105 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

Springfield, New Zealand

Springfield Doughnut

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

Taupo, New Zealand

Taupo McDonald's Airplane

Eat your Big Mac in a DC-3.

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

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.

"Old Man of the Sea," a sculpture of a fisherman in a flotsam boat, built by Simon Pringle for the 2016 festival.

A New Zealand Festival Turns Detritus Into Offbeat Art

Amateur sculptors are invited to grab some driftwood and make a masterpiece.

The chubby, moss-colored, papaya-scented kākāpō.

How One Man and His Dog Rowed More Than 700 Kākāpōs to Safety

In the late 19th century, Richard Henry laid a blueprint for modern conservation in New Zealand.

by Sabrina Imbler

February 19, 2020

Once upon a time there was a cemetery here, in Tangier, Virginia.

From Indonesia to Ingonish, Some Bones Won't Stay Buried

As seas and storms erode coastlines, cemeteries are giving up their dead.

by Jennifer S. Holland

October 28, 2019

A <em>toheroa,</em>showing off why its name means "long-tongue" in the Māori language.

The Vanishing Act of New Zealand’s Iconic Clam

Once, toheroa were endless. Now, they're all but gone.

by Naomi Arnold

August 27, 2019

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