Twelve of NZ’s Most Beautiful Places

American broadcaster CNN offers up an “insider’s guide to Aotearoa’s must-see destinations, including some off-the-beaten-track gems”.

Starting at the top of the North Island, CNN’s Lucy Corry recommends Cape Reinga where: “You’ll be bearing witness to a sacred place in Māori culture. An 800-year-old pōhutukawa tree is believed to be the last leaving place for spirits of dead Māori.”

After which she heads south to Auckland with its “metropolitan vibe”, “blessed with bountiful beaches, parks and places to get away from it all”.

After a stop at Lake Taupo and Tongariro National Park, Corry stops in at the “vast” Lake Waikaremoana “home to the Ngāti Tūhoe tribe (nicknamed ‘the Children of the Mist’) and most species of New Zealand’s native birds. If you’re looking for somewhere to completely switch off, this is it”.

Having visited Taranaki and Wellington, Corry crosses the Strait to visit the Marlborough Sounds and Kaikoura before a trip down the Great Coast Road between Greymouth and Westport, “recently named one of the world’s greatest drives by Lonely Planet”.

“This wild, practically uninhabited stretch of coastline has near-mythical status in New Zealand, thanks mostly to its varied and unspoiled geography, down-to-earth locals and rich history.”

With stops at Milford Sound and Queenstown, her journey ends on Stewart Island/Rakiura, “as close to Antarctica as you can get without leaving the country, it’s full of wildlife and raw, untouched landscapes.”

Original article by Lucy Corry, CNN, February 27, 2020.