Leah | Officer Travels

Between August and March every year, the Muriwai cliffs become home to one of the largest gannet colonies in New Zealand with a viewing platform that offers you an up-close and bird-friendly encounter for free – which is why we consider this a really unique place to visit on New Zealand’s North Island. (north) One of the most beautiful attractions in the North Island of New Zealand is . If you are looking for unique places to visit on New Zealand’s North Island, we strongly recommend a stay on Great Barrier Island. During , you will (most likely) see wild dolphins, which is a once in a lifetime experience and a must-do activity on New Zealand’s North Island.

From the car park, it’s just a short 10-minute walk to Diamond Lake which, on a clear day, has the same mirror effect as the famous Mount Taranaki Lake. Visit the island, in a lake, on an island in a lake, on an island in the ocean! Perhaps the most unique thing to do in Wanaka – visit the island, in a lake, on an island in a lake, on an island in the ocean! Located just on the edge of town by the Lake Outlet Holiday Park, the Monkey Farm also has a cute beer garden that’s perfect for enjoying a beer in the sunshine surrounded by snow-capped mountains.

A quick google search will bring up hundreds upon hundreds of recommendations for expensive tours, adventure packages and mass group tours but did you know you can see glow worms in New Zealand for free. Once you know where to look and what you’re looking for, you’ll be able to find the New Zealand glow worm caves easily without spending a dollar on guided tours. Then when it’s dark you can find the path down to the area through the gardens, or you can take the stairs from Upland Road down to Rimu Road and walk the two minutes to the Glen Road entrance from there. The Mangapohue Natural Bridge is just a short drive away from the famous Waitomo Glow Worm cave tours, but this one’s free, often overlooked and worth arriving to just before it gets dark.

Once we hit State Highway 38 and got closer to Lake Waikaremoana the road changed from wide sealed road to narrow winding gravel, any big vehicles heading this way need to be conscious to pull over if traffic builds up behind them as keeping up any form of speed was difficult on this road. Once we reached the end of Black Beach Track we followed the road up and over the white bridge, on the left is where the Aniwaniwa Falls Track starts. Although it’s commonly referred to as Aniwaniwa Falls, this 15m waterfall is made up of three cascades, Momahaki, Te Tangi-o-Hinerau and Bridal veil falls. If you don’t want the added 30-minute walk from the campsite (via Blacks Beach Track), there is a small car park before the white bridge.