The platform atop this verdant volcano was built with the help of a royal elephant.

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

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

You may recognize this beautiful grove within Kaitoke Regional Park as location of the house of Elrond.

The most southerly spot on New Zealand's South Island is home to surreally shaped, permanently mangled trees.

This quirky collection is an interactive exhibit crammed with creative contraptions and tinkered-with toys.

Inside this faux cave, visitors can learn how some of their favorite fantasy characters were created.

New Zealand's only running funicular railway.

A charmingly old-fashioned reminder of the historic building's former life.

The 16-foot sculpture of a hand looks out from his perch on top of an art gallery.

High winds can make this one scary landing.

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

Known for the tunnel that leads visitors to the water.

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

One of New Zealand’s few castles boasts beautiful gardens, grand architecture, and a history filled with family drama.

This preserved village shows the modest lifestyles of the area's 19th-century Chinese gold miners.

This deadly little sliver of beach has seen hundreds of whales beach themselves over the years.

Hundreds of bras, blowing in the wind.

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

New Zealand's epic shrine to all things puzzling.

Highly spherical boulders on the shores of New Zealand.

The premier place to experience the Victorian imagining of the steam-powered future.

The glacier tucked within a New Zealand rainforest.

This strange geological landscape erupts with sudden bursts of water.