A true Pohutukawa paradise, the town of Whakatane (fa-ka-ta-ne) sits in a natural harbour at the mouth of the river of the same name. It’s the hub of the Rangitaiki agricultural district, but there’s much more to Whakatane than farming, with blissful beaches and volcanic Whakaari (White Island) for starters.
Read more for detail and Video [...]
SH6 along the surf-pounded coastline proffers fine Tasman Sea views; so fine that Lonely Planet’s Blue List dubbed the West Coast highway one of the planet’s 10 best road trips. Fill up in Westport if you’re low on petrol and cash – there’s no fuel until Runanga, 92km away, and the next ATM is in [...]
The port of Westport made its fortune in coal mining, though the main mine is at Stockton, 38km north. The town itself is of little interest, but is a good base for active adventures in the Buller Gorge and Charleston ranges. Otherwise head north to relaxed Karamea (for the Heaphy Track), or continue south to [...]
Literally the biggest highlights of the Westland Tai Poutini National Park are the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers. Nowhere else at this latitude do glaciers come so close to the ocean.
Read more for detail and Video tours from others.
The Western Bay of Plenty stretches along the coast from Waihi Beach to Maketu and inland as far as the Kaimai Range. This is where New Zealanders have come on holiday for generations, lapping up salt-licked activities and lashings of sunshine.
Read more for detail and Video tours from others.
If your New Zealand travels thus far have been all about wilderness and lonesome, one-horse towns, rock into Wellington for a big-city hit. Art-house cinema, hip bars, designer boutiques, live music rooms and late-night coffee shops – it’s all in ‘Windy Welly’. Wellingtonians are geographically isolated and look inwards for inspiration, a habit that fosters [...]
Hemmed in by hillsides around a magnificent harbour, Wellington is NZ’s capital. Locked in an age-old struggle for hip supremacy with Auckland, ‘Welly’ prides itself in its cultural and artistic wealth. Given the relatively small population, there’s an astounding number of quality restaurants, cafés, bars, galleries, shops and theatres here. And it’s certainly better-looking than [...]
River-hugging Warkworth makes for a pleasant pit stop, its dinky main street retaining a village atmosphere. Grab a free Heritage Trail brochure from the Warkworth i-SITE (09-425 9081; www.warkworthnz.com; 1 Baxter St; 8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri, 8.30am-3pm Sat, 8.30am-noon Sun) if you’ve got some time to kill.
Read more for detail and Video tours from others.
The Wanganui region’s lifeblood is the Whanganui River running through the Whanganui National Park. Despite the fact that there’s more sitting down than walking involved, canoeing or kayaking the ‘Whanganui Journey’ is classed as one of NZ’s Great Walks. Early Maoris named the river’s estuary (over 30km long) Whanganui, meaning ‘Great Harbour’ or ‘Great Wait’.
Read [...]
The Wanganui and Manawatu districts comprise a sizable chunk of the North Island’s south, running from Tongariro National Park in the north down towards Wellington. This is mellow, pastoral country, draped with rounded green hills, gently bent roads, socially significant cities and magical national parks, rivers and gorges.
Read more for detail and Video tours from [...]