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Roadside Stories

Roadside Stories is a series of 140 audio guides that follow major road trips in New Zealand. The stories cover the places you’ll pass along the way – their people, their history, their cultural and natural significance.

Roadside Stories was produced by Manatū Taonga in 2010 to provide place-based information about New Zealand for visitors to the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The individual stories are available on YouTube and as downloadable mp3 files. They were uploaded to iTunes (now Apple Music). A Google Map gives the location of each of the Roadside Story sites and links to the related YouTube video.

On YouTube

You can view all the Roadside Stories, with added photos, on YouTube. Each tour of a New Zealand route is grouped as a playlist, so you can watch the whole tour, one story after another - or just the stories that most interest you.

On Google Maps

Tour New Zealand with Roadside Stories on a Google map. The stories are arranged by location and route, so you can follow the tours around the country.

Google Map Image

Download kml file to take the tours on Google Earth.

On Apple Music

Download the Roadside Stories iBook or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Music, then sync the stories to your mp3 player and take them on the road.

Download the MP3s

Roadside Stories a la carte. Download every story, a whole tour, or select individual stories.

Download all 140 MP3’s (ZIPP, 680mb)

Archival audio sourced from Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision. Sound files may not be reused without permission from Ngā Taonga


Updated on 29th August 2023