The best things to do in New Zealand
21.07.2023 - 07:41
/ roughguides.com
/ Milford Sound
Year after year, travellers list New Zealand in the top ten of places they’d like to visit – and you rarely meet anyone who has been and didn’t love the place. And what’s not to like? With craggy coastlines, sweeping beaches, primaeval forests, snowcapped mountains and explosive geysers, the scenery is truly majestic. Here's our pick of the best things to do in New Zealand.
This article is inspired by our Rough Guides guidebooks — your essential guides for travelling the world.
The most northerly and celebrated of Fiordland’s fifteen fiords is Milford Sound with its vertical sides towering 1200m above the sea and waterfalls plunging from hanging valleys. This national park is located on New Zealand's South Island and is one of our favourite New Zealand attractions.
Experience the grandeur and beauty of Fiordland National Park on the area’s most accessible fiord, great in bright sunshine and wonderfully atmospheric in the mist with the waterfalls at their most impressive.
Or browse accommodations at any budget near Milford Sound.
Milford Sound, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand © Shutterstock
The scenic Taieri Gorge Railway stretches 116km northwest of Dunedin through a rugged hill country. Constructed between 1879 and 1921, the line once carried supplies a total of 235km from Dunedin to the old gold town of Cromwell. This scenic route should be on your New Zealand itinerary.
Commercial traffic stopped in 1990. However, this rail journey continues to offer a rewarding rail journey at any time of year. The air-conditioned train comprises a mix of modern steel carriages with large panoramic windows and nostalgic, refurbished 1920s wooden cars.
Browse accommodations near Taieri Gorge Railway.
Taireri Gorge in New Zealand © LanaG/Shutterstock
An impressive range of cetaceans populates the deep canyons of the Kaikoura Peninsula. The seabed plummets into the 1000m-deep Kaikoura Canyon, located on the east coast of the South Island. You'll find here a network of undersea troughs that funnel warm subtropical waters and cold sub-Antarctic flows.
This habitat supports an enormous variety of marine life, including fourteen species of whale. You can expect to see giant sperm whales, dolphins, migratory humpback whales and orcas. Taking a helicopter ride over this peninsula is a great thing to do on your New Zealand adventure.
Whale watching is one of the best things to do in New Zealand © Sean Steininger/Shutterstock
One of the finest ways to explore the Maniototo is to cycle the Otago Central Rail Trail (OCRT), a largely flat route from Clyde to Middlemarch. 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