Articles
Arthur's Pass National Park is the result of a road pushed through the
mountains of the South Island by goldrush fever. Only one shipment
of gold was ever carried along it, but it opened up the treasure of the
mountains and their forested valleys to everyone.
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In the forests of the South Island, beech trees are host to tiny parasitic
scale insects which produce droplets of a substance that is a vital part
of the food chain - honeydew.
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Kaikoura, on the east coast of the South Island, is one of the best places
in New Zealand to eat seafood, and certainly the best place to see whales.
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In the remote ranges of Te Urewera National Park is Lake Waikaremoana -
a place of clear water, isolated beaches and untouched forest.
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The Maori Leap Cave runs through 60 million year old Kaikoura Limestone
that's just dripping with stalactites.
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The Marlborough Sounds area, which lies in the north-east tip of the South
Island, is an intricate maze of drowned river valleys with 14,000 kilometres
of coastline and waterways. It has dozens of reserves (both on land and at
sea) and a wealth of opportunities for kayaking, boating, fishing, diving and
tramping.
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Mt Ruapehu is an active volcano in Tongariro National Park, just south
of Lake Taupo in the centre of the North Island. It's ringed by forest, tussock
lands, desert and glaciers, and in the winter its snowfields and peaks are
used by thousands of skiers and climbers. Usually it's a sleeping giant, but
occasionally it reminds us of the titanic forces that have created New Zealand
and which are still at work below us.
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Mt Taranaki is a volcanic cone of such snow-capped, near-perfect symmetry
that it is often compared to Mt Fujiyama in Japan. Its summit is the centre
of Egmont National Park, which offers unforgettable tramping, climbing and
skiing experiences.
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Mt Tongariro is the most northern of the group of three active volcanoes
that form the Tongariro National Park - our country's first national park,
gifted to us by a far-sighted Maori chief.
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Nelson Lakes National Park is in the South Island at the northern end
of the Southern Alps, about 80km south of Nelson, and about 1 1/2 hours
by car from Nelson or Blenheim, or 5 hours from Christchurch. It's an area
of stunning glacier-carved natural beauty and offers great tramping.
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Rangitoto Island at the entrance to the Waitemata Harbour, Auckland
(Waitemata means 'sparkling waters' in Maori). This picture was taken
on a kayaking trip from Okahu Bay, Auckland to Rangitoto Island.
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Rotorua is the top tourist destination in the central North Island. Most
don't go there for the smell, (although I quite like it), so it must be
the spectacular scenery and the mineral-rich hot waters that draw people
in.
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Whirinaki Forest in the central North Island has crystal-clear water,
blue ducks and soaring forests of ancient podocarps and beech.
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