Recommendations

Town beaches that work on the right swell.

Consistent right-hand gravel point break on the Cape Coast, 15 min south of Napier.

A 1930s Art Deco city fronting premier wine country; flat dedicated ebike trails link Craggy Range, Te Mata, Mission and more.

Boutique family winery near Napier with regular live music and a winter fire pit.

historic hillside winery.

Picturesque Meeanee estate with a rose garden, hand-made brick winery and platters.

Punchy beach break south of Napier.

Mellow right-hander beside the Maraetotara river mouth, gateway to the Cape Coast.

Boutique Te Awanga cellar door with lawn tastings right on the coastal cycle trail.

Flat, off-road coastal cycleway linking Clifton, Te Awanga and Haumoana past the wineries.

boutique village and Te Muna cellar doors.

boutique village and Te Muna cellar doors.

Cellar door in Hawke's Bay.

Open seven days; organic program, vineyard-and-barrel tours, and an acclaimed kitchen. Recognition: earned its first Cuisine Hat in 2025; Chardonnay featured at the Organic Wine Awards.

Popular SH2 transit café in Woodville with easy motorhome parking.

Forest sanctuary on SH2 — kiwi, kākā and the rare white kiwi, a great drive-break.

Organic Marlborough estate; its home block "The Corners" houses the winery and cellar door.

Organic/biodynamic since day one, producing wine plus olive oil and honey across an extensive single-vineyard range.

The brand that helped make Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc world-famous. A polished cellar door surrounded by its own vineyards beneath the Richmond Ranges, with seated tastings (~45 min, NZ$30–45), the Japanese restaurant Saku, and a private vineyard "First Taste" tour. Recognition: Pelorus Vintage 2013 named Sparkling Wine of the Year, The Real Review 2026.

Brian Bicknell's artisanal, minimal-intervention label sourced from local growers.

Powerful, fickle and serious; not somewhere to paddle out without local knowledge.

Free roadside grotto that lights up with glowworms after dark.

A coastal limestone park of karst canyons, underground rivers and subtropical forest. Famous for the layered Pancake Rocks and blowholes at Punakaiki.

CLOSED — the village hot pools have not operated since May 2021 and there is no reopening date. Go to Waiho Hot Tubs instead.

Glaciers that tumble from the Southern Alps almost to the rainforest and sea. The Franz Josef and Fox glaciers are the headline draw, with mirror lakes and wild beaches below.

The “mirror lake” — dawn reflections of Aoraki and Mt Tasman on an easy loop.

boutique Wānaka cellar doors.

boutique Wānaka cellar doors.

Acclaimed “trust the kitchen” bistro and cellar door by Lake Hayes.

convenient trio for limited time.

convenient trio for limited time.

Certified-organic, cellar door in an original farm cottage.

Organic, with striking architecture and a strong conservation ethos. Recognition: Sustainable Vineyard of the Year, Organic Wine Awards 2025.

Boat-and-walk tour into a living limestone cave roofed with glowworms.

Lakeside ebike trail network linking Queenstown, Frankton and Arrowtown.

Picturesque tasting shed with lawn games and food.

By appointment.

Cellar door in Central Otago. Recognition: #3, The Real Review Top Wineries of New Zealand 2026.

Gondola to Bob’s Peak for the big Lake Wakatipu view, luge and dining.

Cellar door in Central Otago. Recognition: Grand Reserve "Professors' Block" Pinot Noir has won trophy-level recognition at the NZ International Wine Show.

New Zealand's highest mountains and longest glaciers, crowned by 3,724 m Aoraki/Mount Cook. A pristine alpine basin and one of the country's premier dark-sky reserves.

Thrill jet-boat spinning through the narrow Shotover River canyons.

By-appointment cellar door in a boatshed on the Queenstown Marina.