Our 20 best New Zealand landscapes

With its swooping green hills, sandy beaches, and snow-capped peaks, New Zealand is effortlessly beautiful. And while anyone with a camera or phone can capture the country’s wild perfection, though photos don’t do the land justice. For you, who hopes to visit, who has visited, or who lives there now, we present our fifteen most breathtaking landscape photos from our two weeks on the North Island. And it’s just a small slice of New Zealand’s beauty:

People fishing at sunrise near Mangawhai Heads, Northland Peninsula

Foragers collect cockles on a beach, south of Auckland

Early morning at a campsite in the center of the North Island

Sheep run across a grassy hill near Cape Reinga, Northland Peninsula

The view from the lighthouse at Cape Reinga, Northland Peninsula

Clouds (shadows) and people (black dots on right) pass over dunes at the Te Paki Sand Dunes, Northland Peninsula

The endless hills of New Zealand as seen from the Forgotten World Highway

Volcanic cones rise from the landscape at Tongariro National Park

Taranaki Falls and Wairere Sream cut through the landscape of Tongariro National Park

Wairere Sream just before plunging over Taranaki Falls, Tongariro National Park

Patchwork vegetation grows in the shadow of a volcanic cone, Tongariro National Park

The Tongariro National Park landscape on a rainy day

Tawhai Falls (Gollum’s Pool) on a rainy day, Tongariro National Park

The cooling tower of Ohaaki Geothermal Station disappears into the clouds, central North Island

Steam rises from hot springs and rivers hidden in the forest, central North Island

Late afternoon on the tramping track in Puhoi, Northland Peninsula

Sunset and cloud formations as seen from the Mounds Walk, Tongariro National Park

Sunset on a rainy day, including a distant rainbow, at Nevin’s Lookout

Sunset and dusk in one photo as seen from Nevin’s Lookout

The last rays of sunset over New Zealand’s hills at Nevin’s Lookout