Waikato New Zealand
"manicured farmlands and an inner-world Milky Way"
The Waikato region is one of the richest farming areas in the country. Dairy cows, racing studs and grazing sheep mingle with corn fields and even vineyards in one of the locomotives of NZ primary industry.
Undoubtedly the tourist highlight is the Waitomo Caves - technically they're in a area known as the King Country but let's not quibble about geographical niceties - and especially the Gloworm Grotto where millions of tiny lights create an inner-world Milky Way.
Let's, for ease of description. assume you're heading south. Escaping from Auckland is easy: You just head down the Southern Motorway, up and over the Bombay Hills and down into the Waikato River Valley.
If you haven't managed to get into the wine country west of Auckland, then Cooks Landing Winery just past Meremere is an opportunity to try and buy quality local wines at the winery. Another chance is at Rongopai Winery, just off SH1 at Te Kauwhata
Ecotourism special: The Whangamarino Wetland at Meremere is a preserved habitat for endangered plants, fish and birds. A boardwalk gives dry-foot access without risk to the said eco. Access from the causeway adjacent to the old and near derelict Meremere Power Station (very visible and not at all eco) off Island Block Road.
A little bit of history. In the 1860s a war was fought between Maori and the Imperial British army. Like most wars it was about land. At Rangiriri the Maori built a massive fortification that defied the British assault.
It was one of a series of such forts Maori designed and built during this war. They were able to withstand the most God-awful bombardment by heavy artillery yet still leave their defenders capable of furious resistance when the infantry assault came.
These combinations of bunkers, trenches and palisades were concepts decades in advance of their time. Had the British High Command then and later not been made up mostly of imbeciles, they would have learned lessons in trench warfare that would have radically altered the nature of the First World War, perhaps avoiding some of the mindless carnage of that stupid struggle.
You'll see the site of the Rangiriri fortification on the right of the main road. as you travel south. Get out of the car and take a look., 'Course if you are travelling on a bus, tough. Displays give details of the fort and the battle..
Got kids on board? Take a diversion to Candyland. On the weekends they run candymaking demonstrations. The rest of the time the small brigade can just go nuts in the largest candy shop in the country. There's also a museum, doll display, arts and crafts and a tearooms on the site. On the Gordonton/Taupiri highway. Follow signs from SH1 at Taupiri, about 20min north of Hamilton. Shows at 10.30am and 1pm weekends, public holidays and school hols.
Another Gordonton attraction is Woodlands Historic Homestead, at 42 Whitikahu Rd. It is a gem of colonial design, built in 1872 and on the NZ Historic Places Trust A List, which has been carefully restored to original condition. Surrounded by floral gardens and woodlands, it is a living legacy of Waikato's colonial past. Open to the public Sun to Wed and public hols 10-4.
At Ngaruawahia, about 20km north of Hamilton, turn a few metres off the main road to Turangawaewae marae, the only royal residence in NZ - the home of the Maori King, Tuheitia Paki, who assumed the kingship recently on the death of his wideley revered mother, te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu. Entry to the marae itself is prohibited but you can peer over the fence. The annual Turangawaewae Regatta is held on the Saturday nearest March 17 and you can see full size waka (war canoes) racing as well as a wide range of Maori cultural displays and competitions.
Hamilton is one of those places without much attraction to the international visitor but if you have an hour or two to kill then worth a look is the National Agricultural Heritage exhibition at Mystery Creek, close to Hamilton airport. Agriculture is one of the premier driving engines of the New Zealand economy and this is an insight into its history.
The other thing worth a look at is the MV Waipa Delta, a little paddlewheeler that plies the Waikato River from Hamilton. Lunchtime, afternoon and evening cruises.
Hamilton Zoo, which, let's be brutally francis here, is just yer average mass-production provincial zoo, but it does have something quite unique: The largest free-flight aviary in the Southern Hemisphere. It's an attempt to recreate a fern forest valley 500 years before mankind set foot on the soil here with 10 species of endangered native birds in residence.
If you're into gardens, the Hamilton Gardens are evolving as one of the city's hidden treasures. A series of themed gardens - Japanese, Chinese, Modernist, English etc - tell the story of gardening. At the southern end of the city, alongside SH1. Access is free. And half a million visitors a year must be somewhere on the right track.
A very "English " village - well, what an English village would have looked like if it were built a hundred or so years ago in the middle of New Zealand.
I guess it's the trees that give it that look plus the fact that the old buildings in the town were never upgraded with a bulldozer.
If you are into antiques the several shops along the main street are a happy fossicking ground. Also on the main street is the Cambridge Country Store, said to be the largest craft shop in the country and housed in a converted 1898 church. There are also a number of craftspeople and artisans working in the area. For more details call at the Cambridge Information Office, in the Waipa District Council offices on SH1, opposite KFC.
The town is also famous - as is the whole of the district - for its thoroughbred racing studs. Here, many a future Melbourne Cup winner has been bred and raised, grazing on lush green pastures, building the strong-boned frames that make great stayers.
If you'd like to see something of the thoroughbred industry look in on NZ Horse Magic, at Cambridge Thoroughbred Lodge, on SH1 6km past Cambridge. The ringmaster will put horses of every size and shape through their paces - Spanish Lippizaner, a quarter horse and (at the other end of the size scale) a Clydesdale, even one of the wild horses from the Kaimanawa Ranges further south. Open Tues-Sun for tours of the stud. Shows at 10.30am. Ph 07-827-8118. Bookings essential.
For more information on thoroughbred racing have a look at Westbury Farm's site or The Oaks Stud.
Until Peter Jackson came wandering around looking for a site for Hobbiton, this quintesentially New Zealand rural community was not even a blip on the tourist radar. You whizzed through it if you took my suggested route from Auckland to Rotorua down State Highway 27.
But Lord of the Rings has changed that - now there is a steady stream of Rings fans wanting to see "Hobbiton". Initially the deal with the film company was that the site was off-limits to the public, but that's changed (probably because the said "public" persistently pestered the farmer on whose land the site was set - or the set was sited). Whatever, now if you call at the local Tourist Information Office, they'll set you up for a dekko at the diggins. Or, if you want that in English, a look at the site, which is now little more than a series of holes in the hills. Get more information from Hobbiton Tours.
And for all you Andy Capp-like poms, this town has got something very special: Keola Lofts - a lively presentation on the history, breeding and care of . . . racing pigeons!! 428 Hinuera Rd. Ph 07-888-1728. Ph first - just to make sure there's someone home.
Matamata aerodrome, a few km north of the township, is one of the best gliding bases in the country. After aero or cable rocket launch you can soar on the updrafts created when the prevailing westerlies get driven high by the Kaimai Ranges. The Matamata Aerosports Centre also offers parachute jumps, either tandem or solo as well as gliding.
Te Aroha.
Big attraction in this small-town slice of NZ is hot mineral water at the Te Aroha Mineral Pools Domain, Boundary St. "Taking the waters" was, in Edwardian times, considered so beneficial that doctors could prescribe a Health Department paid-for "cure". The bathhouse has now been restored to its original condition. It's the only natural hot soda mineral geyser in the world. So perhaps as an alternative route from Auckland to Rotorua - or vice-versa - you could take the Paeroa-Te Aroha-Matamata road that picks its way along the toes of the Kaimai Ranges.
Along the road between Matamata and Te Aroha, on the eastern side, is the Kaimai-Mamaku Forest Park. There are a couple of excellent walking tracks - The Wairongomai Valley Track network picks its way along old gold trails and bush tramways. It's 5km south of Te Aroha. About 15km further south is the Wairere Falls Track, a 40min walk to the base of the falls which plummet 153m in two drops over the fault-formed western wall of the Kaimais.
Raglan.
If you really are here for the long slow look then take a day or two (great place to decompress after the madness of just getting here) at Raglan, out on the west coast. Little snippet of bygone New Zealand snuggled away from Looneyville Central where the rest of us live. On the way there, turn off on to Te Mata Rd. An easy 10minute walk gets you to Bridal Veil Falls, a 55m cascade set in a native bush reserve. A further 10 minute hike will take you to the base of the falls.
If you are a surfer then you'll not need to be told about the Raglan coast - you will almost certainly have heard of the world class surfing at Manu Bay's left hand break. Follow Wainui Road around the coast from Raglan township.
Otorohanga.
On your way to Waitomo you'll probably pass through Otorohanga. The Otorohanga Kiwi House is worth a look if you have spare time - or spare kids. Apart from kiwis (feathered variety) and tuatara lizards, it has a large walk through aviary populated with all manner of native birds.
The caves here are world famous but they're not the only reason to visit the Waitomo region. This is a vast block of limestone country, bored, tunnelled and shaped by aeons of water whether single drops or torrents. There is thus not just "The" Waitomo Cave, but many such. You can float through them, abseil down into them or just punt along gawping at the Milky Way within the earth.
Pride of place goes of course to The Waitomo Caves -
a complex of caves that has become famous over the years.
The most popular is the Glow-worm Grotto where thousands
of tiny phosphors light up the black dome of the cave
roof above you as you drift silently along the
underground river in a boat. Tours leave every half hour
from 9am to 5pm.
While you're waiting for a caves tour to leave take a look at the bigger picture - visit the Waitomo Museum of Caves.
Glowworms are, of course not confined to the Waitomo Glowworm Grotto, nor even to the Waitomo region. There are plenty of them in caves and holes from one end of the country to the other.
Black Water Rafting: You've heard of white-water rafting, but this is not like that. It's underground - mystery, fun, soft adventure close to the very sounds, secrets and silences of the rocks themselves. You drift in an inner-tube through darkness broken only by the unwinking glow of thousands of glow-worms.
Allow three hours for the simple option, but why not take BWRII, a combination of abseiling, tubing, glow-worms, caving, climbing . . . described as like flying into New York at night. Call Blackwater Rafting 07-878-6219. Or else Waitomo Down Under 07-878-6577.
One of the top adventure attractions is The Lost World. You can take either the longer 1 1/2 day option or the quickie 4 hour version. Basically it's an abseil way down into the deeps and depth . . . like 100m into the depths. On the short version you make a tandem abseil into the cave, tethered to a guide who abseils beside you on a separate rope. On the long expedition you spend half a day training then make a solo descent into the cave, followed by a walk-wade-swim journey out along the river course.
Or you can opt for the Indiana-Jones-goes-caving action of Hagga's Honking Holes fast moving adventure that includes three abseils in waterfalls.
Waitomo to Rotorua - via Putaruru.
The Auckland/Waitomo/Rotorua loop is one of the most popular tourist routes in the country. Don't matter much which direction you do it. Cutting cross country between Waitomo and Rotorua you pass through the small south Waikato town of Putaruru which celebrates its timber milling heritage with the Putaruru Timber Museum - worth a look if you have time. The cafe is a good watering stop, too.
Along the same road you'll pass over the Arapuni Dam, one of a chain of hydro-electric stations that entrap the energy potential of the Waikato River.
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All you need to know about a visit to the place where God set the contrast and colour and man hasn'nt fiddled with the dials.
What, hopefully, you'll get out of this mish-mash of peripatetic ramblings.
Background bumpf on the country.
Visas, customs, immigration, duty free shopping, and getting away from the airport. Bloody important if you don't want to be arrested on arrival.
Moving on . . . by road or rail, by air or by sea.
"nuff said.
What to see, what to do, and why to go there.
Diving, fishing, golf, rafting, sailing, skiing - and more.