New Zealand is famous for its extreme landscapes and even more extreme sports. This is the country where bungee jumping was invented, and everyone wants to try it… except me! I prefer to spectate, and kayaking the Taupo River was the perfect place to do just that. In addition to a pit stop watching adrenaline seekers jump from a 154-foot high bungee platform, guide Rob Hetavaka of Taupo Kayak Adventures helped me navigate the river’s brisk current. This astonishingly clear river is sacred to the Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand—it’s what provided them with everything needed for life when they arrived to New Zealand.

It takes a lot of time to get to New Zealand, but once you are here, one natural phenomenon seems to be within walking distance from another! I met up with Logan Devine, founder of Go Explore NZ. This eco tour and adventure business was created out of a pure love for New Zealand and a desire to share it with others. ​You can read about this place online, but there’s nothing like a bit of local knowledge to paint the whole picture.

Logan brought me to Huka Falls, where more than 220,000 litres of water barrel over a 11-meter high waterfall every second. The effect is nature’s large-scale equivalent of a fire hose feeding into a very fine nozzle.

Update: This tour group is temporarily closed.

There’s a place that displays both New Zealand’s incredible forces of earth and culture: Te Puia. It’s here you’ll find the National School of Māori Arts and Crafts, as well as the Pōhutu Geyser, the largest active geyser in the southern hemisphere. The relationship between the two is symbiotic, with the Māori harnessing the geothermic forces for cooking and heating their homes.

For more insight to Māori culture, I met with Katz—a teacher and artist who specializes in traditional Māori artistry. From wood carvings to tattoos and painting, these art forms weren’t just about beauty—they served as a sort of written language, telling stories about people and nature. Students are currently crafting two massive wood pieces that will soon be shipped to Belgium as a World War I memorial.

Ever wonder what the world looked like before humans started building stuff? Enter Waimangu. This is the only geothermal system in the world created within written history. The Tarawera volcano erupted in 1886, leaving the landscape significantly altered and extinguishing all life. What resulted is a nine-mile rift, creating 22 craters as well as a brand new ecosystem. The valley has been protected from development, and thus is virtually untouched by humans.

You may explore this area on foot or by boat. I say sign up for a tour that allows you to do both! David Blackmore, Waimangu’s General Manager, showed me around the hills, geysers, lakes and craters that make this place one of the most beautiful places on earth.

There’s a local bird that’s so adorable, so unique, so special that New Zealanders have named themselves after it. Yes, I’m talking about the kiwi. The kiwi is a one-of-a-kind bird: it is flightless, with spikey hair-like feathers, digs burrows with its strong legs, and is active mostly at night. Kiwi are unique to New Zealand and found nowhere else in the world.

To see this highly endangered Kiwi in the wild, you usually have to hike great distance. However, in the town of Whakatani, this species happens to live in people’s backyards. Laura Morgan, a volunteer with the Whakatani Kiwi Trust, led me on a specific walk to safely interact with a kiwi. They are incredibly cute, and it doesn’t take long to fall in love with this quirky bird.

There’s no place like home, and that’s apparently true for actual houses. Let me explain. The Māori people typically gather in a house called a marae. This traditional meeting house serves as a community hub, showcasing Māori culture: it’s arts, language and songs.

During the mid-1800s, the Māori were overtaken by the British Crown. Tribal Chiefs decided to build the Mataatua maraeto preserve Māori pride in their crafts, traditions and ancestral history. As a gesture of peace towards the ruling British Government, the chiefs dedicated the house to Queen Victoria… whose authorities promptly had it disassembled and shipped overseas.

The house wasn’t returned until 1996, where it underwent 15 years of arduous restoration and then was place back in its exact same spot. Today, you may tour this sacred building, learning all about the Māori traditions, rituals and history.

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