5 Best Adventure Activities In Taranaki, New Zealand

From kitesurfing to dam dropping, here are 5 of the best adventure activities in Taranaki, New Zealand.

On the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand, in between Auckland and Wellington lies one of the country’s best adventure destinations – Taranaki.

Home to epic surf breaks and jagged mountains, there is no shortage of amazing adventure activities in Taranaki.

Whether you’re looking to live life on the edge or just enjoy the beautiful nature around the town, you’ll be sure to fall in love with this coastal paradise and its outdoor activitites.

5 Adventure Activities In Taranaki

Head into Taranaki via the New Zealand State Highway 43, also known as the Forgotten World Highway due to its majestic and mysterious views.

Visit at any time of the year, and you will be rewarded with ample adventure activities.

Here are my top 5.

Snow Skiing

Mt Taranaki, the 2,518m stratovolcano that dominates the Egmont National Park, calls to the adventurer to pass on the more sophisticated ski slopes of New Zealand and ski with the big boys and girls.

Serviced by just a T-bar for the beginner-intermediate and a rope tow which takes you to about 300m of fall line skiing, Manganui ski field is the opposite of commercial.

You will find a small café serving pies but nothing else. You must hike from the carpark to the slopes. Think of it as an excellent warm-up before a fabulous days skiing.

But once on the slopes, you will experience skiing as it was back in the 1970s (Cough, not that I’d know). Because of the lack of amenities skiers tend to head further afield leaving you to enjoy the beautiful slopes like a local.

The scenery in Egmont National Park is amazing. You will be able to ski while checking out the surf for later on in the day. 

Kite Surfing

Although several of the spots are pretty rocky for launching, Taranaki rips for kite surfing.

Because of its protruding location on the West coast of the North Island, Taranaki is more often than not windy.

And those winds are strong, making it the ideal spot for those with a kite surfing addiction.

Expert windsurfers rave about Taranaki, making it one of the most popular places in New Zealand to kite surf.

Ahu Ahu Road, Weld Rd, and Oakura Beach are three of the best spots close to the city of New Plymouth. There is freedom camping at all of these places so you can simply rock up and wait for a…