New Zealand cuisine features fresh Pacific seafood, lamb, and dairy products with strong Maori and Pacific influences. Green-lipped mussels, Bluff oysters, crayfish, and blue cod are regional specialities. The hangi, a traditional Maori earth oven feast, is a cultural dining experience. The craft beer and wine scene is world-class, with Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and Central Otago Pinot Noir among the finest globally. Farm-to-table dining and artisan food producers are abundant throughout both islands.

Hilton Lake Taupo

Geyserland Resort Rotorua

Wanaka Hotel

Manapouri Lodge

Lake Taupo and New Zealand's freshwater lakes offer a completely different dimension of diving, from volcanic crater lakes to geothermal underwater hot springs and the clearest natural freshwater in the world. Lake Taupo, the largest lake in the southern hemisphere by surface area, fills a volcanic caldera and features submerged petrified forests, geothermal hot springs on the lake floor, and freshwater crayfish called koura. The Rotorua lakes including Rotoiti offer geothermal underwater hot springs, unique bacterial mats, koura, trout, and eels in warm freshwater environments. Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea in the Southern Alps provide cold, clear alpine lake diving with submerged trees and trout. Lake Manapouri near Fiordland delivers clear, deep diving with underwater limestone cliffs. While Blue Lake near Rotorua holds the record for the clearest natural freshwater in the world at 70 to 80 metres visibility, it is strictly protected and diving is not permitted. Freshwater diving in New Zealand adds volcanic geology, geothermal phenomena, and alpine environments to the country's already extraordinary diving portfolio.

Lake Taupo & Freshwater Lakes

Drive from Auckland approximately 3 hours to Lake Taupo or 4 hours to Rotorua lakes

Dive Sites in Lake Taupo & Freshwater Lakes