New Zealand was named, probably by a Dutch cartographer, some time after the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman made the first recorded European landfall in 1642. Australia was then known as New Holland, and so New Zealand was named after Zeeland, the other main Netherlands province.

~ Te Ara on Nationhood and Identity

All clickable photographic images on this website are copyright of Tony Bridge 2012. All rights reserved.
To view more work, visit his websites.

Ao-tea-roa, the Māori name for New Zealand, means "land of the long white cloud".

New Zealand / Aotearoa is a landscape of infinite curiosities. Every corner seems to reveal a vista which is different from the one before.

It has been said the God utilised this country as His geological testing laboratory, and used the results of his experiments to create other, much larger countries. You can find every type of landscape here: deserts; snow-covered mountains; deep, mysterious rainforests, and fertile pastures. It is no wonder Kiwis call this God's Own Country, or simply "Godzone".

This website is dedicated to labyrinths, mazes and sacred sites in New Zealand. We have written it both for Kiwi travellers in their own country and for visitors to these shores.

Our aim is also to increase knowledge of labyrinths and to encourage interest in building them.

A good place to start is the Map, which has links to a page for each site.

If you're looking for more information about labyrinths, see About Labyrinths.

The first page of the Maze section explains how mazes differ from labyrinths.

Sacred sites have different meanings for different groups. We have taken several approaches to this section, dealing with Māori sacred sites and with points that people sense have a particular energy.

Finally, we have a collection of books on all these topics and on travelling in New Zealand.

If you are the care-taker of a labyrinth or maze, or know of one we haven't yet included, please contact us.

The commonly accepted Māori name for the country is Ao-tea-roa (‘land of the long white cloud’). Some believe it was given by the early Polynesian navigator Kupe, but it came into widespread use only in the late 19th century.

~ Te Ara on Nationhood and Identity