Touring New Zealand
For Lord of the Ring fans 40 mins from Hamilton
Enter Middle Earth at the Hobbiton Movie Set. This takes you on a picturesque tour of the movie set finishing in the Green Dragon Pub to sample a beer or cider - A must do. Also you can visit Hairy Feet Waitomo and see where Frodo finds the sword Sting. A tour near Piopio (1 ½ hours south of Hamilton).
West Coast
On the West Coast visit the famous left hand surf break of Raglan. A nice seaside town to enjoy the novelty of a black sand beach for surfing, swimming, fishing and also some good cafes and restaurants and fresh fish at the wharf.
East Coast
Visit Tauranga or the Coromandel Peninsula for beautiful beaches and fishing. You can dig a hole in the sand at Hot Water Beach, go fishing off the beach or on a charter boat out of Whangamata, Whitianga or Tauranga for snapper through to marlin.
Hamilton (30 Minutes)
Hamilton is NZ’s fourth largest city with a population of 170,000. There is lots of sightseeing, shopping, gardens, casino, golf, food and drink options and it sits on the banks of NZ’s largest river the Waikato where you can go for a river cruise. Home to Good George beer, its worth a try! It is centrally located for many cities and options to fly from its airport to Auckland, Wellington or the South Island.
Rotorua (1hr 20 min) from Hamilton
Rotorua: (1hr 20 from Hamilton) NZ’s geothermal wonderland. Visit 30m tall Pohutu Geyser, mud pools, soak in geothermal hot pools and enjoy some adventure activities including gondolas, bungee, luge, etc. Visit Rainbow Springs, Kiwi House or agrodome for great family activities. Great mountain biking and walks in the Redwood Forest. Good trout fishing at the nearby lakes.
Waitomo Glowworm Caves (1hr from Hamilton
Go underground to see the caves and including a boat trip to see the glowworms. Also you can do abseiling into the Lost World or Black Water rafting. Two local points of interest are the Mangapohue Natural Bridge is a high limestone arch over Mangapohue Stream and Marakopa Falls. Northeast of the village, Otorohanga Kiwi House shelters several species of the rare native kiwi bird.
Tongariro Crossing Walk
Lake Waikaremoana Walk
South Island Walks
World famous Milford Track as well as Routeburn, Kepler, Hollyford and at the top of the island Abel Tasman and Heaphy Track. Stunning scenery, book in fast as these tramps are very popular
Tourism New Zealand Website
New Zealand is an increasingly popular destination with a record 3.82 million visitors touring in the March 2018 year.
The excellent Tourism New Zealand website includes
Special interest activities
Sir Keith Park Memorial Aviation Display
Mountain Air Volcanic Scenic Flights
Events on between 10th and 24th February include
Taranaki Country Music Festival
New Zealand Grand Prix weekend 15th February
Elton John - Farewell Yellow Brick Road 20th February
Saloon Car Championships Huntly 15th February
Modified Championships Grand Prix 15th February
Sidecar Championship North Island Palmerston North