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This is a preview of the full content of our New Zealand’s Best app.

Please consider downloading this app to support small independent publishing and because:

  • All content is designed for mobile devices and works best there.
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North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui)

Map of the North Island in Wikivoyage-style highlighting the travel regions, roads and major cities/other destinations.

Though slightly smaller than the South Island, the North Island harbours some 77% of NZ’s population. Of the country’s 20 biggest urban areas, 16 are on the North Island – including Auckland (with around one-third of the country’s population) and Wellington, the capital.

The legend goes that demi-god Māui and his brothers were fishing from their canoe (the South Island) when he caught a great fish and pulled it from the sea – thus the North Island became Te Ika-a-Māui – ‘the fish of Maui’ .

Certainly the North Island is a fertile place and has become a land of intensive agriculture – with green grass, sheep and dairy farming, orchards and vineyards in abundance.

The North Island also has a lot to offer the visitor: Auckland is a gorgeous city known as one of the ‘most liveable” in the world; the Bay of Islands is world renowned for its beauty; Rotorua offers Māori culture and geothermal hot springs; the Tongariro Alpine Crossing is often called NZ’s best dayhike; there are top vineyards and wineries on the East Coast around Napier and Gisborne; and Wellington is a lively, vibrant capital.

Auckland & Around

Hawkes Bay & East Coast

Northland & Bay of Islands

Rotorua & the Bay of Plenty

Taranaki, Whanganui & Manawatū

Lake Taupo & the Volcanoes

Waikato & Coromandel

Wellington & Around

Text © Craig McLachlan

Image by Shaundd