Activities in Waikato & The King Country
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Green Glow Eco-Adventures
Green Glow Eco-Adventures runs customised, small-group Waitomo tours, putting caving, rock-climbing, abseiling, photographic or glowworm spin on your day (or all of the above!). It’s based in Te Kuiti, 20 minutes from Waitomo.
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Waitomo Adventures
Waitomo Adventures offers five different cave adventures, with discounts for various combos and for advance bookings. The Lost World (four-/seven-hour trip $270/395) trip starts with a 100m abseil down into the cave, then – by a combination of walking, climbing, spider-walking, inching along narrow rock ledges, wading and swimming through a river – you take a three-hour journey through a 30m-high cave to get back out, passing glowworms, amazing rock formations, waterfalls and more. The price includes lunch (underground) and dinner. The shorter version skips the wet stuff and the meals.
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Legendary Black Water Rafting Company
Legendary Black Water Rafting Company claims to have invented black-water rafting! Its Black Labyrinth tour (three hours, $110, minimum age 12) involves floating in a wetsuit on an inner tube down a river that flows through Ruakuri Cave. The highlight is leaping off a small waterfall and then floating through a long, glowworm-covered passage. The trip ends with showers, soup and bagels in the cafe. The Black Abyss tour (five hours, $215, minimum age 16) is more adventurous and includes a 30m abseil into Ruakuri Cave and more glowworms, tubing and cave climbing.
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Te Aroha Mineral Spa Bath House
The Te Aroha Mineral Spa Bath House offers relaxing private tubs, massage, beauty therapies and aromatherapy. Near the entrance a drinking fountain allows you to try the warm soda water – an acquired taste but reputedly good for constipation. Also here is the temperamental Mokena Geyser – the world’s only known soda geyser – blows its top every 40 minutes or so, shooting water 3m into the air (the most ardent eruptions are between noon and 2pm).
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Spellbound
Spellbound is a good option if you don’t want to get wet and want to avoid the big groups in the main caves. This three-hour tour and raft-ride departs from the pyramid-like booking office in the middle of town (usually 10am, 11am, 2pm and 3pm, varying seasonally) and goes through parts of the glowworm-filled Mangawhitiakau cave system, 12km south of Waitomo.
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Bryce’s Rockclimbing
Bryce’s Rockclimbing is suited to the serious climber. On site is NZ’s largest retail climbing store that sells and hires out a full range of gear and has an indoor bouldering cave (free to those staying out back in the ship-shape accommodation) and a licensed cafe (light meals $4 to $10; open for lunch). A day’s instruction for one or two people costs $365.
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Black Water Rafting Waitomo Caves Tour
by Viator
If you seek an adventure tour that plays with your senses and provides an unforgettable thrill then this tour is for you. Choose between the Black Abyss or the …Not LP reviewed
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Raglan Surf School
The instructors at Raglan Surf School pride themselves on getting 95% of first-timers standing during their first lesson. Experienced wave hounds can rent surfboards (from $15 per hour), boogie boards ($5 per hour) and wet suits ($5 per hour). They’re based at Karioi Lodge in Whale Bay.
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Caveworld
Caveworld runs the Black Magic (2½ hours, $124) black-water rafting trip through glowworm-filled Te Anaroa. You’ve also got the choice of a day or (glowworm-illuminated) night abseil down a 45m crevice called The Canyon (two hours, night/day $144/175). Various combo discounts apply.
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Cambridge Thoroughbred Lodge
Cambridge Thoroughbred Lodge, 6km south of town on SH1, is a top-notch horse stud. Book ahead for hour-long tours, or ‘NZ Horse Magic’ shows which take place several times a week.
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Waitomo Wanderer
Waitomo Wanderer operates a daily return services from Rotorua or Taupo, with optional caving and tubing add-ons (packages $188 to $288). Shuttle-only services are $45 each way.
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Opal Hot Springs
Opal Hot Springs isn’t nearly as glamorous as it sounds but it does have three large thermal pools. Turn off just north of Firth Tower and follow the road for 2km.
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Leisure Pools
Lower down the Hot Springs Domain, a park behind the i-SITE, the Leisure Pools have outdoor heated freshwater pools for splashing about in.
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Skydive Waikato
Skydive Waikato offers thrilling gravity-powered plummets from Matamata Airfield, 10km north of Matamata on SH27.
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Magic Mountain Horse Treks
In Te Mata, Magic Mountain Horse Treks runs horse treks around the hills, plus a ride to Bridal Veil Falls ($80).
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Dropzone
Dropzone offers thrilling gravity-powered plummets from Matamata Airfield, 10km north of Matamata on SH27.
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Solscape
Solscape offers 2½-hour surf lessons, as well as board and wetsuit hire (per half-day $40).
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Waterworld
Waterworld has indoor and outdoor pools, water slides, a gym, spa and crèche.
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Taumarunui Jet Tours
Taumarunui Jet Tours runs high-octane jet-boat trips on the Whanganui River.
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Wiseway Canoe Adventures
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Raglan Kayak
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Kiwi Balloon Company
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City Bridges River Tour
Another river option is the City Bridges River Tour, a guided kayak ride through the city.
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Raglan Kite Surf School
If you’d rather spend more time above the water than in it, xxx runs one-on-one lessons wherever the wind’s blowing.
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