Parents push strollers past duck-filled ponds and through the wisteria...

Wingspan

Rotorua

　　The Wingspan National Bird of Prey Centre is dedicated to conserving threatened NZ raptors, particularly the karearea (NZ falcon). Learn about the birds in the museum display, then take a sneaky peek into the incubation area before walking through the all-weather aviary. Make sure you're here by 1.30pm for the...

Whakarewarewa

Rotorua

　　Wander the streets of this living village, where the local Tūhourangi/Ngāti Wāhiao people have resided for centuries, with its homes, stores, cafes and lookouts over the Pōhutu geyser in neighbouring Te Puia. Villagers lead the tours (departing hourly from 9am to 4pm) and tell stories of their way of life...

Redwoods Whakarewarewa Forest

Rotorua

　　This magical park of forest giants is 5km southeast of town. From 1899, 170 tree species were planted here to see which could be grown successfully for timber. Mighty Californian redwoods (up to 72m high) give the park its grandeur today. Walking tracks range from a half-hour wander through the...

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 geyser that erupts around 20 times a day, spurting hot water up to 30m skyward. It erupts in tandem with the adjoining Prince of Wales’ Feathers...

Robbins Park

Tauranga

　　At its best in late spring and summer, this verdant pocket of roses sits behind an ivy-covered colonnade on a cliff overlooking the harbour, and is like a formal European garden. The beautifully maintained tropical greenhouse features delicate orchids and giant staghorn ferns. ...

Minden Lookout

Tauranga

　　On clear days this lofty wooden viewing platform, located about 13km west of the city centre, provides a panorama of nearly the entire Bay of Plenty – see if you can spot Whakaari (White Island) steaming away in the distance. To get here, take SH2 to Te Puna and turn...

Monmouth Redoubt

Tauranga

　　Shaded by huge pohutukawa trees, spooky Monmouth Redoubt was originally a Māori pā (fortified village), then taken over and adapted by British soldiers during the New Zealand Wars. 　　At the foot of the Redoubt, on the end of the Strand, is Te Awanui, a ceremonial waka (canoe) carved in 1972,...

Mission Cemetery

Tauranga

　　This shady little cemetery, overlooking the bridge, has some interesting memorials relating to battles fought between local Māori and government forces in the 1860s. A prominent red-granite monument honours Rāwiri Puhirake, a Ngāi Te Rangi chief remembered for issuing a code of conduct for dealing mercifully with British civilians and...

Mills Reef Winery

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 grapes are sourced from NZ's most acclaimed wine regions. There's also a refined restaurant that's open for brunch and lunch daily (mains $30 to $35). ...

Hairy Maclary & Friends

Tauranga

　　Hairy Maclary author Lynley Dodd lived in Tauranga for years, and NZ’s favourite literary animals were immortalised in bronze on Tauranga’s wharf in 2015. They’re all here – Hairy Maclary, Slinky Malinki, Bottomley Potts et al – customarily harassing Scarface Claw. Just hope the kids aren’t too disappointed on discovering...

The Elms

Tauranga

　　Surrounded by mature trees and lovely gardens, Tauranga's original mission station incorporates the Bay of Plenty's earliest buildings, along with one of the country's oldest oaks and first pianos. Fascinating guided tours tell the story of the mission, founded by Anglican priest Alfred Nesbit Brown in 1838, and its relations...

Tauranga Art Gallery

Tauranga

　　The city's pre-eminent gallery stages challenging exhibitions of thought-provoking contemporary work. The building itself is a former bank, though you’d hardly know it − the atrium can hold massive works, and it’s an altogether excellent space with no obvious compromise. ...

Millton Vineyards & Winery

Gisborne

　　Sustainable, organic, biodynamic... Millton makes all the right moves, and makes them well. Bring a picnic and kick back surrounded by sturdy-trunked vines. You can also order a cheese and antipasti platter in summer – perfect in the lovely gardens with a bottle of Millton's Opou Vineyard chardonnay. ...

Sculpture of Te Maro

Gisborne

　　On the flanks of Titirangi Reserve is an impressive new sculpture of Te Maro, the first of nine Māori men killed by Cook's crew when they landed in Gisborne in 1769. The 10m-high, perforated steel sculpture was erected in 2019 to mark 250 years since 'the most disagreeable day' of...

C Company Memorial House

Gisborne

　　This cultural centre commemorates the dedication and commitment of the famed 28th Māori Battalion of the New Zealand Army who fought bravely in the European and North African theatres in WWII. In particular, the role of Māori men from the East Coast who made up the battalion's C Company –...

Footrot Flats Statue

Gisborne

　　Gisborne is already well endowed with statues, but this one commemorating the hugely popular Footrot Flats cartoons by Gisborne local, the late Murray Ball, is one of our faves. Wal, the series' archetypal Kiwi farmer, stands with his devoted canine companion, 'The Dog', looking on. For more on Footrot Flats,...

Eastwoodhill Arboretum

Gisborne

　　An arboreal paradise, Eastwoodhill Arboretum is the largest collection of northern-hemisphere trees and shrubs in the southern hemisphere. It's staggeringly beautiful – you could easily lose a day wandering around the 25km of themed tracks in this pine-scented paradise. It's well signposted, 35km northwest of Gisborne. There's accommodation and an...

Puhi Kai Iti Cook Landing Site

Gisborne

　　At the foot of Titirangi Reserve is the spot where Captain Cook first landed in NZ in 1769, and where nine Māori were killed by Cook's crew. In 2019, a $5.3-million upgrade of the formerly grim obelisk marked the 250th anniversary of Cook's arrival, and 750 years since the Horouta...

Titirangi Reserve

Gisborne

　　High on a hill overlooking Gisborne, Titirangi was once a pā (fortified village). Reach it via Queens Dr, or on the steep track from the revamped Puhi Kai Iti Cook Landing Site monument down at the port. Near the lookout at the top is yet another Cook edifice, at Cook’s...

Tairāwhiti Museum

Gisborne

　　The Tairāwhiti Museum, with its fab gallery extension, focuses on East Coast Māori and colonial history. This is Gisborne’s arts hub, with rotating exhibits and excellent historic photographic displays. There's also a maritime wing, with displays on waka (canoes), whaling and Cook’s Poverty Bay, although these pale in comparison to...

Tahunanui Beach

Nelson

　　Nelson's primo playground takes the form of a long sandy beach (with lifeguards in summer) backed by dunes and a large grassy park with a playground, an espresso cart, a hydroslide, go-karts, a roller-skating rink and a model railway. ...

Queen's Gardens

Nelson

　　Immerse yourself in botanical history in this ornamental garden, founded in 1887 to commemorate the 50th jubilee of Queen Victoria's coronation. It's set around a horseshoe-shaped pond, with a bridge leading to a walled Chinese-style garden. ...

Christ Church Cathedral

Nelson

　　The enduring symbol of Nelson, Christ Church lords it over the city from the top of Pikimai/Church Hill. It's an unusual mix of Gothic and art-deco style, with its nave constructed in Takaka marble in 1932 and the sanctuary and tower completed in ferroconcrete in 1972. ...

Botanical Reserve

Nelson

　　Walking tracks through this 12-hectare reserve ascend Botanical Hill, where a spire proclaims the Centre of New Zealand. The actual centre is 55km southwest of here, but the views are great regardless. NZ’s first-ever rugby match was played at the foot of the hill on 14 May 1870. ...

Suter Art Gallery

Nelson

　　Redeveloped in 2016 with a series of contemporary, light-filled exhibition spaces, Nelson’s public art gallery presents changing exhibitions from a collection that includes Kiwi big hitters such as Gordon Walters, Ralph Hotere and Don Binney. The complex incorporates an art-house cinema, an excellent gift shop and a riverside cafe. ...

Nelson Classic Car Museum

Nelson

　　Nelson's Classic Car Museum houses more than 150 mint-condition classic cars, spanning over a decade of automotive history. ...

Founders Heritage Park

Nelson

　　A collection of heritage buildings has been relocated to this site, 2km northeast of the city centre, creating a Victorian-era village complete with a church, pub, windmill and model railway (rides adult/child $6/4). Quaint shops now stock artisan products, while larger sheds display stagecoaches and vintage buses. Wet your whistle...

Nelson Provincial Museum

Nelson

　　This modern museum is filled with a jumble of cultural heritage and natural history exhibits with a strong regional focus, including an almost Easter Island–esque stone statue, beautiful greenstone hei-tiki (stylised human figures) pendants, patu (warriors' clubs) and even the gown worn by Nobel Prize–winning scientist and Nelson College alumni...

Pollard Park

Blenheim

　　Ten minutes' walk from town, this 25-hectare park has beautiful blooming and scented gardens, a playground, tennis courts and a nine-hole golf course. It's pretty as a picture when lit up on summer evenings. Five minutes away, on the way to town, is the extensive Taylor River Floodway Reserve, a...

Marlborough Museum

Blenheim

　　The history of NZ's wine industry is celebrated here, along with fascinating displays devoted to finds from Wairau Bar, the site of the country's earliest known settlement. Look out for the karetao, a traditional wooden puppet covered in moko (tattoos) and designed to perform a haka (ceremonial dance). The museum...

Te Whare Ra

Blenheim

　　Compact, hands-on winery creating gorgeous sauvignon blanc, riesling, gewürztraminer and pinot gris. ...