Four Southern attractions have made a list of the planet's ultimate sights, alongside the Taj Mahal, Rocky Mountains and the Sydney Opera House.
The Otago Peninsula's albatross colony, the Moeraki Boulders, Shotover River, and Fiordland's Sutherland Falls feature in the Lonely Planet publication, 1000 Ultimate Sights.
A chapter on the world's top ornithological spots includes the Royal Albatross Centre - "Here at one of New Zealand's hottest attractions the drawcard is the birdlife.
"Taiaroa Head is the site of the world's only mainland royal albatross breeding ground, where you can observe the spectacle of albatrosses with wingspans of up to 3m coming in to land like a succession of 747s," the authors wrote.
The Shotover River also rated a special mention alongside China's Yangtze River and the Amazon.
"In the land of adventure sports (think bungy, canyon swinging or zorbing) thrill-seekers in Queenstown can get the ultimate ride.
"For kicks with a bit more horsepower, strap yourself in for the ultimate jet-boat ride along the Shotover River. As the throttle opens and the scenery blurs by, the sheer canyon walls come startlingly close as you pull out of another 360deg spin."
Also earning praise are the Moeraki Boulders which "might easily be mistaken as a bowling alley for the gods".
"Scattered about its sands is a collection of large, remarkably spherical boulders, which Maori legend says are the remains of eel baskets, kumaras and calabashes washed ashore from the wreck of a legendary canoe.
"Geologists opt for the simpler idea that they are harder remnants left behind as the mudstone cliffs at the back of the beach eroded away."
Visitors to Fiordland are also recommended to see the 580m-high Sutherland Falls, which are best approached by tramping the four-day Milford Track.
Eleven other New Zealand sights are mentioned in the book, including the lighthouse at Cape Palliser, the volcano at White Island (volcano), Auckland's Sky Tower and the underwater remains of the Rainbow Warrior.
