New Zealand: Beautiful Beaches, Land and Landscape

New Zealand is a jewel in the South Pacific, comprising large high islands, long isolated from the rest of the world and surrounded by vast stretches of ocean. Once covered in primeval forest, it is a land rich in biodiversity, and its geography is equally varied and stunning.

The country stretches more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from the sandy subtropical peninsula at the northern tip to the glacier-carved fjords of the far south. In between lie mighty snow-covered peaks, smoking volcanoes, vast lakes, dense forests, and fertile grasslands. Beaches, bays, and coves punctuate a convoluted, 9,400-mile (15,000 km) coastline.

With an area of about 104,000 square miles (270,000 square km), New Zealand is the same size as Colorado, or about 10 percent bigger than the United Kingdom. The South Island is slightly bigger than the North Island, which together make up the vast majority of the landmass, but significant smaller islands exist, most notably Stewart Island in the far south.

Lonely Planet Discover New Zealand (Full Color Country Travel Guide)

Lonely Planet’s “Discover New Zealand” is a great guidebook for both the independent traveler and for those on package tours. First up, an 18-page well-illustrated section lists the country’s “Top 25 Experiences.” There’s something for everyone, whether your interests are sports, Maori culture, tramping, architecture or whatever. A brief “Top Itineraries” section offers five-, 10- and 14-day itinerary suggestions, and “Planning Your Trip” deals with costs, travel seasons, what to take, useful websites, books and films, and a yearly calendar of events.

Lying on the boundary of the Australian and Pacific plates. New Zealand is geologically defined by the collision of these giant slabs of the Earth’s crust. It is a highly active region of earthquakes, volcanoes, and geothermal activity, part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Milford Sound, one of New Zealand’s most famous tourist destinations.

In the north, the Pacific plate subducts, or pushes underneath, the Australian plate, which carries the North Island. The enormous friction of this collision is responsible for the volcanoes and thermal activity of the north. The Kermadec Trench to the east of the North Island marks the line where the plates meet, but around the center of the country the plates twist along multiple fault lines. In the South Island, the Australian plate pushes under the Pacific plate, forcing up the Southern Alps along the Alpine Fault, which runs the island’s length.

New Zealand Tourist Board video

Here are some of the most beautiful beaches in New Zealand

Karikari Peninsula Beaches

This is situated in the far North Region of the North island of New Zealand. Karikari peninsula beaches is composed of several beaches including Rangiputa, Tokerua Beach, Matai Bay, Whatuwhiwhi, and Karikari Beach.

Piha Beach

The view from Lion Rock

Piha is a very famous tourist destination because it is the country’s famous surfing beach. It is Located on the wild west coast and a half -hour drive from Auckland. Piha beach has rugged cliffs and breath-taking scenic views in which tourist will surely have a superb vacation, because they will be swept in it’s mysteriousness. As a Black iron-sand destination, there are lots of opportunities for exploration, picnicking and walking in this beach.

Onetangi Beach

Onetangi Beach, Waiheke Island

This beach is situated on Onetangi Bay on Waiheke Island. The island is a 30 minute ferry ride from Auckland. It is often the best place for surfing, kayaking and swimming, and is considered to be the largest beach on Waiheke Island with beautiful picturesque views.

Hot Water Beach

Located in Coromandel, New Zealand’s favorite destination, this beach has fabulous hidden depths. If you can get to Hot Water Beach two hours before and after low tide, you might be lucky to find a spot somewhere near the rocks and make a hollow in the sand to discover natural hot water trickling in the sand. Beach lovers and tourists can also enjoy natural hot springs spa on the hole that they have created. Hot Water Beach Is unique because it’s coastal springs are full of healthy minerals such as magnesium, potassium and calcium.

Unique Vacations: Hot Springs in Australia and New Zealand

New Zealand and Australia make up two areas that are excellent for anyone in search of a hot springs vacation. The geological features of the countries contribute to making the best hot springs on earth. Take a look inside to read all about these hot springs and the benefits of traveling in pursuit of water therapy.

Coopers Beach

Dubbed as one of the safest beaches in the Northland. Cooper’s beach is perfect for visitors who want to run or walk around to explore the place in its coastline shaded by pohutukawa trees. There are numerous hotels and variety of accommodations to choose from to make every visitors stay worthwhile.

Tauranga Bay

Mount Maunganui Main Beach in winter, with ‘Leisure Island’ in the background.

This Beach is also situated in Northland, is also one of the best beaches in New Zealand, with its beautiful crystal clear waters, and beautiful scenery. It is a popular camping site for those visitors and beach lovers who loves to go on camping.

Abel Tasman National Park Beaches

This area has the most sunshine hours and is one of the most popular family destinations because there are lots of holiday parks, beach houses, apartments and campsites around the place. Perfect for family getaways, Kaiteriteri Beach is just located on the top of the South Island, with it’s beautiful and breath taking views. Families can opt for walking along the scenic bush tracks, snorkeling, water skiing and swimming in its beautiful waters.

Frommer’s New Zealand

Written by a New Zealand resident, and full of personal insights and opinions, this guide takes you to one of the world’s most exciting ecotourism destinations! It’s much more complete and in-depth than its major competition.

Cape Reinga

Located in the Upper North Island, this 90 mile beach is the longest beach throughout New Zealand. Cape Reinga is well known for it’s spectacular white sand sea and the sand dunes that looks a lot like Sahara Desert. Quad Biking and fishing are among the favorite activities of the visitors here.

Bay Of Plenty

This is the favorite beach of the locals. The stunning beach is surrounded by kiwifruit plantations and is rich is Maori culture. Families on visit will also love different kinds of raft activities including skydiving, horseback riding and dolphin encounters.

Mission Bay

Barely 10 minutes drive from the city of Auckland. Mission Bay is like a local sea side resort. It has an impressive beach in which the boulevards and parks surrounding it are perfect for lots of activities such as dining, rollerblading, jogging, Frisbee and other kinds of sports. During summer, you can opt to hire Kayaks and other equipment. Mission bay is also the safest beach for swimming, kayaking and sailing. There are lots of restaurants along Mission Bay for your ultimate dining experience.

Statue of mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillarygazing towards Aoraki / Mount Cook.

The cheapest and easiest way to travel around these beaches is a campervan. Grab a campervan, park up at the beach and enjoy your holiday!

List of cities in New Zealand (June 2010 population estimates)
Rank	City Name	Region	Pop.	Rank	City Name	Region	Pop.
1	Auckland	Auckland Region	1,377,200	7	Dunedin	Otago Region	117,700
3	Wellington	Wellington Region	393,400	8	Palmerston North	Manawatu-Wanganui Region	82,400
2	Christchurch	Canterbury Region	380,900	9	Nelson	Nelson	60,800
4	Hamilton	Waikato Region	206,400	10	Rotorua	Bay of Plenty Region	56,200
5	Napier-Hastings	Hawke’s Bay Region	124,800	11	New Plymouth	Taranaki Region	52,500
6	Tauranga	Bay of Plenty Region	121,500	12	Whangarei	Northland Region	52,200

North Island

Less mountainous than the South island the North Island makes up for it with volcanic display. All of the country’s active volcanoes are found around the center of the North Island, from smoking White Island just off the east coast, through the geotherrnal regions around Rotorua, to the trio of volcanoes – To ngariro, Ngauruhoe, and Ruapehu – in the high alpine desert of the Central Plateau.

Wool has historically been one of New Zealand’s major exports.

Near the volcanoes, smack in the middle of the island, mighty Lake Tajpo is the country’s largest lake and itself the product of a massive volcanic explosion. From the lake, the Waikato River, the country’s longest, surges north through fertile plains of rich volcanic soil. The farming heartland of the Waikato region is typical of the North Island, much of which is covered with green pasture dotted with sheep and cattle.

Past the Waikato lies the city of Auckland, home to a third of the country’s population, on a narrow isthmus that separates the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea. The city sprawls for miles across old volcanic cones and is rent by harbors.

Northland, the region at the top of the North Island, is a long finger of land lashed by winds on the wild west coast, while the sheltered east coast has delightful coves and bays, such as the scenic Bay of Islands. Kauri forests once covered this area, but only a few small pockets of these massive conifers remain.

The east of the North Island extends from the attractive coastline of the Coromandel Peninsula along the Bay of Plenty, a sunny region noted for kiwifruit orchards, to the remote East Cape, a stronghold of Maori culture. Farther south, the east coast is backed by rugged forested mountains down to Hawke’s Bay, a farming district noted for its wineries.

Where the west coast juts out into the Tasman Sea stands towering Mount Taranaki, a dormant volcano. The most stunning mountain in the country, Taranaki’s sweeping white-tipped cone dominates the surrounding farmland for miles. Farther south along the west coast, the Wanganui District is named after New Zealand’s longest navigable river, which flows from the mountains of the interior. The island tapers at the bottom, terminating at the country’s capital, Wellington, which straddles fault lines that threaten earthquakes.

South Island

Scenic as the North Island is, nothing compares to the majestic landscapes of the South Island. The magnificent Southern Alps run the length of the island, flanking the highest peak of Aoraki/Mount Cook (12,316 feet/3,754 m) in the middle. They have another 18 peaks over 10,000 feet (3,048 m) permanently draped in snow and glacial ice, while most of the range is snow-covered in winter.

Meeting house at Waitangi by Philip Morton on Flickr

In the far south of the island around Fiordland, the alps are lower but no less awe-inspiring. In this region, ancient glaciers gouged out deep fjords as well as great inland lakes such as Te Anau and Manapouri. Much-visited Mi ford Sound is the most famous of the fjords, where sheer peaks rise from glassy waters, while low clouds threaten to drench the primeval forest.

The Southern Alps trap the rains brought by the prevailing westerlies, making the West Coast of the South Island the wettest part of New Zealand. The rain feeds a tangle of dense growth on the narrow strip of land between sea and mighty peaks, while up high, compacting snow creates the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers. These rivers of ice flow almost to the sea and are among the world’s most accessible glaciers.

In complete contrast, the leeward side of the mountains is dry. Desert landscapes of craggy rock and scree are punctuated by turquoise, glacier-fed lakes. High plains of tussock grass give way to greenery lower down, but this beautiful world in the shadow of mountains is a harsh environment of freezing winters and baking summers.

Away from the alps, the east coast has rolling pasture around Southland, while ihc spreading Canterbury Plains around Christchurch are prime farming land. Smaller ranges and hills include the weathered volcanoes of the scenic Banks Peninsula, while in the north, the dramatic Kaikoura Ranges run next to the sea.

The far north of the island presents yet another face. Sheltered by forested mountains, Nelson and Marlborough are warm and sunny, the valleys and coastal land home to orchards and wineries. The seas are also sheltered, nowhere more so than in the stunning Marlborough Sounds, with sun-speckled waterways and forested islands just a ferry ride away from the North Island.

New Zealand Maps

New Zealand AdventureMap

This is a great map with vibrant colors. National Geographic‘s New Zealand AdventureMap is designed to meet the unique needs of adventure travelers detailed, durable, and accurate. New Zealand includes the locations of thousands of major cities and towns with an index for easily locating them, plus a clearly marked road network complete with distances and designations for major highways, toll roads, limited access highways and more.

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