At the southern gate to a tātahi (beach) that's almost, but not quite, 90 miles long, Kev the Kiwi has pulled up for the night in a whare (house) beside some of the country's best left-hand surf.

Since 1962, more than 70,000 Kiwi have pushed their limits at the outdoor leadership school based here, where the 73-kilometre Queen Charlotte Track hits the water. Kev's checked into a no-frills lodge just around the point from the finish line.

Limestone buildings from a 19th-century meat-export boom now host the country's biggest steampunk scene, and every evening the world's smallest penguins waddle ashore nearby. Kev's bunked down in a heritage whitestone home in the middle of it all.

Bagpipes and caber tosses take over every New Year in the Scottish settler town where Kev's pulled up at a farmhouse, home to one of the Southern Hemisphere's biggest Highland Games.

A quick ferry hop from Lyttelton, or a scenic drive around the hills, gets you to this peaceful harbour settlement, and Kev's parked up at a seaside cottage away from the city hustle.

This suburb gave its name to a huntsman spider so photogenic that Hollywood cast 300 of them in a 90s horror film, and it's exactly where Kev's spending a night or two in a villa.

Over a winding hill road into Golden Bay, past some of the clearest freshwater springs ever recorded, Kev's posted up in this arts-and-alternative-lifestyle hub.

Every autumn, hot rods and rock 'n' roll take over this Coromandel surf town for the country's biggest classic car festival, and Kev's parked up at a weekender right in the thick of it.

Kiwi flock here every winter as the base town for Mt Hutt, one of the South Island's biggest ski fields. Kev's bunked down in a cosy ski-town home right in the middle of it.

11 kilometres of north-facing white sand, once crowned the country's most-loved beach in a 100,000-vote poll. Kev's pitched up at a beachfront whare (house) for the night.

A tiny foundry here still casts toys from the same aluminium moulds used since the 1930s, feeding the country's national toy museum next door. Kev's bunked down in a playful home just down the road from the factory floor.

The hill overlooking this suburb in Poverty Bay marks the exact spot where a certain British explorer first came ashore in Aotearoa, back in 1769. Kev's pulled up at a home with the very same view.

Anglers travel the world to fish this region's famous brown trout river, and every year the town crowns a country music champion with a solid-gold guitar. Kev's kicked back in an easy country-town home.

Locals call the town centre here simply 'the Village,' ringed by boutique wineries and watched over by Te Mata Peak. Kev's parked up at a character cottage two blocks from the Saturday farmers' market.

More than 1,500 miners once camped along the river here chasing gold, and the poplar-lined street they left behind turns gold itself each autumn. Kev's bunked down in a heritage miner's cottage on the avenue.

Snow-capped peaks drop straight into the Pacific at this coastal village, famous for sperm whales you can spot year-round and dolphins you can swim with. Kev's staying in a home with a serious sea view.

The clock tower on the main street puts on a scene from Romeo and Juliet four times a day. Kev's pulled up down the road, at the foot of the mountain and the gateway to the Forgotten World Highway.

Locals call this peninsula 'Space Coast'. Home to the country's only orbital rocket launch site, Kev's touched down for a night on this slice of coastline.

Every shop sign in this Rangitīkei gateway town puns on its own name. The police station is 'Const-a-Bull,' the public loos are 'Reliev-a-Bull'. And it sits right where State Highway 1 meets State Highway 3. Kev's pulled into a farmhouse just down the road from the roundabout.

The Ōreti Tōtara Dune Forest containing trees as old as 500 years surround this famously green, semi-rural pocket of Invercargill, and Kev's tucked himself away for the night in a whare among the trees.