How Hidden NZ Works
Hidden NZ is a community-built adventure map for waterfalls, caves, trails, hot springs, mines, rock climbing, frisbee golf, churches, beaches, surf breaks, swimming spots, and the little places that are easy to miss if nobody points you in the right direction.
Finding Adventures
Start from the home page map or choose a region. Region pages group adventures by type, while district pages help you narrow things down even further.
- Use the map filters to show or hide adventure types.
- Use the secondary filters for things like dog friendly, child friendly, paddleboarding, mountain biking, and trail running.
- Tap an adventure tile or map marker to open the full adventure page.
The Tier System
Tiers help protect fragile, risky, or more sensitive locations while still letting trusted explorers find deeper adventures.
Suitable for most users and visible by default.
Places that may need more care, better preparation, or extra confidence.
Remote, risky, fragile, or delicate places for highly trusted users.
Private spots shared from friend to friend, rather than published publicly across Hidden NZ.
Records of historic, closed, hazardous, or otherwise non-public places, preserved for documentation rather than promoted as destinations.
Adventure tiles glow by tier, and your username glow shows your current access tier when you are signed in. Tier 4 is for private sharing: a user can submit an adventure that only they and their adventure friends can see. It is designed for places that should stay personal, local, or low-traffic instead of becoming a public map pin.
Tier 5 is different: it is restricted to authorised Hidden NZ staff. These records let Hidden NZ document important places without suggesting that the public should visit them. A Tier 5 record may represent private land, a closed mine, unstable ruins, a conservation-sensitive location, or another place with no current public access. Coordinates are for internal documentation only, and never override closures, landowner permission, barriers, or official safety advice.
How to Reach Tier 3
Tier 3 is earned through real activity on Hidden NZ. When a user reaches 300 adventure points or 25 location check-ins, their account can automatically move up to Tier 3.
- Check in at an adventure: 20 points
- Verify a spot: 5 points
- Review a submitted spot: 5 points
- Submit a new spot: 50 points
- Rate an adventure: 3 points
- Leave a helpful comment: 2 points
Tier 4 is controlled by each adventure's friends-only sharing settings. Tier 5 is assigned only to authorised staff accounts; it is not unlocked through points or check-ins.
User Roles
Roles decide what extra tools a user can access.
- Explorer: The standard user role. Explorers can find places, save favorites, comment, verify spots, check in, and submit new adventures.
- Ranger: A trusted helper role. Rangers can help review submissions and keep information tidy.
- Admin: Site manager access. Admins can approve submissions, manage uploaded images, publish adventures, adjust site data, and access Tier 5 documentation when authorised.
Submitting a New Adventure
Use Submit a Spot when you know a place that belongs on Hidden NZ.
- Add the name, adventure type, region, location, access notes, difficulty, cost, and story.
- Add useful tags like dog friendly, child friendly, swimming, kayaking, historical, or local secret.
- Upload images if you have them, or the site can use category fallback images until better photos are added.
- Submitted adventures go into review before they appear publicly.
Campground owners are welcome to submit their campground or invite Hidden NZ to visit. Listings and reviews should stay useful and honest, whether the place was community-submitted or owner-invited.
Uploading New Pictures
Adventure pages let signed-in users help improve the images for a place.
- Tile images are the small card pictures shown on region and district pages.
- Hero images are the large top image on an adventure page.
- Gallery images are extra photos that help people understand the place.
- Uploaded images need to be approved before they replace or appear on the live adventure.
How Reviews Work
The review page lets trusted users help decide whether submitted places are suitable for Hidden NZ.
- Reviewers can approve or reject submitted spots.
- Reviews help filter out duplicates, unsafe entries, poor locations, or incomplete submissions.
- Once a submission is ready, an admin can publish it as a full adventure.
- Review activity can count toward your profile stats.
Verify and Check In
On adventure pages, signed-in users can help confirm that a place exists and track their own exploring.
- Verify means you are confirming the place is real or the information looks right.
- Check in uses your location to confirm you were near the adventure.
- Both counts help show how much community confidence an adventure has.
- Your verified spots and explored places appear on your profile.
Comments and Respect
Comments are for helpful notes: access changes, safety updates, track condition, seasonal advice, or extra context.
- Keep comments respectful and useful.
- A profanity filter helps keep the place tidy.
- Do not post private property access details unless they are confirmed and appropriate to share.
Favorites and My Adventures
Favorites are places you want to remember. My Adventures shows places you have checked into or completed.
Safety First
Hidden NZ is a guide, not a guarantee. Always check weather, access, track conditions, tides, river levels, local rules, and your own ability before heading out.