Drive down SH39 from Ngaruawahia to Otorohanga and you'll pass a prominent sign pointing to a small, relatively unknown coastal settlement called Kawhia.

Nzherald.co.nz is celebrating the best things about New Zealand. Today surfer Daniel Kereopa shares his favourite NZ beaches. What do you think?

Nzherald.co.nz is celebrating the best things about New Zealand. Today opera singer Simon O’Neill shares his favourite beaches. What do you think?

With a tent and an airbed packed into his Mercedes-Benz, Jurgen Karl Ahrens made the New Zealand outdoors his home.

When rhododendron and world music festivals are the main drawcards to Taranaki, you could be forgiven for thinking the region has traded its wild west coast image for an altogether more hippy vibe.

James Russell rounds up a few water sports you may want to get your teeth into this summer...

A still summer night seems like the perfect time to just lie on your back gazing at the stars.

It's hard to resist comparisons to the movies when you're on a ship like the Sore Larsen, writes Bronwyn Sell.

Who are we really fighting for access to our beaches? Herald journalist Yvonne Tahana and photographer Richard Robinson took to the road to find out...

In whispers, Far North residents tell one another they have the best beach in the country on their doorstep.

Paul Rush discovers hidden treasures among the nikau, cabbage trees and kauri of this famous harbour.

In the 1950s, high-profile American surfers and their camera crews broadened their search for the perfect wave beyond their home beaches.

North Head tunnels, Devonport
Takarunga Rd, Cheltenham

In the development heyday of the 1950s, holiday homes shot up on narrow, sandy fingers of land around New Zealand's coastline.

At New Zealand's most famous surf beach - and the birthplace of modern surfing - an environmental battle is being fought on several fronts.

While you're slumming it this summer, others are living it up.

Travellers describe the best and worst of their time in New Zealand.

In Whakatane, you feel adventure is just around the corner. It's the frontier to discovery whether you're on wheels, on foot or on water.

It's true that AJ Hackett rules the air-waves when it comes to bungy jumps in New Zealand, with four locations.

CNN has named NZ among the top nine destinations for next year - at number 2 behind New York.

Which routes do you enjoy travelling and sightseeing on? Send us Your Views.

Over the next few weeks we'll be profiling some of the country's coolest, most unusual baches available for rent.

Record numbers of rooms are still available for people to book their summer break.

The Herald on Sunday is asking tourists over summer about the highlights and lowlights of their trip to New Zealand.

Holidaymakers joining the Christmas exodus from Auckland are being encouraged to check road and traffic conditions before leaving home, to improve chances of safe and relatively hassle-free trips.

Visitors heading for Cathedral Cove on the Coromandel this year should take care when walking through the cove's iconic archway, the Department of Conservation (DOC) warned today.

International visitors to New Zealand have increased in the past year, but Kiwis are opting to travel abroad for their holidays.