Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
The guided tour of the Glowworm Cave, which is behind the visitor centre, leads past impressive stalactites and stalagmites into a large cavern known as…
Must-see attractions in Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Coromandel Peninsula
Waihi’s superb Gold Discovery Centre tells of the area’s gold-mining past, present and future through interactive displays, focusing on personal and…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Te Awamutu Museum has a superb collection of Māori taonga (treasures) and an excellent display on the Waikato War. The highlight is the revered Te Uenuku …
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Coromandel Peninsula
Walk through a mine tunnel, watch a stamper battery crush rock, learn about the history of the Cornish miners and try your hand at panning for gold…
Coromandel Peninsula
Beautiful Cathedral Cove, with its famous gigantic stone arch and natural waterfall shower, is best enjoyed early or late in the day – avoiding the worst…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Before the Waikato invasion, Rangiaowhia (5km east of Te Awamutu on Rangiaowhia Rd; ask at the i-SITE for directions) was a thriving Māori farming town,…
Coromandel Peninsula
Long, lovely Hahei Beach is made more magical by the view to the craggy islands in the distance. From the southern end of Hahei Beach, it’s a 15-minute…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
From Kāwhia Wharf, a track extends along the coast to Maketu Marae, which has an impressively carved meeting house, Auaukiterangi. Two stones here – Hani…
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Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
A community trust has erected 47km of pest-proof fencing around the triple peaks of Maungatautari (797m) to create the impressive Sanctuary Mountain…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Due to copyright, all the movie sets around NZ were dismantled after the filming of The Lord of the Rings, but Hobbiton’s owners negotiated to keep their…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
In legend, Mt Karioi (756m), the Sleeping Lady (check out that profile), is the sister to Mt Pirongia. At its base (8km south of Whale Bay), Te Toto Gorge…
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Broken Hills Gold-Mine Workings
Coromandel Peninsula
Located 12km south of Tairua is the turn-off to Puketui Valley and the historic Broken Hills gold-mine workings, which are 8km from the main road along a…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Ruakuri Cave has an impressive 15m-high spiral staircase, bypassing a Māori burial site at the cave entrance. Tours lead through 1.6km of the 7.5km system…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
All that remains of Rangiaowhia is the cute 1854 Anglican St Paul’s Church and the Catholic mission’s cemetery, standing in the midst of rich farming land…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
The main attraction of the 170-sq-km Pirongia Forest Park is Mt Pirongia, its 959m summit clearly visible from much of the Waikato. The mountain is…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
The big-three Waitomo Caves are all operated by the same company, based at the spectacular Waitomo Caves Visitor Centre (near the Glowworm Cave). Various…
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Coromandel Peninsula
Around seven million years ago Paaku was a volcanic island, but now it forms the northern head of Tairua’s harbour. Ngāti Hei had a pā here before being…
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Otorohanga Kiwi House & Native Bird Park
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
This bird barn has a nocturnal enclosure where you can see active kiwi energetically digging with their long beaks, searching for food. This is one of the…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
A community hub, the Old School Arts Centre has changing exhibitions and workshops, including weaving, carving, yoga and storytelling. Movies screen here…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Three kilometres west from the Glowworm Cave is Aranui Cave. This cave is dry (hence no glowworms) but compensates with an incredible array of limestone…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Apart from its Spanish Mission town clock, Jubilee Gardens is a wholehearted tribute to the ‘mother country'. A British lion guards the cenotaph, with a…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Located in the same building as the Te Kuiti i-SITE, this interesting exhibition of sporting memorabilia is a tribute to Sir Colin Meads and his brother…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
This statue commemorates the late Sir Colin Meads, a legendary captain of the All Blacks, and regarded as one of New Zealand's finest rugby players…
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Coromandel Peninsula
Around 3km northwest of Paeroa on SH2, this excellent riverside maritime museum includes details of Captain James Cook's visit to the Firth of Thames and…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Just past Te Mata (a short drive south of the main Raglan–Hamilton road) is the turn-off to the 55m-high Waireinga, 4km from the main road. From the car…
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Karangahake Gorge Historic Walkway
Coromandel Peninsula
The very worthwhile 4.5km Karangahake Gorge Historic Walkway takes 1½ hours (each way) and starts from the car park 14km west of Waihi. It follows the…
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Kawhia Regional Museum & Gallery
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Kāwhia's modest waterside museum has local history, nautical and Māori art and artefacts, as well as regular art exhibitions. Don't miss the huge fossil…
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Coromandel Peninsula
This expensive but intriguing Disney-meets-Polynesia thermal complex comprises a series of hot pools in a lush jungle-like setting complete with an…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
The Raurimu Spiral, 30km south of town, is a unique feat of railway engineering that was completed in 1908 after 10 years of work. Rail buffs can…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Four kilometres west of Kāwhia is Ocean Beach and its high, black-sand dunes. Swimming can be dangerous, but one to two hours either side of low tide you…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Whale Bay marks the end of the sealed road, but a gravel road continues to the wild spans of Ruapuke Beach, 22km from Raglan. It’s dangerous for swimmers…
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School of Mines & Mineralogical Museum
Coromandel Peninsula
The Historic Places Trust runs tours of these buildings, which house an extensive collection of NZ rocks, minerals and fossils. The oldest section (1868)…
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Pukorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre
Coromandel Peninsula
The Miranda Shorebird Centre has birdlife displays, hires out binoculars and sells useful bird-watching pamphlets. Nearby is a hide and several walks (30…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Firth Tower was built by Auckland businessman Josiah Firth in 1882. The 18m concrete tower was then a fashionable status symbol; now it’s filled with…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Eight kilometres southeast of Cambridge, Lake Karapiro is the furthest downstream of a chain of eight hydroelectric power stations on the Waikato River…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
At the street’s eastern end is Hauaroa Whare, a beautifully carved house. At the western end, Te Rohe Potae memorialises King Tawhiao’s assertion of his…
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Tainui Historical Society Museum
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Mōkau's interesting Tainui Historical Society Museum has old photographs and artefacts from when this once-isolated outpost was a coal and lumber shipping…
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Coromandel Peninsula
From Tapu, a mainly sealed 6km drive leads to the Rapaura Water Gardens, a marriage of water, greenery, sculpture and platitudes. It has accommodation on…
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Victoria Battery Tramway & Museum
Coromandel Peninsula
Across the river from the Waikino train station, the Victoria Battery Tramway & Museum is the former site of the biggest quartz-ore processing plant in…
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Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
This volunteer-run gallery and shop is worth checking out to purchase interesting works and souvenirs from the increasing number of artists and designers…
