Taihape's claim to fame is a fictional Kiwi farmer wearing gumboots.

The real place where the One Ring to rule them all was forged.

An unusual and powerful memorial in which earthquake victims are remembered by empty white chairs.

The ruins of New Zealand's largest classical-style church.

These two delightful animal-shaped buildings host a visitor center and wool shop.

A New Zealand communications tower stands as the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere.

Eat your Big Mac in a DC-3.

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

Hundreds of bras, blowing in the wind.

Watch the seas clash at the place where according to Maori tradition, the spirits depart for their journey to the afterlife.

Handcrafted thermal spa washes away each night with the tide.

The once and future home of New Zealand's famed Pink and White Terraces.

Deadly scalding and one of the largest hot springs in the world.

Modern art meets modern convenience in possibly the world's most architecturally important public bathroom.

Major tourist destination known for its bubbling mud-pools and hot thermal springs.

The glacier tucked within a New Zealand rainforest.

A glacier pocked with ice caves and surrounded by rainforests.

A perfect turquoise lake colored with glacier dust.

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

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

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

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