With its snow-capped mountains framing blooming fields, not to mention a ratio of five sheep per person, New Zealand is easily one of the most scenic countries in the world. But some of its areas are more stunning and visually interesting than others.
NZ Casino Club, a New Zealand online casino guide, analysed Instagram hashtag data for 25 most popular spots in the country to find those that have been tagged the most and are therefore new Zealand’s most Instagrammable spots.
“Travellers often want to tick off the most popular places they have seen on social media during their visit, which is why we were interested in finding which are New Zealand’s most ‘Instagrammable’ hotspots,” a NZ Casino Club spokesperson said.
Hobbiton, the homes featured in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Hobbit’ came out on top, with a whopping 470,000 hashtagged posts on Instagram. The movie set is in Matamata, New Zealand and can be visited on a guided tour.
On the tour, you’ll spot more than 40 hobbit holes embedded in the area’s green hills, several of which you can walk into. The location, which attracts more than 500,000 visitors each year, was a sheep farm before it was scouted by Kiwi film director Peter Jackson in 1998.
Next was Milford Sound, in New Zealand’s southwest, within Fiordland National Park, which had 445,000 hashtagged posts. The spot is known for its towering Mitre Peak. The township of Lake Tekapo, with just 720 residents, took the third spot with 272,000 posts.
In fourth place was Mount Cook with 218 posts. The mountain is the highest in the country at 3,724 metres and was reportedly climbed by Sir Edmund Hillary to prepare for being the first person ever to climb Mount Everest.
In fifth place was Cathedral Cove, a naturally formed archway on the southern part of Mercury Bay, with 122,000 posts.
Ahead is the full list of the 10 most picturesque places in New Zealand, as decided by Instagram.
|
Rank |
Location |
Hashtag |
Number of Instagram posts featuring the hashtag |
|
1. |
Hobbiton |
#hobbiton |
473,000 |
|
2. |
Milford Sound |
#milfordsound |
445,000 |
|
3. |
Lake Tekapo |
#laketekapo |
272,000 |
|
4. |
Mount Cook |
#mountcook |
218,000 |
|
5. |
Cathedral Cove |
#cathedralcove |
122,000 |
|
6. |
Roy’s Peak, Wanaka |
#royspeak |
78,500 |
|
7. |
Tongariro National Park |
#tongarironationalpark |
72,000 |
|
8. |
Wanaka Tree |
#wanakatree |
46,700 |
|
9. |
Mount Cook National Park |
#mountcooknationalpark |
38,700 |
|
10. |
Doubtful Sound |
#doubtfulsound |
34,300 |
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