Aotearoa New Zealand Minecraft Game Locations

The ancient caves of Waitomo were first explored by Māori Chief Tane Tinorau more than a century ago. Since then, thousands of curious visitors have followed in his footsteps to see the caves’ most famous feature: millions of glowworms, twinkling like the night sky. On a Waitomo Glowworm Cave tour, expert guides – many of them Tinorau’s descendants – will show you the cave’s tallest chamber, nicknamed the Cathedral, before taking you on a short boat ride through Glowworm Grotto. As you journey through the caves, you’ll learn about their history and Māori origin story. But once you hit Glowworm Grotto, you’ll need to be as quiet as possible. Too much noise and the glowworms might switch the lights out. 

Explore Waitomo

Kāpiti Island, just north of Wellington, is a thriving bird sanctuary offering visitors a glimpse of what Aotearoa New Zealand was like before Europeans arrived. Birds are everywhere, constantly streaming overhead and milling about your feet. Among them are rare and endangered native birds, many of which are no longer found on the mainland. Species you’re likely to encounter are the Kākā, a large forest parrot known for its playful behaviour; the Takahē, a large flightless bird once thought to be extinct; and the Kōkako, a beautiful grey bird with a spectacular blue wattle.

Spend the day with Kāpiti Island Nature Tours(opens in new window). Their guided tours are led by members of the Barrett clan who have lived on the island for eight generations. There’s not much they can’t tell you about the island’s history, which includes topics like Māori warfare and European whaling – and, of course, the Barrett family itself. 

Explore Kāpiti Island

Rotorua offers a bounty of natural and cultural attractions, many of which can be found at Te Puia,(opens in new window) a renowned visitor attraction in the Te Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley. Covering as much space as Disneyland, Te Puia is home to New Zealand’s largest geyser, the Pōhutu Geyser, along with acres of spectacular geothermal mud pools, hot springs, and silica formations. It’s also a hub for Māori culture, offering visitors the chance to taste hāngī, traditional Māori cooking, and see live cultural performances, along with some of the country’s best traditional weavers and carvers at work. And if that isn’t enough, you can also visit the Kiwi Conservation Centre, an award-winning specialist facility working to preserve our rare national bird.

Explore Rotorua

Once described by The Times as New Zealand’s best-kept secret, Abel Tasman National Park has plenty to boast about. 

Clocking up some of the country’s longest sunshine hours, Abel Tasman National Park offers an irresistible combination of all-day sunshine and spectacular scenery. Here, golden sandy beaches and emerald seas glitter more than a Versace gown. This is the perfect spot for camping, hiking, hours of leisurely kayaking. 

The park’s crowning glory is the Abel Tasman Coast Track, one of the country’s eleven great walks. But if you’re not ready for the five-day commitment it requires, a Waka Abel Tasman(opens in new window) tour is just as much fun. Although, it’s not without some effort: you’ll need to paddle. On a traditional Māori waka (double-hulled canoe), you’ll help steer the waka along Abel Tasman’s spectacular coastline to Split Apple Rock – a giant spherical boulder that was cleft in two like sliced fruit on a platter. Guides will also teach you about the region’s Māori history and how to introduce yourself in the Māori language. The tour’s founders, husband and wife duo Lee-Anne and Todd, began the tours as a way of sharing their Māori culture and their love of the ocean. It’s a winning combination that will have you aching to return someday.

Explore Abel Tasman National Park

New Zealand’s unspoilt wilderness extends beyond the Earth’s surface to include the night sky. Lake Tekapo / Takapō is part of the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky reserve, the largest gold status dark sky reserve in the world. Take a Summit Experience tour(opens in new window) with Dark Sky Project to the summit of Mount John and what promises to be your darkest hour, will also be one of your most enlightening. You’ll have exclusive access to New Zealand’s only professional research observatory and get to play with some of their high-powered telescopes. 

Lake Tekapo’s most scenic spots are an ill kept secret – except for a few thousand hectares of privately owned backcountry farms, usually off-limits to the public. Offering both 4WD and hiking tours, Tekapo Adventures(opens in new window) provides exclusive access to these stations, some of which are as large as Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city. Here, you’ll find some the country’s finest merino sheep, along with some of its most spectacular alpine scenery, featuring lengthy braided rivers and enormous mountain peaks crowned with glaciers.

Explore Lake Tekapo / Takapō

Don’t be put off by the name Doubtful Sound. In fact, it’s the sound’s most famous feature, the almost ninety-degree fjord walls that slash into its coastline, that gave the sound its name. The first British explorer to discover it, Captain James Cook, sailed right past, having refused to enter the sound because the fjord’s considerable height made it “doubtful” he’d get enough wind to sail back out. 

Since then, little has changed. The sound looks much like it did in Cook’s time, amply stocked with snowy peaks, primeval forests, and bottlenose dolphins. And travelling by boat is still the only way to get there. RealNZ(opens in new window) offers a range of cruises into the sound, including an overnight option, giving you more time to take it all in and ponder over whether Cook ever realised what he had missed.

Explore Doubtful Sound