Outside the Square

Activities ▷ Land Activities ▷

Outside the Square

The Stuff That Doesn't Fit Anywhere Else

NZ has a good streak of weird in it, and this category is where that lands. From Baldwin Street in Dunedin - the world's steepest street, genuinely worth the detour - to the Lost Gypsy Gallery tucked away in Papatowai down in the Catlins, some of the best experiences in NZ refuse to sit in a tidy box. Blair's place in Papatowai especially. Inventions, tinkering, delightful nonsense. You'll leave grinning.

Worth the Detour

Up in the Nelson region, the Takaka Hill Via Ferrata is doing something genuinely different - self-guided, and the gear hire from Ngarua Caves is absurdly good value, possibly the best value activity in the country right now. Rotorua has its own brand of silliness, from rolling down a hill in a giant ball to the Skyline Luge - use the promo code RANKERS on outside-the-square activities in Rotorua to knock a bit off. Same deal in Wellington and Auckland if you're hitting something a bit different in those cities.

Pick What Fits Your Weird

My honest take: the best of this category rewards a bit of curiosity. Puzzling World in Wanaka has been quietly getting better for decades. Curling in Central Otago is low-key good times for any age. The RANKERS promo code also works on outside-the-square experiences in Auckland if you want to stretch the fun further.

87 items with the highest ranking score first, showing page 1 of 3.

Treasures in the Lost Gypsy bus

South Island ▷ Southland ▷

5 25 reviews

Random Goodness

South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷

4.9 8 reviews

North Island ▷ Rotorua Region ▷

4.8 11 reviews

South Island ▷ West Coast ▷

4.7 20 reviews

South Island ▷ Coastal Otago ▷

4.7 5 reviews

South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷

4.7 3 reviews

North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷

4.7 7 reviews

North Island ▷ Wellington Region ▷

4.7 5 reviews

South Island ▷ Wanaka Region ▷

4.7 3 reviews

Cruising the Queenstown Gardens on a Segway.

South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷

4.6 4 reviews

The Segway Personal Transporter is so easy and fun to ride!

South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷

4.6 2 reviews

South Island ▷ West Coast ▷

4.6 2 reviews

Denize Bluffs Piopio

North Island ▷ Waikato ▷

4.6 2 reviews

North Island ▷ Coromandel ▷

4.5 47 reviews

Camping NZ App Icon

Camping NZ App

All the great camping sites on your iPhone™, iPad™ or Android™ phone or tablet. Avoid camping penalties using this council approved app. Featuring offline maps.

Download from the App Store Download Android app on Google Play

North Island ▷ Taupo Region ▷

4.5 22 reviews

North Island ▷ Tairāwhiti Gisborne ▷

4.5 16 reviews

Created over thousands of years ago is a crazy 60 meter natural water-slide!

It will be worth it!

North Island ▷ Northland ▷

Sandboarding

Te Paki Stream - Free

4.5 45 reviews

The Te Paki Stream sand dunes, just south of Cape Reinga, Northland, is a natural sandboarding fun park. Grab anything hard and flat (boogie...

North Island ▷ Coromandel ▷

4.5 3 reviews

South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷

4.5 3 reviews

South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷

4.5 1 review

North Island ▷ Northland ▷

4.5 1 review

North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷

4.5 1 review

South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷

4.5 1 review

South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷

4.5 1 review

North Island ▷ Tairāwhiti Gisborne ▷

4.5 1 review

Ride the Railway on Bikes between Gisborne and Wairoa

South Island ▷ Wanaka Region ▷

4.5 1 review

North Island ▷ Taupo Region ▷

4.4 21 reviews

South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷

4.4 2 reviews

This is a track that leads off the main Abel Tasman coastal track. From Torrent Bay estuary a 20 minute wander leads up a stream bed of large...

South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷

4.4 4 reviews

North Island ▷ Rotorua Region ▷

4.3 145 reviews