Coromandel Peninsula
Shakespeare Cliff Lookout has excellent views over the ocean and Cooks Beach. It’s accessed across the harbour from Ferry Landing.
Must-see attractions in Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Coromandel Peninsula
Near Hot Water Beach, Moko is full of beautiful things – art, sculpture, jewellery – with a modern Pasifika/Māori bent.
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,…
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…
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…
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…
Hamilton
Ngaruawahia (population 4940), headquarters of the Māori King movement, is 19km north of Hamilton on SH1. The impressive fences of Turangawaewae Marae…
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…
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…
Hamilton
About 26km north of Hamilton on SH1 is Taupiri (287m), the sacred mountain of the Tainui people. You’ll recognise it by the cemetery on its slopes and the…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
About 15km northeast of Matamata are the spectacular 153m Wairere Falls, the highest on the North Island. From the car park it’s a 45-minute walk through…
Coromandel Peninsula
The Waihi Arts Centre & Musuem has an art gallery and displays focusing on the region’s gold-mining history. Prepare to squirm before the collection of…
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Near Waitomo Adventures, a steep 20-minute walk leads through bush then along farmland to the abandoned Opapake Pa, where terraces and kumara pits are…
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
In the town’s ornate former thermal sanatorium (aka the ‘Treasure of Te Aroha’). Displays include quirky ceramics, old spa-water bottles, historical…
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
Te Kuititanga-O-Nga-Whakaaro is a beautiful pavilion of etched-glass, tukutuku (woven flax panels) and wooden carvings that celebrates the town’s history.
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
The Rose Garden has 2500 bushes and 51 varieties with fabulously fruity names such as Lady Gay and Sexy Rexy. The roses usually bloom from November to May.
Coromandel Peninsula
This small museum has a grand selection of Royal Albert porcelain and other pioneer and Māori artefacts – look in the drawers.
Coromandel Peninsula
A small but interesting museum focusing on local history – especially Whitianga’s most famous visitors, Kupe and Cook.
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
The 7m-high, 7.5-tonne Big Shearer statue is at the southern end of town.
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…
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
The Rangiriri Heritage Centre screens a short documentary about the battle of Rangiriri. There’s also a small museum and a cafe with good home baking.
Māori War & Early Settlers Cemetery
Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula
The Māori War & Early Settlers Cemetery houses the soldiers’ graves and a mound covering the mass grave of 36 Māori warriors.
