For a small country, New Zealand sure packs a punch. Its landscapes are breathtaking – think soaring mountains, serene fjords and lush forests – the food is fabulous and the opportunities to delve into the fascinating Māori culture are inspiring.
However, many travellers tend to visit just the South Island, lured by the dramatic scenery of Queenstown or Milford Sound. What they don’t realise is that the North Island is also brimming with natural attractions and adventures. From towering kauri forests – home to some of New Zealand’s oldest trees – to vast crater lakes to otherworldly underground cave systems, there’s so much to explore on the beautiful North Island. Here are just a few of them.
Discover your adventurous side with caving
Glow worms aren’t the only thing to see underground at Waitomo. Most people visit the Waitomo Caves (left, image image Chris McLennan) to admire the thousands of luminescent insects that make their home there. But if you’re ready to channel your inner action hero, the Lost World Half-Day Adventure from Waitomo Adventures & Day Spa is packed with unforgettable experiences.
It starts with a 100-metre abseil into the cave. Suspended in the cavern’s vast interior, you marvel at the otherworldly effect of the misty light and the roar of the Mangapu River echoing from below. Once you make it all the way down, it’s time for the return journey, a slow clamber back to the surface along a series of ledges and ladders. Along the way, you’ll see not just flowstone formations and glow worms (of course), but also some of the astonishing plant life that flourishes on the cave walls.
Feel the heat of hot springs
Studies have shown time and time again that bathing in hot springs is good for you. From your blood pressure to your circulation to your metabolism – not to mention your mood – it’s all helped by soaking in warm, mineral-rich water.
New Zealand has plenty of geothermal hotspots, but Rotorua’s Wai Ariki Hot Springs & Spa is one of the largest spa and wellness centres in the world. The most popular experience is Restorative Journey (Wai Whakaora), grounded in traditional Māori healing practices. The 90-minute program moves you from hot to cool, mud to water, air to steam.
Alternatively, head to the centre’s The Sanctuary, a spa designed to let you savour the healing powers of the mineral waters in a more serene, secluded environment. Add in a massage or a facial, or book in for a twilight session in the Stargaze Pool, carefully positioned to let you drink in the beauty of the night sky.
Hike Waiheke Island
Spend even a short amount of time on Waiheke Island and you’ll notice that everyone here seems to be smiling. And perhaps that’s not so surprising. Just a 40-minute ferry ride from downtown Auckland, Waiheke Island is a world unto itself. It’s a land of white-sand beaches and shady forests, a place where days unfold more slowly and where there’s always time to take a pleasant stroll and tune into the natural beauty around you.
To really get to know this island, you need to lace up your walking shoes. Terra & Tide offers a range of exciting walks, from a forest bathing experience with an accredited nature therapy guide to a half-day bush and beach walk that takes you around Te Whau Peninsula and Rocky Bay. Your guide will point out distinctive local flora, including nikau palms and pohutukawa, the country’s much-loved Christmas tree.
Looking for something a little more challenging? The five-day Te Ara Hura Walk – one of the Great Walks of New Zealand – is a 100km trail that takes you around the entire island. Every day brings a new discovery, from ancient pa sites (fortified Māori settlements) to sculpture parks. You return each night to your centrally located accommodation, meaning you don’t need to carry anything apart from your daypack.
Master multi-day bike rides
Want to be an easy rider? The three-day, 200km Hauraki Rail Trail is the ultimate no-sweat cycle trip. This famously flat route follows two historic railway lines from Kaiaua near Auckland to Matamata, home to The Hobbit movie set. (You can even stop in at the Hobbit-esque Green Dragon Inn for a drink.) One of the best things about this trail is that the scenery never stops changing, from rolling farmland and old gold mining towns to the stunning beauty of the lush Karangahake Gorge with the Waitawheta River flowing through it.
It’s not the only great ride on offer. Also relaxing is the Pou Herenga Tai – Twin Coast Trail, which lets you explore the coastal lands in the island’s far north, from the Hauraki Rail Trail to Hokianga Harbour. The 90km trail can be done in two days, but allow an extra day to visit local highlights, such as the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and Russell, the first permanent European settlement in New Zealand. Then there’s the Waikato River Trail, which follows the flow of New Zealand’s longest river. The 103km trail is divided into five sections, so choose between a one-day route or a longer stretch passing through forests and farmland.
Paddle Lake Taupo
Lake Taupo is not just another lake. Stretching across an extraordinary 616 square kilometres, this crater lake, located in the caldera of an ancient volcano, is a playground for water lovers. If you’re going to do just one thing here, take a kayaking trip with Taupo Kayaking Adventures to see the incredible rock carvings at Mine Bay.
Only accessible by water, these 14m-high carvings depict Ngatoroirangi, the Māori navigator who guided the Tūwharetoa and Te Arawa tribes to this area more than 1,000 years ago. The carvings were created by master carver Matahi Whakataka-Brightwell to mark the end of his 10-year training period with Māori elders.
Marvel in one of world’s best stargazing spots
Not all night skies are created equal. You may have looked up from your backyard and felt awed at the sight of gently twinkling stars but, chances are, you’ve never experienced anything like the night skies at Wairarapa.
Just an hour out of Wellington, Wairarapa has been designated an official Dark Sky Reserve (joining just 20 other places worldwide), thanks to the lack of light pollution. The skies above this region aren’t sprinkled with stars, they are ablaze with constellations. You can get an even more dazzling view by signing up with Star Safari, which has two 405mm reflecting telescopes that let you gaze deep into the cosmos.
Dive with tropical fish
Here’s something you didn’t know you could do in New Zealand: dive among tropical fish in crystal-clear (and surprisingly tepid) waters. Warmed by the East Australian Current funnelled down from the Coral Sea, the Poor Knights Islands in the Northland Region have such a profusion of sea life that French ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau named them one of the 10 best dive sites in the world.
Head out for a day’s diving with Dive! Tutukaka and you might spy stingrays and gropers, turtles and schools of wrasse (as well as a shipwreck or two). The topography is as dramatic as the animal life. Glide through underwater arches and discover one of the largest sea caves in the world, Rikoriko Cave, where the filtered light reveals walls covered with colourful sponges and nudibranchs.
Gaze at a 3,000 year-old tree
There’s something awe-inspiring about the kauri tree. These long-lived survivors soar more than 50 metres into the sky, their stout trunks measuring up to 16 metres in circumference. Kauri forests once covered more than a million hectares of the North Island, but today the largest remaining tract of kauri habitat is the Waipoua Forest on the West Coast.
Take a tour with Footprints Waipoua through this ancient landscape and pay a visit to Tāne Mahuta, or the Lord of the Forest, the largest kauri tree in the world. With a diameter of 4.4 metres, Tāne Mahuta is about 2,000 years old and still growing. Even older is the nearby Te Matua Ngahere, or Father of the Forest, estimated to be between 2,500 and 3,000 years old.
Ride the rapids
Some rivers are wild and untamed. Others are smooth and serene. The Rangitikei River is both. When you join a rafting trip at River Valley Lodge near the town of Taihape in the centre of the island, you can choose your own adventure depending on your mood. Up the adrenaline with the thrilling Grade 5 half-day whitewater rafting trip. Over 11 kilometres, you’ll face off against no fewer than 10 major rapids, as well as many smaller ones.
Prefer something a little more tranquil? You’ll love the full-day Grade 2 trip, which includes a riverside picnic lunch, a hike to a mighty waterfall and lots of time drifting down calm stretches of water.
Newsletter
