Taupo

The river narrows suddenly to 15m and pushes 220 tonnes of water a second through the gap. The drop is only 11m, and the force is what makes the noise.

In the 1970s young carvers cut a Maori face ten metres tall into the cliff. Boat or kayak is the only approach, and the view comes from the surface.

Steam leaks out across the ground and boardwalks circle the boiling mud. Activity picked up after the power station began drawing water from below.

A walk of 19.4km threads between volcanoes and is done in one day. The weather turns fast, and snow near the top is possible even in summer.

The jump happens above a view that holds the lake and the volcanoes together. Prices sit below other countries, which brings in a lot of first timers.

Where a thermal stream meets the cold river, the mix comes out at the right temperature to sit in. Nothing is charged, and it lies five minutes on foot from the parking.

A sailing boat runs two hours out to the carving and back. The lake is broad enough that wind raises a swell like the sea.

A boat crossing is the sole approach, which keeps the numbers down. Silica terraces spill down the slope and have set white.

Dirt and sealed sections follow the shoreline at different grades of difficulty. In the bush the roots break the surface and the pace drops.

Rainbow trout fill the river and the lake, fished under a bought licence. Selling the catch is barred, and a restaurant will cook whatever you bring.

Most of the time a dry gorge of bare rock, until the dam upstream opens its gates at set times and within minutes it fills into white water. The barrel escape in The Hobbit was shot here. The upper lookout shows the surge arriving better than the lower one.

A dormant volcano east of town, with a track climbing through pasture and bush. Up top, the whole of Lake Taupo and the three volcanoes to the south show at once. The route crosses Maori-owned land, so never stray off the signed route.

Halfway round a two-hour loop from Whakapapa Village beneath Mount Ruapehu. A 20m waterfall pours over the edge of an old lava flow. The track crosses open plateau with no shelter from wind, so pack a windproof even in summer.

A quiet lakeside village tucked into a bay on the north-west shore, with a small marina and a sandy beach. Waves stay gentler here than off the town foreshore, so families with small kids swim here. It has only a couple of shops, so bring food from Taupo.

A short loop through native bush in Tokaanu village beside Turangi, where the lake ends in the south. From the boardwalk you look down on steaming hot pools and bubbling mud. Walkers coming off the southern volcanoes often pause here for a short stroll.

A trout hatchery on the Tongariro River south of Turangi. From an underground viewing room beside the stream, big trout hold against the current at eye level. After the tanks of young fish sorted by size, the anglers lining the river make sense.

A small lake hidden in forest below Mount Pihanga, its name meaning greenstone lake. The bush track round it passes two sandy beaches. Road noise never gets this far, and a morning circuit is accompanied only by native birdsong.