Paraparaumu has hosted the New Zealand Open 12 times and Kauri Cliffs is one of the best in the world with six cliff-top holes that sheer off into the Pacific Ocean.

BBC: Living in: golf areas

From the Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club on the Kapiti Coast outside of Wellington to Kauri Cliffs in the far north, the North Island is a golf mecca down under.

BBC: Living in: golf areas

Maori claims have flummoxed plans of more than one developer, including Forbes 400 member Julian Robertson (see box), who had to contend with them when building his North Island luxury complexes at Kauri Cliffs and Cape Kidnappers.

FORBES: "We Weren't Hut People"