20 photos to inspire you to travel New Zealand

I thought I’d share something which is a little different to my usual blogs. Instead of providing you with written details, I thought I’d let these photos do the talking for me. If you need a few NZ road trip ideas, see my blogs page for more information. Here is my list of 20 photos to inspire you to travel New Zealand:

Milford Sound consists of towering waterfalls, rocky cliffs and friendly seal colonies. It’s situated in New Zealand’s South Island and even the road into Milford Sound is full of various natural attractions. These include the Mirror Lakes, Lake Gunn nature walk and even the inquisitive Kea birds that greet you at the entrance to Homer Tunnel.

This little surfing paradise is nestled along the North East coastline of the North Island. Take this very trail up to the top of Mount Maunganui for gorgeous views of the city.

Although Bluff itself is a sleepy, seaside town with little to offer, you can enjoy a sunrise like this one, before you head out on a shark cage dive. Read about my own Great White experience here.

Fox Glacier is in the heart of NZ’s glacier country. Full of ice caves and interesting features, you can either take the short 30 minute walk to see the glacier from afar or pay a tour company to fly overhead or walk on the glacier itself.

Grab a spade, dig a hole and feel the warm water on your toes. Like a natural foot spa, in the middle of a beautiful beach. What more could you ask for?

This national park is buzzing with a variety of nature trails and coastal walks. Stunning little coves such as this one can be found all along the 60km track and trekkers can pay to camp under the stars.

This Maori Rock Carving was sculpted over the course of 4 years and finished in 1980. Situated in Lake Taupo, this daytime attraction offers a real dose of Maori culture.

Whilst I may be biased as this happened to be my old place of work, I couldn’t help but include a photo of this glorious Queenstown sunset. The famous ‘Shotover Jet’ tourist attraction takes place on this very river, for more details, read my post about Queenstown’s best activities here.

Everyone’s favourite fantasy village has been drawing visitors to New Zealand since 2001. You don’t have to be a lover of the films to enjoy this fun daytime activity, just appreciate the imagination and small details that went into the making of Hobbiton!

This lakeside walk may not be the best that New Zealand has to offer but the combination of the glistening waters and sunny rays which beat down on the water, compelled me to add this photo to the list.

New Zealand is full of geothermal reserves and this landscape shot shows the extent of the heat bubbling beneath the surface of this volcanic area, causing these craters to bubble and smoke.

The photo above shows a bird’s eye view over the main road which leads into Queenstown, on a glorious summer’s day. Even in warmer temperatures, the lake below can get quite nippy to swim in!

Situated close to the surfing town Raglan, these waterfalls are one of many gorgeous natural landscape features that New Zealand has in abundance.

This muddy slip-n-slide of a walk is certainly worth the views at the top. With no one else around to spoil the photo, this peaceful scene is yet another ideal reason to visit New Zealand.

The Ben Lomond nature walk is based in Queenstown and takes around 3-4 hours to complete (depending if you include the “pre” hike Tiki Trail). The views from the summit are next to none – even on a gloomy day!

It’s amazing to think that these gardens are smack bang in the middle of city. Hamilton Gardens has an array of exhibitions and features for visitors to enjoy and you don’t even have to pay for the privilege.

Mount Cook is New Zealand’s highest mountain and a day trip not to be missed! The gentle 10km return ‘Hooker Valley’ track is perfect for walkers of all abilities and provides non-stop incredible views.

This little bay can be accessed via the trail to the famous ‘Cathedral Cove’. Although the cove is known for being more popular with tourists, I felt this quiet and idyllic setting was worthy of a place in this list.

Lake Tekapo’s aqua blue waters look unbelievable, even to the naked eye. The surrounding glaciers create grounded down rock particles which feed into the lake, creating this amazing colour.

Waiheke Island has it all: world-famous wineries, fantastic nature walks and long, sandy stretches. With ferries from Auckland only taking 45 minutes, you can escape to this little island retreat before you head back into the bustling city.

I’m sure you didn’t need too much convincing!