#1 best destination in the world

Hobbiton Movie Set, Waikato

Best time to travel: Jan-March, Dec
Ease of travel: Moderate
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

Former movie set for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, consisting of 44 detailed hobbit holes, on the landscape of a former sheep farm
The location was selected due to its similarity to The Shire, as described by JRR Tolkien in the books
The locations offers guided tours and experiences such as an evening banquet, and second breakfast

Best time to travel: March-May
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

New Zealand’s national museum, known as Te Papa, which is Māori for “the treasure box”
Te Papa’s philosophy emphasizes the living face behind its cultural treasures, many of which retain deep ancestral links to the indigenous Māori people
The Museum recognizes the partnership that was created by the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, te Tiriti o Waitangi, in 1840
Opened in 1998

Best time to travel: Jan-March, Dec
Walk difficulty: Easy
Ease of travel: Hard
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $$

The Hooker Valley Track is a short walking track within the Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park
Offers access to the proglacial Hooker Lake, typically with icebergs floating in it
The lookout point at the end of the Hooker Valley Track is the closest any walking track comes to Aoraki / Mount Cook, and reveals completely unobstructed views of the highest mountain in New Zealand, with Hooker Glacier in the valley below

Best time to travel: June-Aug
Ease of travel: Hard
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

Fiord on New Zealand’s South Island within Fiordland National Park
The fiord is most commonly accessed via road by tour coach, with the road terminating at a small village also called Milford Sound
As a fiord, Milford Sound was formed by a process of glaciation over millions of years
Milford Sound is home to a variety of animals, including seals, bottlenose dolphins, humpback whales, and penguins

Best time to travel: Jan-April, Nov-Dec
Walk difficulty: Hard
Ease of travel: Hard
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $$$

Compound volcano in the Taupō Volcanic Zone of the North Island of New Zealand
Mount Tongariro is in the Tongariro National Park, New Zealand’s first national park and one of the earliest in the world
In 2012 an eruption occurred at the Te Māri Craters, which had been dormant since 1897
No injuries were reported, and the only significant property damage was to the Department of Conservation’s Ketetahi Hut

Best time to travel: July-Sept
Walk difficulty: Hard
Ease of travel: Moderate
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

National park located between Golden Bay and Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere on the South Island
It is named after Abel Tasman, who in 1642 became the first European explorer to sight New Zealand and who anchored nearby in Golden Bay
Some of the birds that frequent the park are penguins, gulls, and herons
Possums, wild pigs, deer, and goats also frequent the park

Best time to travel: July-Sept
Walk difficulty: Easy
Ease of travel: Hard
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $$

Temperate maritime glacier in Westland Tai Poutini National Park on the South Island
The glacier is 1.86 miles shorter than it was 100 years ago
Based on these patterns, Franz Josef Glacier is predicted to retreat 3.1 miles, and lose 38% of its mass by 2100 in a mid-range scenario of warming