The Discovery
15 days · Auckland, Taupō, Hawke's Bay, Wairarapa
Subtropical one week, alpine the next, with nights on stations few travellers ever see.
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North Island
Central Plateau
Three volcanoes and the country's oldest national park, high and empty.
North Island · Active travellers · Nature lovers · Photographers
The Central Plateau sits at the geographic heart of the North Island, a high, wild plateau dominated by three active volcanoes: Ruapehu, Tongariro, and Ngauruhoe. Together they form Tongariro National Park, New Zealand's first national park and one of only a handful of places in the world to hold dual UNESCO status for both natural and cultural significance. To Māori, these mountains are ancestors, not scenery.
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is routinely ranked among the world's great day walks, a 19-kilometre traverse across ancient lava flows, past the Emerald Lakes and the striking Red Crater, with views that stretch on clear days to the coast. Private guided crossings, helicopter access to high points otherwise unreachable, and winter ski seasons at Mount Ruapehu add further dimensions. This is a place where the earth feels alive in the most literal sense.
Among its moments
- Tongariro Alpine Crossing, privately guided
- Helicopter landing on the volcanic plateau
- Ski and snowboard season at Whakapapa and Tūroa
- Wild horse search in the Kaimanawa ranges
- Lake Taupō private boat charter
Central Plateau in photographs
Journeys through Central Plateau
Reading on Central Plateau
The whole journal- The Volcanic Plateau: New Zealand's geothermal heart
Wild Interior, 7 min read
- How to experience any of the ten most Scenic Drives in New Zealand
Wild Interior, 6 min read
Near here
All thirty regions, on the map