Exciting New Zealand Tourist Attractions To Visit In 2023
Submitted by Andy_B on Tuesday, 24 January 2023 Page Views: 28359
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Buy your flight to New Zealand, rent a car and prebook your vacation rentals in New Zealand and go through this list of the best places to see in New Zealand in 2023:
Abel Tasman National Park
At the northern end of the South Island is Golden Bay, where the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman arrived in December 1642. He was the European who discovered New Zealand, but the Maori people prevented him from landing. Today, Abel Tasman National Park is a beautiful wilderness whose trails lead you through lush forests and along long, unspoiled beaches. The best way to enjoy it is to do the Abel Tasman Coast Track, which can take 3-5 days of hiking, and you can sleep in cabins or campsites. Check them on Karta.com. Another fun way is by kayak, which can be rented by the hour or by the day.Te Waikoropupu Springs
See photo top left. These springs are sacred to the Maori people of New Zealand. The springs produce the second most pure water in the world, surpassed only by that found under the Ross ice shelf in Antarctica. The water bursts forth at around 40 bathtubs per second after percolating through a network of natural marble lined channels under the Takaka Hills.Mount Aoraki
Mount Aoraki - which is its name in Maori - is, with its 3724 masl, the highest peak in New Zealand. I observed it from the shore of Lake Pukaki while recalling the Maori legend told to me by a friend from Auckland. The myth tells of the 3 sons of Rakinui (Father of Heaven) who traveled the earth in their canoe. The boat ran aground on a reef and capsized. Due to the cold, both the canoe and Rakinui's sons froze. The boat formed the South Island and the three boys the Southern Alps, with Aoraki being the tallest of the brothers. Mountaineering is practiced in the Aoraki and there are several glaciers that break off from its slopes, such as Tasman and Hooker.Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers
These two glaciers are shown as ice brothers, descending - very close to each other - through the valleys formed between the mountains of the Southern Alps. Franz Josef is a 12 km long tongue of ice that gives life to the Waiho River. Its twin brother, the Fox, is slightly longer - about 13 km - and descends from almost 3,000 m above sea level to as low as 300 m above sea level.Milford Sound
The spectacular fjords of Milford Sound form the most visited tourist attraction in New Zealand. See photo right by Sébastien Goldberg. Every day, large boats travel through the depths of its gorge, making their passengers feel minuscule in the face of the grandeur and beauty of the landscape that surrounds them. Although the perspective is different, there's a more adventurous trek along the upper reaches of the fjords. In winter, this route is usually closed.
Lake Taupo
The immense Lake Taupo occupies the central part of New Zealand's North Island. The eponymous town that rests on its shores is a quiet place where nothing ever seems to happen. Perhaps the many crazy people who jump out of a plane flying over it have a different perspective on it. Taupo is, along with Queenstown, the ideal place for skydiving in New Zealand. The plane takes you to around 4,000m above sea level and you'll be dropped with a monitor on your back. The freefall lasts about 50 seconds before the parachute opens and you try to pull yourself together long enough to admire the beautiful rural scenery surrounding the lake.Matamata and the Lord of the Rings
When the great film director Peter Jackson decided to bring the world of J.R.R. Tolkien to the big screen, he didn't have to look far to find Middle Earth. A New Zealander by birth, Jackson had grown up in love with the South African writer's imaginary world and stories, seeing his country as a worthy setting for them all. To depict the Shire - home to Frodo, Bilbo and the rest of the hobbits - Jackson chose a rounded green hill farm near the town of Matamata, south of Auckland.Come to New Zealand and discover all these landscapes for yourself!
