New Zealand regions, found on the map
Find all sixteen regions, nine on the North Island and seven on the South.
16 to find, 8 a run.
2 rounds, 6 of 8 to pass each. Pass one and its places are yours.
Every one on the map
Every place listed below can be asked in this game. Places you find in a passed round drop out of your remaining pool.
- Auckland
- Bay of Plenty
- Canterbury
- Gisborne
- Hawke’s Bay
- Manawatū-Whanganui
- Marlborough
- Nelson
- Northland
- Otago
- Southland
- Taranaki
- Tasman
- Waikato
- Wellington
- West Coast
What the map tells you about each one
The paragraph the game shows when you find each one. Reading them first is not cheating.
- Northland
- Northland is where Kupe is said to have landed and where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840. Cape Rēinga at its tip is where Māori tradition says spirits leave for Hawaiki.
- Auckland
- Auckland is one of the most populous regions, centred on the city between the Waitematā and Manukau harbours. The city is built across some fifty old volcanoes.
- Waikato
- Waikato is dairy country, green and flat around the Waikato River. It is the home of the Kīngitanga, the Māori King movement founded in 1858.
- Bay of Plenty
- Captain Cook named the bay for the food he was given there in 1769. Its region grows most of New Zealand’s kiwifruit and holds the geothermal country of Rotorua.
- Gisborne
- Gisborne is among the first places in the world to see each new day. It is the heartland of Ngāti Porou, and Cook first came ashore here in 1769.
- Hawke’s Bay
- Hawke’s Bay is wine and orchard country. Napier was flattened by an earthquake in 1931 and rebuilt in Art Deco.
- Taranaki
- Taranaki is shaped by the volcano at its center, Taranaki Maunga, which was granted legal personhood in 2025. The region also has the country’s oil and gas fields.
- Manawatū-Whanganui
- Manawatū-Whanganui holds the volcanoes of Tongariro National Park and the Whanganui River, the first river in the world recognized as a legal person, in 2017.
- Wellington
- Wellington has been the capital since 1865, chosen for its central spot between the two islands. The region includes the wine towns of the Wairarapa.
- Tasman
- Tasman holds Abel Tasman and Kahurangi national parks and the sweep of Golden Bay. It is named for the Dutch explorer who anchored off its coast in 1642.
- Nelson
- Nelson is the smallest region, little more than the city itself. It is one of the sunniest places in the country.
- Marlborough
- Marlborough makes most of New Zealand’s wine, above all the Sauvignon Blanc that made the country’s name. The drowned valleys of the Marlborough Sounds fill its north.
- West Coast
- The West Coast stretches between the Southern Alps and the Tasman Sea. The Franz Josef and Fox glacier valleys descend toward temperate rainforest, though their ice fronts have retreated.
- Canterbury
- Canterbury runs from the Southern Alps across wide plains to the sea. Aoraki / Mount Cook, the highest peak in the country, stands on its western edge.
- Otago
- Otago boomed in a gold rush from 1861. Today it holds Queenstown and Wānaka, and Dunedin on the coast is its oldest city.
- Southland
- Southland takes in Fiordland, the wettest and wildest corner of the country, and Stewart Island across Foveaux Strait.
How this one works
How many regions are on the map?
16. Every one of them is on the map, and a run asks 8 of them. Pass a round and the places you found in it drop out of the pool, so the next run is what you have left.
What is a round?
A run of 8 questions, and 6 right passes it. 2 rounds cover the whole map, and the counter at the top of the New Zealand page counts the ones behind you. Passing is what banks a round's finds: miss the mark and nothing is taken off the map, so every place that round asked about is still there to be asked again. A round is always the places you have not found yet, and when fewer than five are left it is topped up with a few you have found as review, so the last round is never one or two questions. Three quarters of it passes it.
Can I start the map over?
Yes. "Reset this map" under the counter puts all 16 back in the pool and sets the rounds to zero the moment you press it, so the whole map is there to be found again from nothing. It clears this map only; the other maps of New Zealand keep their progress.
Do I need an account?
No. The game plays in the page, and a guest's progress is kept in their own browser. Signing in carries it between devices and earns XP for a run.
What happens when I get one wrong?
The map names what you actually hit, then lights up the right answer in green and tells you something about the place. Missing one is how most of this map gets learned.
The other maps of New Zealand
Armenia has the same map in Provinces and capital of Armenia. Azerbaijan has the same map in Economic regions of Azerbaijan. Bosnia and Herzegovina has the same map in Entities and Brčko District. Chile has the same map in Chilean regions. Colombia has the same map in Colombian departments and Bogotá. Czechia has the same map in Czech regions. Denmark has the same map in Danish regions. Ethiopia has the same map in Regions and reference areas of Ethiopia. Fiji has the same map in Fiji’s divisions and Rotuma. Finland has the same map in Finnish regions. France has the same map in French regions. Georgia has the same map in Regions of Georgia. Ghana has the same map in Ghanaian regions. Greece has the same map in Greek regions. Guyana has the same map in Guyanese regions. Iceland has the same map in Icelandic regions. Italy has the same map in Italian regions. Kazakhstan has the same map in Kazakhstan’s regions. Madagascar has the same map in Madagascar’s regions. Moldova has the same map in Moldovan districts and territories. Morocco has the same map in Morocco’s regional map. Myanmar has the same map in Myanmar’s states, regions and union territory. Namibia has the same map in Namibian regions. Nicaragua has the same map in Nicaraguan departments and autonomous regions. North Korea has the same map in North Korean regions. Pakistan has the same map in Pakistan’s provinces and territories. Peru has the same map in Peruvian departments and Callao. Philippines has the same map in Philippine regions. Poland has the same map in Polish voivodeships. Russia has the same map in Russian federal subjects. Saudi Arabia has the same map in Saudi regions. Senegal has the same map in Senegalese regions. Spain has the same map in Spanish regions. Taiwan has the same map in Taiwanese municipalities, counties and cities. Tajikistan has the same map in Administrative areas of Tajikistan. Tanzania has the same map in Tanzanian regions. Turkmenistan has the same map in Provinces of Turkmenistan: 2007 reference. Ukraine has the same map in Ukrainian regions. United Kingdom has the same map in UK regions. Uzbekistan has the same map in Regions of Uzbekistan. Venezuela has the same map in Venezuelan states, district and islands. All three together on the New Zealand atlas page, the country itself on the New Zealand guide, and the other two hundred on the world map.