North Island Attractions

The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the national museum of New Zealand, situated in Wellington. It is branded and commonly known as Te Papa and Our Place; "Te Papa Tongarewa" is broadly translatable as "the place of treasures of this land". The museum's principles incorporate the concepts of unified collections; the narratives of culture and place; the idea of forum; the bicultural partnership between Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti; and an emphasis on diversity and multidisciplinary collaboration.

The Sky Tower is an observation and telecoms tower located in the Auckland CBD, Auckland City, New Zealand. It is 328 metres (1,076 ft) tall, as measured from ground level to the top of the mast, making it the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere, and the 14th tallest member of the World Federation of Great Towers. Due to its shape and height, especially when compared to the next tallest buildings, it has become an iconic structure in Auckland's skyline. The tower is part of the SKYCITY Auckland casino complex and attracts more than 500,000 people per year for a variety of reasons and attractions. The upper portion of the tower contains two restaurants and a cafe, including a revolving restaurant which is located 190m from the ground, turning 360 degrees once every hour. There is also a brasserie style buffet located one floor above the main o...

Tongariro National Park is the oldest national park in New Zealand, located in the central area of North Island. It has been acknowledged by UNESCO as one of the 25 mixed cultural and natural World Heritage Sites. Tongariro National Park was the fourth National Park established in the world. The active volcanic mountains Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe, and Tongariro are located in the centre of the park. There are a number of Māori religious sites within the park along with the summits of Tongariro including Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu are tapu (sacred). The park includes many towns around its boundary including Ohakune, Waiouru, Horopito, New Zealand, Pokaka, Erua, National Park Village, Whakapapa skifield and Turangi.

The Auckland War Memorial Museum (or simply the Auckland Museum) is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its collections concentrate on New Zealand history (and especially the history of the Auckland Region), natural history, as well as military history. The museum is also one of the most iconic Auckland buildings, constructed in the neo-classicist style, and sitting on a grassed plinth (the remains of a dormant volcano) in the Auckland Domain, a large public park close to the Auckland CBD.

The Voyager New Zealand Maritime Museum is New Zealand's premier maritime museum. It is located on Hobson Wharf Auckland, adjacent to Viaduct Harbour. It houses exhibitions spanning New Zealands maritime history from the first polynesian explorers to modern day triumphs at the America's Cup. The museum cares for a number of collections and permanent exhibitions (as of 2006): Main exhibitions, concentrating on: Polynesian, Maori vessels and navigation European voyages of discovery Settlement and immigration Early coastal trading Whaling and sealing Modern commercial shipping Lifeboat, pilotage and coastguard services Navigation and marine surveying Maritime art and crafts Recreation and sporting maritime activities Maritime trades Harbour and port history ...

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand and has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand. It frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set below the hilltop Albert Park in the central-city area of Auckland, the gallery was established in 1888 as the first permanent art gallery in New Zealand. The NEW Gallery, across the road from the main gallery, shows contemporary art. It is located in the former Auckland Telephone Exchange Building which was converted in 1995 into a rather daring fusion of Edwardian and contemporary architecture.

Auckland Zoo is a 16.35-hectare (40-acre) zoological garden in Auckland, New Zealand, situated next to Western Springs park not far from Auckland's central business district. It is run by the Auckland City Council with the Auckland Zoological Society as a supporting organisation. Auckland Zoo opened in 1922 experiencing early difficulties mainly due to animal health issues. By 1930 a sizeable collection of animals had been assembled and a zoological society formed. The zoo consolidated during the Second World War and was at that time under the leadership of Lt. Col. Sawer. After the war the collection was expanded, and in the 1950s chimpanzees were acquired to provide tea parties for the public's entertainment, but this practice ceased in 1964. In 1973 the zoo expanded into the adjacent Western Springs park. From the late 1980s to the present day, many old exhibits were phased o...

Stardome Observatory (IAU observatory code 467, previously known as Auckland Observatory) is a public astronomical observatory situated in Cornwall Park in New Zealand's largest city, Auckland. Founded in 1967, the observatory is administered by the Auckland Observatory and Planetarium Trust Board. The Trust Board was created by the Auckland Astronomical Society (AAS) in 1956. The Stardome Observatory is also home to the AAS.

Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World is a public aquarium in Auckland, New Zealand that was opened in 1985. It was the brainchild of New Zealand marine archeologist and diver Kelly Tarlton (1937-1985). Built in disused sewage storage tanks, the aquarium used a new form of acrylic shaping, which allowed curved tunnels rather than viewing areas with flat panels only, as in previous aquariums. The project is also one of the first to use conveyor belts to slowly move people through the viewing areas. The aquarium's main features are the Antarctic Encounter and the Underwater World, but it also includes several other exhibits and several education rooms. Antarctic Encounter - This exhibit was opened in 1994, and is the first exhibit encountered by visitors. Visitors can view the aquarium's penguins through glass in their temperature controlled habitat. Visitors then pass thr...

Auckland Botanic Gardens, Auckland, New Zealand is a botanical garden that covers 64 hectares in Manurewa, South Auckland. The first purchase of land by the Auckland Regional Authority (ARA) – predecessor of Auckland Regional Council (ARC) – dates back to 1968. Developments started in 1973. The garden was officially opened to the public in 1982. In that same year the first (and until now only) Visitors Guide was published. It now holds more than 10,000 plants.

The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) is a museum located in Western Springs, Auckland, New Zealand. It is located close to the Western Springs Stadium, Auckland Zoo and the Western Springs Park. The museum has large collections of civilian and military aircraft and other land transport vehicles. An ongoing programme is in place to restore and conserve items in the collections. This work is largely managed by volunteers many of whom have been associated with MOTAT for upwards of four decades. Since the passing of the Museum of Transport and Technology Act in 2000, new management and the support of full-time professional museum staff and a large number of dedicated long term volunteers have ensured the Museum's future. New public programmes and facilities now promote the collections. MOTAT was established in 1960 by a combination of groups including the Old Time Trans...

The Waitakere Ranges are a chain of hills in the Auckland metropolitan area, generally running approximately 25 km (15.5 mi) from north to south, 25 km west of central Auckland, New Zealand. The maximum elevation within the ranges is 474 m (1555 ft). The ranges and surrounding areas were traditionally known to local Māori as Te Wao Nui a Tiriwa (The Great Forest of Tiriwa). The western coastline of the ranges consists of cliffs exceeding 300 m (984 ft), interspersed infrequently with beaches. The rugged upstanding topography is formed from erosion resistant ancient volcanic conglomerate and lava flows laid down in eruptions 12–25 million years ago. The ranges are covered in native forest, most of which is in the process of regeneration since extensive logging and farming in the mid–late 19th and early 20th centuries. The ...

The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane box truss motorway bridge over the Waitemata Harbour, joining St Marys Bay in Auckland with Northcote in North Shore City, New Zealand. The bridge is part of State Highway 1 and the Auckland Northern Motorway. It is the second-longest road bridge in New Zealand, and the longest in the North Island. The bridge has a length of 1,020 m (3,348 ft), with a main span of 243.8 m, rising 43.27 m above high water allowing ships access to the deepwater wharf at the Chelsea Sugar Refinery west of it (one of the few wharves needing such access west of the bridge, a proposed Te Atatu port having never been realised). The bridge is considered an Auckland icon. However, there has also been criticism of it, from the nickname of 'coathanger' due to its shape, to complaints that it mimics the Sydney Harbour Bridge in copyist fashion. Bungy oper...

Haruru means "big noise." The water falls in a horseshoe shape - very rare and quite spectacular - and Maori legend states that a taniwha (water monster) lives in the lagoon below. You can walk to Haruru Falls along the Waitangi walking track, or drive to Haruru Falls township - which is only 3 kilometres from Paihia. In the 1800s, there were over 100 Maori villages along the Haruru Falls river.

Puketi Forest, along with Omahuta Forest, forms one of the largest contiguous tracts of native forest in New Zealand's Northland. Home to Te Tangi o te Tui Puketi, the fourth largest living kauri with a height 50.9 m (167'), Puketi is easily accessible from the Bay of Islands, Whangaroa and Hokianga Harbour. Access to the recreation facilities can be reached from State Highway 1 or the network of secondary roads that skirt the forest.

Hamilton Gardens is a group of public gardens in the south of Hamilton owned and managed by Hamilton City Council in New Zealand. They are the Waikato Region's most popular visitor attraction, attracting 600,000 people and holding over 2,000 events each year.[citation needed] The gardens present the theme of 'the story of gardens' and are divided into the Paradise, Productive, Fantasy, Cultivar and Landscape garden collections. Hamilton Gardens is located between the bank of the Waikato River and State Highway 1. Entry to the gardens is free, with most gardens open from 7:30am to 6:00pm in winter and 7:00am to 8:00pm in summer. In the center of Hamilton Gardens is a convention center called the Hamilton Gardens Pavilion, a volunteer operated Information Center, the Turtle Lake Restaurant and the Turtle Lake Café. The first development of gardens began in the early 1960s a...

Hamilton Zoo is the main zoological garden of Hamilton, New Zealand. It is situated on Brymer Road in the Hamilton suburb of Rotokauri, on the outskirts of the metropolitan area towards the northwest. It is owned by the Hamilton City Council with the Department of Recreation and Welfare handling the day to day running of the site. Hamilton Zoo is the first zoo in New Zealand to become fully accredited by the Australasian Regional Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria. The zoo features a number of exhibits, some unique to the zoo. The zoo has over 200 bird species. Parrot Court — contains Australasian, South American and Indian parrots, including Yellow-bibbed Lory, Blue-and-yellow macaw, and the galah cockatoo. Rainforest Walkway — contains South American primatess, including black-capped capuchins and cottontop tamarins, Asian siamangs, and two lem...

The Waikato Museum is situated in the city of Hamilton, in the Waikato region of New Zealand. Previously called the Waikato Museum of Art and History, the full name has been shortened in recent years due to the incorporation Exscite, an interactive science centre, and the emphasis on Tangata Whenua or Maori Studies. Its current address is 1 Grantham Street, in the south end of the main CBD of Hamilton, where it has been based since 1987. It sits on land gifted to the Hamilton City Council by the Tainui Tribe, and there is a strong Tainui presence in the museum. Previously the museum was based in London Street. The museum has twelve galleries that exhibit long-term and touring exhibitions. Displays include a 200 year old carved Waka Taua (a Maori war canoe, Te Winika), artworks by regional and other New Zealand artists, and science exhibits.

Waikato Stadium is a major sporting and cultural events venue in Hamilton, New Zealand, with a total capacity of 25,800. Four areas contribute to this capacity: The Brian Perry Stand holding 12,000, the WEL Networks Stand holding 8,000, the Goal Line Terrace holding 800 and the Greenzone can hold up to 5,000 people. The capacity can be extended, however, by temporarily adding 5,000 seats to the Goal Line Terrace area.