Australia and New Zealand appear in Lonely Planet’s lists yet again this year! The three ‘Best in...
Population: Around 3,250,000
Size: 113,729 sq km
Major Cities: Auckland, Wellington, Palmerston North, Hamilton
The landscape of New Zealand's North Island is gentler than that of the South but no less spectacular, ranging from the long golden sands of Ninety Mile Beach in the north through the rolling farmlands of the Waikato, Lake Taupo (which sits in the vast crater of an old volcano) and the lunar landscape of the Tongariro Crossing (shown here). The cosmopolitan cities of Auckland and Wellington are also located in the North Island - around two-thirds of New Zealand's total population lives here.