- Tongariro National Park (North Island). This is the park of Mount Doom (actually Mt Ngauruhoe). The visitor center has a number of walks. We chose a short track up the rim with view on Mt Ngauruhoe, a 'real vulcano' according to our oldest son.
- Abel Tasman National Park (South Island). Wow! This is a really beautiful place. The majority of the park is only accessible by boat. We stayed in Motueka (the White Elephant Backpackers) and booked a boat tour that started from Kaiteriteri. The boat trip off the coast was already beautiful. We landed on a beach and from there we started a short hike (4 kilometers); perfect length with small children. Many people do day trips or even multi-day trips in the park. The hike brought us to beautiful Te Pukatea Bay (see the photo below).
- Fjordlands National Park (South Island). We drove through this park on our way from Te Anau to Milford Sound, an impressive route through constantly changing landscape. There are a number of places that are worth a visit on the route, with short walking tracks. We especially liked the walking track in the rainforest (a surprising treat in the mountain area)
Tongariro National Park
Abel Tasman National Park
Fjordlands National Park
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