New Zealand Waikato

The Waitomo Caves is a village and solutional cave system forming a major tourist attraction in the northern King Country region of the North Island of New Zealand, 12 kilometres northwest of Te Kuiti. The community of Waitomo Caves itself is very small, though the village has many temporary service workers living there as well. The word Waitomo comes from the Māori language wai meaning water and tomo meaning a doline or sinkhole; it can thus be translated to be water passing through a hole. The caves are formed in Oligocene limestone.

Coromandel is a town on the Coromandel Harbour, on the western side of the Coromandel Peninsula, which is on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is 75 kilometres east of the city of Auckland, although the road between them, which winds around the Firth of Thames and Hauraki Gulf coasts, is 190 km long The town was named after the peninsula, which was named after HMS Coromandel, which sailed into the harbour in 1820.[2] At one time Coromandel Harbour was a major port serving the peninsula's gold mining and kauri industries. An old gold stamper battery is still in fully operational working order. Today, the town's main industries are tourism and mussel farming.

Taupo is a tourist center, particularly in the summer, as it offers panoramic views over the lake and to the volcanic mountains of Tongariro National Park to the south. It offers a number of tourist activities including sky diving, jet boating and paragliding. Taupo services a number of surrounding plantation pine forests including Kaingaroa Forest, the largest man-made forest in the world, and related industry. A large sawmill is sited approximated 3 km to the north east of the town on Centennial Drive. The Wairakei geothermal power station is a few kilometres north of the town.

Hamilton is a city in the North Island of New Zealand. Hamilton now has a growing and diverse economy and is the third fastest growing urban area in New Zealand. Hamilton Central, on the Waikato River, is a bustling retail precinct. The entertainment area is quite vibrant due to the large student population. Many of the city's venues and attractions are located on the old Town Belt, including Hamilton Gardens, Waikato Stadium, Seddon Park, Founders Theatre and the Hamilton Lake Domain. The city is host to a large number of small galleries and the Waikato Museum. The latter includes Te Winika, one of the best-preserved waka (Maori war canoe) from the pre-colonisation era.

Cambridge is a town in the Waikato Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Situated on the banks of the Waikato River, Cambridge is known as "The Town of Trees & Champions". Cambridge and the surrounding district is host to many sporting, cultural and trade events. More than 120,000 visitors attend the National Agricultural Fieldays every June at the Mystery Creek Events Center between Cambridge and Hamilton. Every March, Cambridge holds its four-day Autumn Festival and in December, a Christmas Festival (including a town parade) takes place.

The town of Whangamata is sited on the southeast coast of the Coromandel Peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand. A number of off-shore islands can be seen from the beach. Hauturu or Clark Island is accessible by wading at low tide and is popular in summer months for rock-pool fossickers and kayakers. Whenuakura, sometimes known as Donut Island, sits about a kilometer east of the southern part of Whangamata beach (Otahu Beach). The town has two ocean beaches, both of which are extremely safe for swimming and surfing. There is a safe boating harbor at the North end of the town and another estuary at the South end.

The town of Tairua is on the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand. It lies at the mouth of the Tairua River on its north bank and on the small Paku Peninsula. Mount Paku is an extinct volcano that lies by Tairua Harbour. It was thought to have formed the Alderman Islands. From the late 1960s Tairua has become a holiday destination, with major activities including game fishing, diving, and surfing.

Otorohanga is a north King Country town at the southern end of the Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is recognized as the "gateway" to the Waitomo Caves and as the "Kiwiana Town" of New Zealand. Otorohanga is internationally renowned for its local Kiwi House, which was the first place in the world where the general public could view kiwi in captivity.