Things to do in New Zealand

30 things to do in New Zealand

Listed in full below. The running order is set by votes and loads with the page.

• Hike a section of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing

  Walk through volcanic ground, crater lakes, and views that feel unreal.

  North Island

• Cruise Milford Sound after rain

  See waterfalls pour off the cliffs when the fiord is at its most dramatic.

  Fiordland

• Try a proper flat white in Wellington

  Use the coffee as an excuse to explore the compact, windy capital on foot.

  Wellington

• Kayak Abel Tasman's coast

  Paddle between golden beaches, seals, clear water, and forested headlands.

  Abel Tasman

• See glowworms in Waitomo

  Float through dark limestone caves under tiny blue-green constellations.

  Waitomo

• Drive to Aoraki Mount Cook

  Follow glacial lakes into alpine country and stay for stars if the sky clears.

  Canterbury

• Eat fish and chips on a beach

  Keep it simple: paper parcel, sea air, gulls nearby, and no hurry.

  Coromandel

• Learn Maori stories in Rotorua

  Spend time with performance, carving, food, geothermal landscapes, and living culture.

  Rotorua

• Bungee jump in Queenstown

  Lean into the adventure capital's most ridiculous and memorable drop.

  Queenstown

• Visit Hobbiton at dusk

  Walk the set when the gardens and round doors are at their most storybook.

  Matamata

• Explore the Waitomo Glowworm Caves

  Drift silently in a boat beneath a ceiling glittering with thousands of bioluminescent Arachnocampa luminosa glowworms.

  Waitomo

• Bar-hop along Wellington's Cuba Street

  Discover quirky cocktail bars, live music venues and street performers in the city's bohemian pedestrian heart.

  Wellington

• Bungy jump at Kawarau Bridge

  Leap from the historic 1880 bridge where commercial bungy jumping was born, plunging 43 metres toward the turquoise Kawarau River.

  Queenstown

• Skydive over Queenstown

  Freefall from up to 15,000 ft with panoramic views of Lake Wakatipu, The Remarkables and the Southern Alps.

  Queenstown

• Zorb down a hill in Rotorua

  Roll inside a giant transparent inflatable ball down a purpose-built slope – choose water, straight or zigzag – for pure Kiwi exhilaration.

  Rotorua

• Attend a Māori cultural performance and hāngī at Te Puia

  Witness a pōwhiri welcome, thundering haka and graceful poi, followed by an earth‑oven feast within a geothermal valley.

  Rotorua

• Tour the Waitangi Treaty Grounds

  Stand on the historic site where New Zealand’s founding document was signed in 1840, seeing a carved whare rūnanga and a giant ceremonial waka.

  Bay of Islands

• Walk through Art Deco Napier

  Stroll streets rebuilt in 1930s pastel-hued architecture after a devastating earthquake, now a perfectly preserved style time capsule.

  Napier

• Ascend Auckland's Sky Tower

  Ride the glass lift 328 metres up for 360° views over the Hauraki Gulf and city, or dare the external SkyWalk.

  Auckland

• Ride the Wellington Cable Car

  Climb from Lambton Quay to Kelburn in a charming red funicular for harbour vistas, then wander the hilltop botanic garden.

  Wellington

• Punt on the Avon River in Christchurch

  Glide past weeping willows and historic stone buildings on a flat-bottomed boat in the serene Botanic Gardens.

  Christchurch

• Soak in the Polynesian Spa

  Bathe in mineral-rich hot springs overlooking Lake Rotorua, with acidic Priest Springs and alkaline Rachel Springs pools.

  Rotorua

• Black water rafting in Waitomo

  Float, abseil and leap through subterranean waterfalls on an inner tube, illuminated by a canopy of glowworms overhead.

  Waitomo

• Devour a Fergburger in Queenstown

  Bit into the famously oversized gourmet burger at this cult late‑night joint loved by locals and visitors alike.

  Queenstown

• Taste Sauvignon Blanc in Marlborough vineyards

  Cycle between cellar doors among sun-drenched rows, sampling the world’s most celebrated zesty white wines.

  Blenheim

• Savour Bluff oysters in season

  Taste the plump, briny delicacy harvested straight from Foveaux Strait at a waterfront eatery in the deep south.

  Bluff

• Witness the Moeraki Boulders at sunrise

  See the otherworldly spherical boulders lying like cracked dragon eggs on a quiet beach, haloed in early golden light.

  Moeraki

• Discover the Blue Pools of Haast Pass

  Cross a swing bridge into a beech forest where glacier‑fed pools glow an unreal turquoise clarity.

  Mount Aspiring National Park

• Photograph Wharariki Beach Archway Islands

  Walk through rolling paddocks and dunes to a remote, windswept beach dominated by dramatic sea‑carved arch islands.

  Golden Bay

• Heli-hike on Franz Josef Glacier

  Take a scenic helicopter flight onto the neve, then trek on ice through crevasses and seracs in a rapidly changing landscape.

  Franz Josef