North Island | NZ Destination Guide & Travel Advice

The North Island of New Zealand has a varied landscape and climate, from the sub-tropics of Northland down to Windy Wellington in the very South of the North Island. There are lots of extremely popular tourist stops in the North Island with the most popular 'must-dos' being Blackwater rafting in Waitomo Caves, Whitewater Rafting in Rotorua, skydiving in Taupo, the Tongariro Crossing in National Park and visiting Te Papa National Museum in Wellington.

Apart from these very well known activities and attractions, the North Island has so much more to offer to travellers, like learning to surf in Raglan, kayaking in Cathedral Cove (Coromandel Peninsula), shark cage diving in Gisborne, skiing on Mount Ruapehu and surprisingly for many Auckland has more than it's fair share of attractions in the Hauraki Gulf, so visitors shouldn't be so keen to get out of Auckland as quickly as possible.

In the North Island:

• Auckland - Take to the water and explore Auckland and its surrounding islands in the Hauraki Gulf and go Whale & Dolphin Spotting
• Bay of Islands - Visit the tropical rainforest and luxurious beaches of the Bay of Islands and Northland
  
• Rotorua - Start your adrenaline adventure by whitewater rafting in Rotorua
• Taupo - Try your hand at trout fishing in Taupo, one of the last, truly wild trout fisheries in the world.
• Tongariro - Do the famous Tongariro Crossing
• Waitomo - Visit the world famous Waitomo Caves and see the glowworms.
• Wellington - Feed your cultural side in the country's capital and bohemian quarter, Wellington.
• Rest of North Island
  
  • Hahei - visit the beautiful Hahei on the Coromandel Peninsula
  • Raglan - learn to Surf in Raglan

Many regions in the North Island were used as film locations for The Lord of the Rings due to the beauty of the landscape and it's rugged nature. One of the most famous being Mount Doom, which is actually Mount Ruapehu in Tongariro National Park. make sure you give yourself enough time to experience the real North Island.