Alright gamers, your call to touch grass this year has finally come.
To celebrate the release of the new Minecraft movie, Flight Centre and Tourism NZ have dropped Minecraft-inspired travel itineraries to Aotearoa (where the film was shot) this month. They’ve also teamed up with Minecraft developer Mojang themselves to create a New Zealand map pack for the game.
That’s right, you’ll get to explore the cities and caves of New Zealand while building your next dirt house or trying to find diamonds. Even the country’s national treasure — the Kiwi — appears as fauna in the game now. Aint that neat?
After filming the latest Minecraft movie in New Zealand, some devs for the game have been hard at work and have developed a world in Minecraft that recreates the country. So, if you’ve ever been eager to visit New Zealand yourself, you can now live out those dreams both IRL and in Minecraft, too.
Here’s everything you need to know.
What is the Minecraft DLC?
Gamers can now grab the Aotearoa New Zealand DLC for free on the Minecraft Marketplace. The DLC features six lifelike re-imaginings of real-life locations players can visit in-game, including Aotearoa, New Zealand: Waitomo Caves, Te Puia | Māori Arts and Craft Institute in Rotorua, Kāpiti Island, Abel Tasman, Tekapō/Takapo, and Patea/Doubtful Sound.
Once downloaded, you can select it from a world in your menu, drop in like starting a new game, and explore. Or, if you’re like me, immediately start hunting down the ender dragon like it owes me money.
These locations are all a part of a travel deal with Tourism New Zealand and Flight Centre, so you can check out these islands in-game and book an IRL trip for cheap to explore them.
In case you didn’t know, Minecraft has had a bunch of custom maps available to download over the course of its lifespan. These are where some of the biggest Minecraft moments came from. For example, those elaborate jumping puzzles that keep popping up on TikTok or the many Hunger Games-inspired minigames.
Sometimes, people even go to the next level and re-imagine settings from movies and video games. These can range from the Death Star from Star Wars or Mordor from The Lord of the Rings. Players will put their recreations online for others to download, where others can then wander through these large-scale settings and immerse themselves in the environment. It’s one of the oldest traditions in Minecraft, so it’s pretty neat to see it get the love it deserves here (especially for free!)
New Zealand Travel Deals
Now, for what you’re really here for — the sweet travel deals to New Zealand.
In case you didn’t know (I certainly didn’t), the new Minecraft movie was actually filmed in New Zealand (sorry to the five people who live in Chuglass, Idaho, who were happy for the exposure).
To celebrate the film’s release, Minecraft developer Mojang Studios, Flight Centre and Tourism New Zealand have come together to work on many different maps that faithfully recreate New Zealand. These maps recreate six different locations, so you can virtually live out these holidays and decide if you wanna book in and recreate the experience IRL (minus the monsters and creepy villagers).
Here are the carefully curated itineraries and travel deals below:
Eight-Day North’s Thermal & Nature Explorer: This eight-day package will take you through Auckland to Rotorua via Waitomo for $1999 (for two!). You’ll also get to enjoy sinking into mud pools, roaming through caves (creeper free!) and enough volcanic activity to make a lava bucket jealous. So, while you’re not exactly heading to The Nether, you can definitely feel like you are.
Nine-Day North Island Natural Wonders: This package is for movie lovers at heart. Over nine days, you’ll visit all the big cities in the North Islands, including Auckland and Wellington. Plus, you’ll get to visit Hobbiton and Wētā Workshop, where the fantasy gets forged.
13-Day South Island Coastline Bender: Want an open-world scenic sandbox adventure? Then this trip might just be for you. In this package, you’ll get to experience the best the South Islands of New Zealand have to offer. That includes icy Fjords and crystal clear lakes that’ll make you finally understand Bon Iver. You’ll also get to visit Christchurch’s crazy good food scene and Queenstown, dubbed the world’s adventure capital.
The 100% Pure New Zealand Minecraft Itineraries are available until May 10, so you’ll wanna book soon before these deals expire. You can find all the details here.
Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got to hunt down some Kiwis on this map asap and hoard them on my farm.
Image Credit: Tourism New Zealand
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