Mother's Day is coming up fast — and if your mum has a connection to the New Zealand coast, we think we know what she'd love on her wall.
At Tides Out Maps, we make handcrafted wooden depth maps of coastlines — laser-cut from layered European Birch, hand-painted, and made to order in our Auckland studio. They capture the seafloor of a specific place: the harbour she grew up sailing on, the bay where the family bach sits, the island she always talks about. They're not just maps. They're a piece of somewhere that matters.
With 238 five-star reviews and features in The Press, Habitat Magazine, and Resene, these maps have found their way onto the walls of homes all around New Zealand — and this Mother's Day, we'd love to help one find its way onto hers.
15 Maps for 15 Kinds of Coastal Mum
We've picked 15 of our most-loved locations — places with a special meaning for New Zealand families. Find the one that matches her coast.
1. Bay of Islands – Large
Where a hundred islands scatter across turquoise shallows and the Pacific opens wide beyond Cape Brett. If she has a bach here, has sailed these waters, or simply holds the Bay of Islands close to her heart — this is the one.
2. Hauraki Gulf – Medium
Auckland's playground — islands, passages, and the open Gulf stretching east. For the mum who loves the Gulf, whether she sails it, fishes it, or watches it from the shore.
3. Waiheke Island – Medium
Sun-soaked, salt-aired, and impossible to forget. For the mum who loves Waiheke — the vineyards, the coves, the island life — this map brings it all home.
4. Marlborough Sounds – Medium
A labyrinth of drowned valleys and crystal-clear channels, unlike anywhere else in New Zealand. For the mum with a South Island connection — a family holiday spot, a sailing route, the ferry crossing she knows by heart.
5. Coromandel Peninsula – Large
White sand bays on the east, rugged coast on the west — the Coromandel has been the backdrop to Kiwi summer holidays for generations. For the mum who still talks about those summers.
6. Wellington Harbour – Large
Te Whanganui-a-Tara — the harbour at the bottom of the North Island, framed by steep hills and swept by the famous southerly. For a Wellington mum who has called this city home.
7. Tutukaka – Medium
Gateway to the Poor Knights Islands and one of Northland's most pristine coastal stretches. For the mum who knows this corner of New Zealand as a favourite escape.
8. Doubtless Bay – Medium
Wide pale beaches fringing warm Far North waters, opening into the Pacific beyond. For a mum from the Far North — or anyone who has stood on those beaches and felt the pull of that horizon.
9. New Zealand – Medium
The whole country, from the Three Kings to Stewart Island, surrounded by the ocean depths that define us. For any Kiwi mum who loves her coastline — north to south.
10. Great Barrier Island – Medium
Sixty kilometres from Auckland, but a world away — ringed by deep blue open water and some of New Zealand's most spectacular unspoilt coast. For the mum who has made the crossing, or dreams of it.
11. Raglan Harbour – Large
Sheltered harbour waters, the famous left-hand break beyond, and that irreplaceable Raglan feeling. For a mum who loves the west coast lifestyle.
12. Abel Tasman – Medium
Golden sand, clear green water, native bush — New Zealand's most-loved coastal national park. For the mum who has walked the track, sea-kayaked the bays, or simply loves this golden coast.
13. Whangarei Harbour – Large
From the deep rocky entrance to the sheltered Town Basin and the mangrove shallows beyond — Whangarei Harbour captured in every layer. For a Northland mum who knows this harbour well.
14. Waitematā Harbour – Large
The bridge, the volcanic cones, the ferries crossing — and the dramatic depths beneath it all. For an Auckland mum who loves her city's harbour.
15. Mt Maunganui – Medium
The Mount standing watch over the Bay of Plenty, the beach stretching out below, and the wide Pacific beyond. For a Bay of Plenty mum, or anyone who loves The Mount.
Make It Personal
Every map comes with the option to add a Bespoke Addition — a favourite bay marked with a name, a date, or a line of text that makes the map uniquely hers. It's +$50 and it turns a beautiful gift into something she'll never part with.
Just select "With Bespoke Addition" when you add to cart, and leave a note at checkout with what you'd like. We'll take care of the rest.
Order in Time for Mother's Day
Each map is made to order in our Auckland studio — we don't rush it, and we think that's part of what makes it special. Allow approximately 2 weeks from your order date.
To receive your map in time for Mother's Day (Sunday 10 May), please order by 26 April.
Tides Out Maps are handcrafted in Auckland, New Zealand. Free shipping on orders over $150 NZD.