From May 1, Singaporeans can finally travel to New Zealand again as the country opens up to international visitors. This means you can finally embark on that long-awaited camper-van holiday or sightseeing tour to Christchurch, Milford Sound and other renowned locales you’ve been anticipating. The best part is, you won’t need to quarantine or self-isolate upon arrival.
If you’re looking to immerse yourself in the culture and nature that NZ has to offer, you’ll be glad to know that there are a slew of exciting new places and things to do. Not just the land of hobbits and volcanoes, we highlight the newest and most note-worthy attractions in Aotearoa (‘New Zealand’ in Māori) to look forward to.
The clarity of New Zealand’s night skies has been celebrated since the Māori first marked the new year with the rise of Matariki (the Pleiades) hundreds of years ago. Since then the South Island’s Mackenzie Region has become the literal poster child for stargazing. (Visit the International Dark-Sky Association’s website and you’ll see Lake Tekapo’s church backlit by the twinkling night sky.)
Now there are even more opportunities to wish upon a star, including at the Dark Sky Project. The $11 million facility combines Māori astronomy with science, allowing visitors to feel the “heartbeat” of the stars, visualise how Polynesian voyagers found their way to Aotearoa using constellations and see the nine-metre-tall Brashear Telescope, built in 1894.
On clear nights it’s also worth booking a tour to the working Mt John Observatory, where you’ll be able to look at nebulas through telescopes. Then, spend the night at nearby SkyScape. Hidden among the tussocks on a high-country sheep station, the private glass cabins provide unparalleled views of the night sky, including from the outdoor soaker tubs.
Check out darkskyproject.co.nz and skyscape.co.nz for more information.
Research demonstrates that forest bathing (or shinrin-yoku) – the Japanese practice of replenishing one’s mental health by spending time outdoors – can have profound mental and physical health outcomes. Breathing in phytoncides, an essential oil released by trees, may improve immunity and alleviate anxiety and depression – something many of us could use right now.
On the day-long Whirinaki Forest Footsteps tour, you’ll travel into the heart of a Jurassic-era rainforest renowned for towering podocarp trees and rich biodiversity, learn about traditional medicine, and sample Māori kai (food).
Or, take the concept a step further by giving back on Te Urewera Trek’s Tāne Mahuta Experience. In addition to a guided walk with owner Hinewai McManus, you’ll plant a native rimu, totara or matai tree. To date, visitors have planted more than 8000 trees, supporting the ancient landscape’s regeneration.
Check out whirinakiforestfootsteps.co.nz and teureweratreks.co.nz for more information.
For those interested in literal forest bathing, try Maruia River Retreat in Murchison. Dedicated to holistic wellness and healing, the luxury getaway has seven villas set within a 200-hectare nature estate.
In addition to spa treatments, guests can soak in an outdoor wood-fired spa tub surrounded by trees, relax in a sauna, or try a complimentary yoga class.
Visit maruia.co.nz for more details.
New Zealand’s multi-day Great Walks have been recognised internationally for crossing some of the country’s most iconic landscapes, with fully serviced huts along the way making them accessible to tent-free travellers.
The newest Great Walk is the purpose-built 55-kilometre Paparoa Track, a three-day bushwalk through a previously inaccessible wilderness of dramatic limestone cliffs and beech ‘goblin’ forests.
Climbing high into the Paparoa Ranges on the South Island’s West Cost, hikers have a chance to see gold-mining relics, hear the call of rare great spotted kiwi, and admire the view of the Punakaiki River from the Moonlight Tops Hut.
But if the idea of schlepping your stuff is unappealing, sign up for a tour with Trips & Tramps instead. The family-owned tour operator now offers a three-day package where you can hike sections of three different Fiordland Great Walks (the Milford, Routeburn and Kepler), and spend your nights sleeping in hotels rather than huts.
Check out doc.govt.nz and tripsandtramps.com for more information.
A collection of over 80 privately-owned properties across New Zealand, Canopy Camping’s glamping sites are among the most sought-after getaways in the country. While yurts, safari tents, and off-grid cabins are on offer, you’ll also find distinctly Kiwi options, such as house-trucks, a boat on its side, and a hobbit-inspired underground home. No matter what you choose, expect outdoor soaker tubs, luxurious linen and stunning views.
Visit canopycamping.co.nz for more details.
The pandemic reignited an awareness of social justice issues – and one example of rewriting colonial narratives can be found in Gisborne. Celebrated as the landing place of Captain Cook for more than a century, it’s also where Polynesian explorers landed in waka hourua (ocean-voyaging canoes) hundreds of years earlier.
The new Puhi Kai Iti/Cooking Landing Site aims to change this. Designed by Ngāti Oneone artist Nick Tupura, the monument sits along the Tupapa Trail, a self-guided walk with a corresponding app. It takes walkers to 10 different sites exploring the area’s Polynesian history through the eyes and voices of the local iwi (tribe).
Further north in Opononi, you’ll find Manea Footprints of Kupe set alongside the Hokianga Harbour. Just a short drive from Tāne Mahuta – a giant kauri tree believed to be around 2000 years old – the multisensory cultural centre, staffed by local Māori youth, tells the story of Kupe, one of the first Polynesian explorers to land in NZ. The 75-minute experience includes a traditoinal pōwhiri (welcome ceremony) and a 4D show accompanied by a live performance.
Check out tupapa.nz and maneafootprints.co.nz for more information.
A favourite stopping point for road-trippers, Kawakawa’s famed coloured glass and ceramic toilets, which were designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, now have some serious competition.
In February 2022, the $30 million Hundertwasser Art Centre opened in Whangārei, showcasing the artwork of the Austrian visual artist. The colourful and architecturally acclaimed building has the largest rooftop garden in the southern hemisphere, along with the country’s first contemporary Māori art gallery.
Visit hundertwasserartcentre.co.nz for more.
Hobbiton isn’t the Waikato region’s most-visited attraction; Hamilton Gardens is, and with good reason. Rather than focusing on displaying plant types, the 54-hectare public park showcases the different garden designs used over the past 4000 years. There are over 25 types of historic and global gardens on display, ranging from the geometric patterns of the Italian Renaissance to the unique irrigation patterns of Indian Char Bagh Garden.
The most recent additions are some of the most impressive though: the Surrealist Garden features moving trees that look like they were manicured by Edward Scissorhands, while the soon-to-open Baroque Garden (one of the many new spaces in the works) is inspired by 18th-century set design and includes a large reflecting pool and Rococo façade. The gardens are free to enter and open daily.
Visit hamiltongardens.co.nz for more details.
Nearly everything. A decade after a series of earthquakes devastated the city, it’s now re-emerging from the rubble, and new hotels and restaurant openings are a regular occurrence.
A walk along the new Ōtākara Avon River promenade reveals this transformation. Home to the new Riverside Market, it’s a short distance from the (also new) award-winning Tūranga library and the $475 million Te Pae Convention Centre, which opened in December 2021.
Although vacant lots remain, they’re filled with interactive installations, such as coin-operated dance floors, giant swings and hammock forests. Christchurch could have clung onto its old identity as the “Garden City”, but instead it’s reinvented itself as a city for the people of its future.
Visit christchurchnz.com to learn more.
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Text: bauersyndication.com.au, Additional reporting: Elizabeth Liew