Realm Of Rapture
With spectacular glaciers, rolling hills, fiery volcanoes and over 15,000 km of coastline, New Zealand is geography at its gorgeous best. One of the last lands to be inhabited by humans, perhaps its unspoiled beauty has something to do with the fact that it is, according to corruption watchdog Transparency International, the world’s least corrupt nation. A tribute to this pristine paradise.
Muriwai Beach
Home to a large colony of gannets, Muriwai Beach is located on the west coast of North Island in New Zealand. It is a popular hotspot for surfing, paragliding, hang-gliding, fishing, bush walking and mountain biking. The beach is also famous for its unique black sand caused by the iron content derived from the ancient volcanoes in the area. About 1,200 pairs of gannets nest here each summer and can be seen between August and March. These graceful birds have a wingspan of over two metres and catch their prey with a spectacular nosedive into the sea at up to 150 kph. Once the young gannets learn to fly, they cross the Tasman Sea to Australia — only to return a few years later to breed at the colony. Apart from gannets, little blue penguins, spur-winged plovers and white-fronted terns are also found in the area. In springtime, fur seals can be seen sunbathing on the rocks below the gannet colony.
Lake Tekapo
This resort village in South Island — located at the southern end of the lake of the same name — is one of the best places in the Southern Hemisphere to see the night sky. In fact, it is being considered for world heritage status as the world’s first starlight preservation area. Mount John University Observatory, New Zealand’s premier astronomical research observatory, is located on a small hill to the south of the town. The ground rock in the glacial melted waters give Lake Tekapo its characteristic turquoise hue. Come summer and the lake is surrounded by reams of Russell lupins in exquisite shades of pinks and purples. The area is also home to a number of rare and protected birds such as kea — the world’s only alpine parrot.
Lake Taupo
About the size of Singapore, Lake Taupo is the largest fresh water lake in Australasia and also the largest lake by surface area in New Zealand. Merely filling the caldera of one of the largest super volcanoes in the world in the Taupo Volcanic Zone, the lake feeds the Waikato river with enough water to run 8 hydroelectric power stations. Created nearly two thousand years ago by a volcanic eruption, you can see evidence of its fiery birth in the geysers, steaming craters and boiling mud pools of the area. An adventurer’s paradise, the beaches of Lake Taupo are popular with swimmers and paddlers as they offer warm geothermal water currents. It is also a great place for water-skiing, sailing, kayaking and trout-fishing, while extreme adrenaline-seekers can go for sky-diving and bungy jumping.
Lake Matheson
Known for its stunning mirror reflections of New Zealand’s highest peaks — Mount Cook (3,754 m) and Mount Tasman (3,497 m), Lake Matheson is located near the Fox Glacier in South Island. The lake was an important mahinga kai (food gathering place) for Maoris travelling along the coast hunting for pounamu — a Maori word that refers to several types of highly-valued nephrite jade, bowenite or serpentinite.