109 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in New Zealand - Atlas Obscura

Unusual Attractions in New Zealand

Matamata, New Zealand

Hobbiton

The real life Hobbiton, this sheep farm has been forever transformed since being built for The Hobbit film series.

Waitomo, New Zealand

Waitomo Glowworm Caves

Tubing through a cave lit with glowworms is a magical underground experience.

Milford Sound, New Zealand

Milford Sound

Dolphins, ancient clams and hundreds of waterfalls make this one of the world's top tourist destinations.

Castle Hill, New Zealand

Castle Hill

The Dalai Lama named this New Zealand landscape the "Spiritual Center of the Universe."

Wanaka, New Zealand

That Wanaka Tree

A solitary tree has grown up all alone on Lake Wānaka, backdropped by the beautiful Southern Alps.

Ohaupo, New Zealand

The Tree Church

One man's dream has turned into this naturally growing chapel made of almost nothing but trees.

Waiotapu, New Zealand

Devil's Bath

This electric green sulphur lake in New Zealand looks like a cartoonish radioactive dump site.

Lake Tekapo, New Zealand

Lake Tekapo

A perfect turquoise lake colored with glacier dust.

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Cool Places to Eat & Drink in New Zealand

Taupo, New Zealand

Taupo McDonald's Airplane

Eat your Big Mac in a DC-3.

Springfield, New Zealand

Springfield Doughnut

A giant doughnut was given to the small New Zealand town of Springfield to promote "The Simpsons Movie."

Christchurch, New Zealand

Bunsen

Enjoy coffee and cake while viewing antique medical equipment at this unique cafe.

Gore, New Zealand

Hokonui Moonshine Museum

Celebrating the history of whiskey production during New Zealand's era of prohibition.

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Atlas Obscura Trips

Wings & Wonders: Birds of New Zealand

Explore the spectacular birdlife, biodiversity, and natural wonder of Aotearoa alongside seasoned conservationists.

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Stories About New Zealand

The mushrooms typically appear on their own or in a very small cluster.

Get to Know New Zealand's Hugely Popular, Thrillingly Blue Mushroom

It is a key part of local culture, and looks like it was colored with a crayon.

by Jessica Leigh Hester

November 2, 2021

The Milky Way above Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve.

Under New Zealand's Dark Skies, Insects Recover and Humans Reconnect with a Lost View

The massive South Island stargazing reserve is a respite from light pollution for many species, including our own.

by Petrina Darrah

September 15, 2021

New Zealand's tuatara are the last members of <em>Rhynchocephalia</em>, an order of lizard-like reptiles

New Zealand's Slow-Moving 'Living Fossils' Have the Fastest Sperm Among Reptiles

Discovering the trait may help scientists protect the tuatara, which has been around since the dinosaurs.

by Tess McClure

September 13, 2021

Receivers on the vessel's aft deck, shown here between deployments, survived rough seas—not one device was lost during the expedition.

The ‘Swell’ Job of Sorting Out New Zealand’s Unusual Earthquake Patterns

Researchers braved storms and monstrous underwater mountains to learn why one region’s earth-shaking is so peculiar.

by Gemma Tarlach

Podcast: Spacecraft Cemetery

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

by The Podcast Team

A carved post, or <em>pouwhenua</em>, erected at New Zealand's Scott Base in 2013, overlooks the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica.

Can the Māori Connection to Antarctica Help Safeguard the Continent’s Future?

Indigenous ties to the bottom of the world go back more than a millennium, and could point the way forward.

by Gemma Tarlach

Geologist Daphne Lee, in her office at the University of Otago, has collected drawers full of impressively preserved plant fossils found at Foulden Maar.

New Zealanders Are Rallying to Save Local Fossils From Destruction

For years, miners and geologists cooperated to uncover uniquely preserved fossils at Foulden Maar. But the site’s future is uncertain.

The Tiny Town Where Corrugated Iron Becomes Building-Sized Art

In Tirau, New Zealand, a classic construction material takes on a life of its own.

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