Race back to the ice age on a journey through the South Island's Southern Alps region. From the incredible peaks of Mount Aspiring National Park to the glistening expanse of the Tasman Glacier, you'll get the opportunity to experience a landscape that has barely altered in 15,000 years.

In the North Island, the most astounding scenery has volcanic origins. The three peaks of Tongariro National Park create an awesome centrepiece for the island, while nearby Lake Taupo is large enough to be described as an inland sea.

Whether you explore by car, four wheel drive, helicopter or boat, uncommonly beautiful places can be discovered in every region of the country. Follow your heart, and keep your camera loaded.

Places to go

• National Parks can be relied on to deliver outstanding scenery. Check out Fiordland, Mount Aspiring and Mount Cook National Parks in the South Island; Wanganui and Tongariro National Parks in the North Island.
• Glaciers are beautiful to watch, walk on and fly over. Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers on the South Island's west coast are unusual because they flow almost to sea level.
• The Kaikoura coast, famed for its whale population, is a place for unforgettable wild life encounters.
• Rotorua and Taupo are highly active geothermal areas, where mud boils and geysers never stop gushing.
• The raw beauty of the South Island's west coast reaches its peak at Punakaiki. Strange formations and thunderous surf converge to keep you spellbound.

Things to do and see

• Take a four wheel drive safari up Mount Tarawera, near Rotorua, and see where a massive volcanic eruption split the mountain in half lengthways.
• Indulge in a spree of flightseeing - the very best way to appreciate the grandeur of the Southern Alps. Or float over the Canterbury Plains in a hot air balloon.
• The whales at Kaikoura are wonderful to watch. Meet giant Sperm Whales, Humpbacks or Orca, depending on the time of the year.
• A boat trip on Milford Sound is the best way to appreciate the enormity of the fiords. Under the lofty gaze of Mitre Peak, you'll have an ant's eye view of the world.
• If you're reasonably fit, discover the ice age first hand during a half or whole day guided walk on Fox Glacier.
  

Sound credit: symbiosis-music.com.