New Zealand's Most Scenic Roads
New Zealand's Most Scenic Roads
While I don’t condone risking your life for a photo, I do promise to always be safe when doing so. Never in a place where we don’t have full vantage of both sides of the road and can safely move off the road if needed. But there is something magical about being on a road that directly ends into a mountain.
After five years, I think it’s about time I shared some of New Zealand’s most scenic roads.
North Island Spots
Mount taranaki
It took us four visits to see mighty Mount Taranaki of Egmont National Park. While I highly recommend hiking as much as you can around this mountain, I also think its roads are worth checking out.
Pulling up to Dawson Falls Visitor Centre on a clear day will provide a stunning close-up of Mount Taranaki. Just before entering the parking lot, you’ll find the perfect road shot with lush forest lining each side. It’s on the way to the Dawson Falls track and has plenty of space to walk
A few years difference :)
location: Dawson Falls entrance in Egmont National Park
But our favourite Mount Taranaki road shot is from a different side of the mountain. With four different entrances into the park, each a long drive to the next, it took us a while to find the next one, but once we did it became a spot we frequent often. The road to Stratford Plateau carpark located on the southeastern side of the mountain on Pembroke Road. Stratford is a little farming town with the usual takeaways, cafes and pie shops, plus a great family-friendly holiday park.
The best part of this town is the quick access to Mount Taranaki Summit hike (click here to read about our family climb to the top).
If you plan to try this spot out, please please be very careful. Locals in this area drive fast on these country roads so regardless the hour (we love sunrise here), cars will speed by. Be smart.
In order to make the mountain look closer, we use a Tamron 70-200mm lens. To keep your focus on the subject and mountain, we remove any distractions in the shot like the electricity lines and road posts.
Mount Taranaki will always be a favourite spot thanks to its perfect cone shape its closeness to the sea. It’s the only mountain peak for over 130kms and on a clear day can be seen from the North Island’s other biggest mountains.
Want to see Mount Taranaki up close from another angle? Hike up to Syme Hut at Fantham’s Peak for an epic view of the mountain.
Mt. ngauruhoe & Mt. Tongariro
As the North Island’s third tallest peak, Mount Ngauruhoe is located in Tongariro National Park and famous for its multi-appearances in the LOTR series (Mount Doom for those who don’t remember). Road shots here are a tad more difficult although it’s always fun to try.
The ones below are from highway 47 to the Whakapapa entrance from National Park Village. The photo with the kiwi crossing is just 200m from the Mangahuia campsite entrance.
The photo on the left is from the road to Whakapapa Village and the other is a last second scramble when the sky went crazy as we were leaving the park. Both photos showcase Mount Tongariro.
For another favourite view of Mount Ngauruhoe is from the desert highway. Now this is a spot I really don’t recommend when the roads are busy. Ryan often shoots it sans subject due to the high traffic on this main highway. I honestly can’t say the exact location because we only know it by memory. It’s close to the Army reserve land and we just know it by the dip in the road and its curve to know it’s coming up. There is a large pull over space in order to take the photo, however, please don’t jeopardise your or others lives to snap it. We’ve only tried it at sunrise when the light is best on the mountain and less cars are on the road.
Iconic South Island road shots
Mount cook
Easily our favourite place in New Zealand is Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. We love to be amongst the snowy Southern Alps and the road to Mount Cook is the most incredible drive in the country. It’s a long windy one with one-way bridges and fleeting views of the mountains and the glacial blue waters of Lake Pukaki that glow in a turquoise during the day.
There are a few spots on this road to pull over, but be warned, on a weekend or during busy season, cars zoom by each way. As stated before, BE SAFE.
For the location below, it may take some time to find. It’s about halfway from Unwin Lodge to Glentanner Holiday Park. Keep peeking out the window to line up the view. There is plenty of space to pull over for this spot and we had a blast shooting our elopement photos on this road.
While our elopement was in December, New Zealand’s summertime, there is always snow on the mountain. If you visit in winter, you’ll be treated with heaps of snow showcasing Mount Cook’s winter wonderland.
But the famous road shot on this highway is from Peter’s Lookout. A large pull over parking lot (with toilets) that let’s you marvel in the mountain views. You can take the risk by hopping on the road, but as you can see from my second photo below, you can get just as good as a photo from the path next to the parking lot. And you won’t need to worry about moving out of the way from passing cars.
Tasman Glacier
Located within Mount Cook National Park is another long scenic road that ends at the trailhead to Tasman Glacier. This valley lights up beautifully at both sunrise and sunset and there are a number of spots to pull over. We snapped the following photos on a campervan trip during winter last year.
The photo directly below is the first stretch from the turn off on the main road (highway 80) onto Tasman Valley Road. This is also a great road for astrophotography :)
snapped past the Tasman River bridge
The road to Milford Sound
This long, scenic drive has plenty of photo-worthy spots to pull over, however, we’ve never had the time or the right weather to do so other than the photos below. I highly recommend pulling over into one of the designated spots after the Homer Tunnel for the chance to meet me the cheeky Keas and take in the overwhelming view of endless waterfalls into the gorge.
(quick iphone snap on our way into Milford Sound)
beautiful photo by Ryan snapped in the very same spot as the photo above
Final tips to capture your best photos on New Zealand’s most scenic roads
Use a long lens like a 70-200mm to make the mountain appear closer, therefore larger.
Shoot at sunrise when there is less traffic and wait for the morning light to hit the mountain.
Only pull over if there is plenty of safe space for yourself and your vehicle.
Turn on your hazards when pulled over.
Don’t stand on the road any longer than needed.
Go scouting for good roads and angles the day before and drop a pin in the spot if you want to return to it (we need to do this more often, ha!)
NZ is filled with hundreds of more scenic roads and we hope to find them all.
Have a favourite scenic road in New Zealand or somewhere else in the world? Share it below x
cheers, Tor
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