PHOTO GALLERY: The Natural Beauty of New Zealand’s North Island

2014/06/05

Mt Taranaki from New Plymouth's landscaped gardens

Volcanic Mt Taranaki glimpsed from New Plymouth’s landscaped gardens

PHOTO GALLERY:

The Natural Beauty of New Zealand’s North Island

New Zealand is deservedly famous for its stunning natural beauty. Its incredibly diverse topographies include long sweeping coasts, volcanic mountains, geothermic regions, vast rolling farm lands, majestic lakes and rivers, lush forests, and even glaciers and fjords.

Lying squarely on the Pacific Rim of Fire, New Zealand’s North Island features a large swath of intensely geothermic activity. There are semi-dormant volcanoes, geysers, boiling mud pools, vibrant sulfuric deposits, steaming lakes, hissing rocks, hot rivers and unusually-colored lakes.

juvenile Kaori trees

The North Island is also famous for its stunning forests, including many pockets of pure native New Zealand forests. Unique native trees like Kaori, Pohutukawa, Totara, Matai, Kanuka, Manuka and Rimu are found in many regions around the North Island. The world’s largest Kaori tree, estimated to be over 2000 years old, is found on the west coast.

Thousands of miles of stunning coastline rim the entire island. Incredibly diverse, the coastlines feature long, sweeping beaches, cliffs, rock outcroppings, grassy hills, forested shores, curving bays, intimate coves, deep harbors and long peninsulas.

Scattered around the interior are many lakes, large and small; long, clear rivers with gorges and waterfalls; and natural springs, both hot and cold.

This photo gallery presents 36 photos of North Island’s diverse and stunning natural places.

SEE PHOTOS OF New Zealand’s North Island

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