North Island
The North Island of New Zealand is warm, with scenery ranging from sandy beaches, through rolling farmland to active volcanic peaks. Although it is smaller than the South Island, it is much more populous, with half of New Zealand's population living north of Lake Taupo in the middle of the North Island.| Tap on a place to explore it |
Photo: QFSE Media, CC BY-SA 3.0 nz.
Photo: AlasdairW, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Essential Destinations
Top destinations include Auckland and Wellington.
Auckland
Photo: Ralf Roletschek, CC BY 2.5.
Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand at 1.7 million citizens, and the main arrival point for visitors to the country. It is a vibrant multicultural city, set around two big natural harbours, and ranked as one of the most liveable cities in the world.
Wellington
Wellington is the capital and second largest urban area of New Zealand. It is also the world's southernmost capital city of a UN member state. The Windy City is on the foreshore of Wellington Harbour and ringed by hills, providing the scenic home of many of New Zealand's national arts and cultural attractions.
Hamilton
Photo: AlasdairW, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Hamilton is an inland city in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. In 2020, Hamilton was awarded the title of most beautiful large city in New Zealand. Hamilton Gardens is the region's most popular tourist attraction.
Destinations to Discover
Explore places such as Auckland Region and Greater Wellington.
Auckland Region
The Auckland Region is in the North Island of New Zealand. Centred on the Auckland metropolitan area, it also includes a large rural area, stretching as far north as the Wellsford district.
Greater Wellington
Photo: Deanpemberton, CC BY-SA 2.5.
The Greater Wellington region is the southernmost part of the North Island of New Zealand, governed by the Greater Wellington Regional Council. It is far bigger than just Wellington city, the area governed by the Wellington City Council.
Northland
Photo: Brownfish, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Northland is the northernmost region of New Zealand. Whangarei is its only city; the next biggest towns have a few thousand people. The Northland Region covers the area from Te Hana in the south to Cape Reinga at the northern tip of the North Island.
Waikato
Photo: tara hunt, CC BY-SA 2.0.
The Waikato is a region of the North Island of New Zealand that lies to the south of Auckland and is named for the Waikato River that traverses its length.
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty is a region on the north-east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named for the large bay that stretches from East Cape to Coromandel Peninsula.
Hawke’s Bay
Hawke's Bay is a region on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The population centre is on the Heretaunga Plains, consisting of the twin cities of Napier and Hastings and satellite towns.
Taranaki
Photo: AlasdairW, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Taranaki is a region of 129,000 in the North Island of New Zealand that is dominated by its volcanic mountain, Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The volcano has formed a gently sloping semi-circular coastal plain on its western side and a wide plain of rich farm land in the east to connect it to the rest of the North Island.
Central North Island
Photo: AlasdairW, CC BY-SA 3.0.
The Central North Island region of New Zealand features the Lake Taupo area and the mountain volcanoes of Tongariro National Park, all situated on a volcanic plateau in the middle of the North Island.
Manawatu
The Manawatu is an area of the lower North Island of New Zealand. It is centred on the city of Palmerston North and a broad flat river plain, much of which has been formed by the mighty Manawatu river, one of the few rivers in the world to bisect a mountain range.
East Coast
The East Coast, also known as Eastland or the Gisborne Region, lies around and south of the East Cape of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies between the Bay of Plenty and Hawke's Bay.
Whanganui
Photo: Ripdog2121, CC BY-SA 3.0.
The Whanganui region is on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand.
North Island
- Type: Island with 3,750,000 residents
- Description: more northern, and smaller, of the two main islands of New Zealand
- Also known as: “New Ulster”, “New Zealand North Island”, “North Island (New Zealand)”, “North Island of New Zealand”, “North Island, New Zealand”, “North Island, NZ”, “Te Ika a Māui”, and “Te Ika-a-Māui”
- Location: New Zealand, Oceania
- View on OpenStreetMap
This page is based on GeoNames, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikivoyage.
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Satellite Map
Discover North Island from above in high-definition satellite imagery.
In Other Languages
From Afrikaans to Yue Chinese—“North Island” goes by many names.
- Afrikaans: “Noord-Eiland”
- Afrikaans: “Noordeiland”
- Arabic: “آيسلندا الشمالية”
- Arabic: “الجزيرة الشمالية”
- Aragonese: “Isla d’o Norte”
- Armenian: “Հյուսիսային կղզի (Նոր Զելանդիա)”
- Armenian: “Հյուսիսային կղզի”
- Asturian: “Islla Norte”
- Azerbaijani: “Şimal adası”
- Balinese: “Nusa Kalér”
- Bashkir: “Төньяҡ утрау”
- Basque: “Ipar Uharte”
- Basque: “Ipar uhartea”
- Belarusian: “Востраў Паўночны, Новая Зеландыя”
- Belarusian: “Паўночная выспа”
- Belarusian: “Паўночны востраў, Новая Зеландыя”
- Belarusian: “Паўночны востраў”
- Bengali: “উত্তর দ্বীপ”
- Breton: “Enez an Norzh”
- Bulgarian: “Северен остров”
- Catalan: “illa del Nord”
- Catalan: “Illa del Nord”
- Cebuano: “North Island”
- Chinese: “北岛”
- Chinese: “北島”
- Chinese: “司令官”
- Chinese: “新西兰北岛”
- Chinese: “特伊卡茂伊”
- Corsican: “Isula di u Nordu”
- Croatian: “North Island”
- Croatian: “Sjeverni otok”
- Czech: “Severní ostrov”
- Danish: “Nordøen”
- Dutch: “Noordereiland”
- Dutch: “North Island”
- Dutch: “Te Ika-a-Māui”
- Egyptian Arabic: “الجزيره الشماليه”
- Esperanto: “Nord-Zelando”
- Esperanto: “Norda Insulo”
- Estonian: “Põhjasaar”
- Estonian: “Uus-Meremaa Põhjasaar”
- Fiji Hindi: “North Island”
- Finnish: “North Island”
- Finnish: “Northern Island”
- Finnish: “Pohjoissaari”
- French: “île du Nord, Nouvelle-Zélande”
- French: “île du Nord”
- French: “Île du Nord”
- Galician: “Illa do Norte”
- Galician: “Illa Norte”
- Georgian: “ჩრდილოეთი კუნძული”
- German: “Nordinsel”
- Greek: “Βόρειο Νησί”
- Greek: “Βόρειος Νήσος Νέας Ζηλανδίας”
- Hebrew: “האי הצפוני”
- Hindi: “उत्तर द्वीप”
- Hungarian: “Északi-sziget”
- Icelandic: “Norðurey”
- Indonesian: “North Island”
- Indonesian: “Pulau Utara”
- Irish: “Oileán Thuaidh”
- Irish: “Te Ika-a-Māui”
- Italian: “Isola del Nord”
- Italian: “North Island”
- Jamaican Creole English: “Naat Ailan, Nyuu Ziilant”
- Jamaican Creole English: “Naat Ailan”
- Japanese: “ニュージーランド北島”
- Japanese: “ノース島”
- Japanese: “北島”
- Kabyle: “Tigzirt n Ugafa”
- Kalaallisut: “Qeqertaq Avannarleq”
- Kazakh: “Солтүстік (арал, Жаңа Зеландия)”
- Kazakh: “Солтүстік”
- Korean: “북섬”
- Korean: “테 이카 아 마우이”
- Latin: “Insula Septemtrionalis”
- Latin: “Insula Septentrionalis”
- Latvian: “Ziemeļsala”
- Lithuanian: “Šiaurės sala”
- Lithuanian: “Šiaurinė sala”
- Lombard: “Isola del Nord”
- Macedonian: “Северен Остров”
- Malay: “Pulau Utara”
- Maori: “Ika-a-Māui”
- Maori: “Te Ika a Māui”
- Maori: “Te Ika ā Maui”
- Maori: “Te Ika ā Māui”
- Maori: “Te Ika-a-Māui”
- Marathi: “उत्तर बेट, न्यू झीलँड”
- Marathi: “उत्तर बेट”
- Mingrelian: “ოორუე კოკი”
- Moroccan Arabic: “لݣزيرة دالشمال”
- Norwegian Bokmål: “Nordøya”
- Norwegian Bokmål: “North Island”
- Norwegian Nynorsk: “Nordøya på New Zealand”
- Norwegian Nynorsk: “Nordøya”
- Norwegian: “Nordøya”
- Occitan (post 1500): “illa del Nòrd”
- Old English (ca. 450-1100): “Norðerne Īeg”
- Old English (ca. 450-1100): “Norþerne Īeg”
- Old English (ca. 450-1100): “Norþīeg”
- Old English (ca. 450-1100): “Norþīg”
- Ossetian: “Цæгат сакъадах”
- Persian: “جزیره شمالی”
- Persian: “جزیرهٔ شمالی”
- Pitcairn-Norfolk: “North Ailen”
- Polish: “Wyspa Północna”
- Portuguese: “Ilha do Norte”
- Portuguese: “Ilha Norte”
- Quechua: “Isla del Norte”
- Quechua: “North Island”
- Quechua: “Te Ika ā Maui”
- Quechua: “Wichay Wat’a”
- Romanian: “Insula de Nord”
- Russian: “Остров Северный”
- Russian: “Северный остров”
- Russian: “Северный”
- Samoan: “Le Motu ‘i Mātū”
- Samoan: “Le Motu ’i Mātū”
- Scots: “North Island”
- Scottish Gaelic: “Eilean a Tuath, Sealainn Nuadh”
- Scottish Gaelic: “Eilean a Tuath”
- Serbian: “North Island”
- Serbian: “Severno ostrvo”
- Serbian: “Te Ika O Maui”
- Serbian: “Северно острво”
- Serbo-Croatian: “Sjeverni otok”
- Slovak: “Severný ostrov”
- Slovenian: “Severni otok”
- Spanish: “Isla del Norte”
- Spanish: “Isla Norte de Nueva Zelanda”
- Spanish: “Isla Norte”
- Spanish: “North Island”
- Swahili: “Kisiwa cha Kaskazini (New Zealand)”
- Swahili: “Kisiwa cha Kaskazini”
- Swedish: “Nordön”
- Swedish: “Norra ön”
- Swedish: “North Island”
- Swedish: “Northern Island”
- Tajik: “Ҷазираи Шимолӣ”
- Tamil: “வடக்குத் தீவு”
- Thai: “North Island”
- Thai: “เกาะเหนือ”
- Tok Pisin: “Not Ailan”
- Turkish: “Kuzey Adası, Yeni Zelanda”
- Turkish: “Kuzey Adası”
- Turkmen: “Demirgazyk ada”
- Ukrainian: “Північна Зеландія”
- Ukrainian: “Північний острів Нової Зеландії”
- Ukrainian: “Північний острів”
- Urdu: “شمالی جزیرہ”
- Uzbek: “Shimoliy orol”
- Vietnamese: “Đảo Bắc, New Zealand”
- Vietnamese: “Đảo Bắc”
- Vietnamese: “Te Ika a Māui”
- Waray (Philippines): “Isla Amihanan”
- Waray (Philippines): “Isla ha Amihanan”
- Waray (Philippines): “North Island”
- Waray (Philippines): “Puro Amihanan”
- Waray (Philippines): “Purô Amihanan”
- Waray (Philippines): “Puro ha Amihanan”
- Waray (Philippines): “Purô ha Amihanan”
- Welsh: “Ynys y Gogledd, Seland Newydd”
- Welsh: “Ynys y Gogledd”
- Western Mari: “Йыпелвелнӹш”
- Western Panjabi: “شمالی جزیرہ”
- Wu Chinese: “北岛 (新西兰)”
- Wu Chinese: “北岛（新西兰）”
- Wu Chinese: “北岛”
- Yue Chinese: “北島”
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About Mapcarta. Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, except for photos, directions, and the map. Description text is based on the Wikivoyage page “North Island”. Photo: AlasdairW, CC BY-SA 3.0.