North Island

The North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui in Māori, 'the fish of Māui') is the most populated of New Zealand's two main islands — it holds around 3.9 of the country's 5.2 million inhabitants, three-quarters of the population. With 113,729 km² (the equivalent of England + Wales), it stretches 800 km north to south, from Cape Reinga (northern tip, Māori spiritual site) to the Cook Strait that separates it from the South Island.

Geographically, the North Island stands out for its exceptional geothermal activity — it is crossed by the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ), one of the most volcanically active regions in the world. This gives the island its unique landscapes: Rotorua and its geysers, hot springs and mud baths; Tongariro National Park (New Zealand's first national park, double UNESCO listing for natural and cultural heritage) with its three active volcanoes Tongariro (1,967 m), Ngauruhoe (2,287 m, the Mount Doom of The Lord of the Rings) and Ruapehu (2,797 m, the highest summit on the North Island, ski resort); Lake Taupo (616 km², the largest lake in New Zealand, ancient caldera); the White Cliffs and Mount Taranaki (2,518 m, a perfectly conical stratovolcano nicknamed the 'New Zealand Fuji').

The North Island is also the heart of living Māori culture — the iwi (tribes) here have historically been the most powerful, particularly in the Bay of Islands (Northland, signing site of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi), at Rotorua (major Māori cultural centre, Te Puia, Whakarewarewa, cultural evenings with hāngi) and on the East Cape (Gisborne, Ngāti Porou). Marae (sacred community houses) punctuate the villages, particularly in the Northland and East Cape. It is here that the te reo Māori language is most widely spoken in daily life.

On the tourism side, the North Island concentrates the major cities and major cultural sites: Auckland (1.7 million inhabitants, the country's largest city, Skytower 328 m, Waiheke Island vineyards, ferries to Devonport and Rangitoto), Wellington (215,000 inhabitants, political and cultural capital, Te Papa Museum, Cuba Street, coffee and craft beer scene), Hamilton (4th city), Tauranga (fast-growing, Mount Maunganui). Iconic sites not to miss: Hobbiton at Matamata (the Hobbits' village from The Lord of the Rings, preserved intact, NZD 130 for the tour), Waitomo Caves (caves lit by thousands of glow worms), Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach on the Coromandel Peninsula, the Bay of Islands and its 144 islands (dolphin cruises, Hole in the Rock, historic Russell), Cape Reinga (Māori spiritual tip, where the souls of the deceased leave for ancestral Hawaiki).