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 native bush to the lookout or a steep 1½-hour climb to the summit.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
18.54 MILES
The steep slopes of 232m-high Mauao swarm with walkers in the morning, when the Mount’s early risers perform their ritual climb to the summit. The ascent…
23.98 MILES
Waihi’s superb Gold Discovery Centre tells of the area’s gold-mining past, present and future through interactive displays, focusing on personal and…
17.19 MILES
The city's pre-eminent gallery stages challenging exhibitions of thought-provoking contemporary work. The building itself is a former bank, though you’d…
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Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari
27.45 MILES
A community trust has erected 47km of pest-proof fencing around the triple peaks of Maungatautari (797m) to create the impressive Sanctuary Mountain…
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17.24 MILES
Surrounded by mature trees and lovely gardens, Tauranga's original mission station incorporates the Bay of Plenty's earliest buildings, along with one of…
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13.55 MILES
Due to copyright, all the movie sets around NZ were dismantled after the filming of The Lord of the Rings, but Hobbiton’s owners negotiated to keep their…
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18.97 MILES
This fascinating aviation museum, beside the airport, is filled with predominantly military aircraft. You can scramble through the living quarters of the…
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17.28 MILES
Hairy Maclary author Lynley Dodd lived in Tauranga for years, and NZ’s favourite literary animals were immortalised in bronze on Tauranga’s wharf in 2015…
Nearby Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula attractions
5.37 MILES
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…
9.92 MILES
Transplanting Cape Dutch architecture from South Africa's wine country to SH2, 8km south of Katikati, this excellent winery is open for tastings and stock…
10.73 MILES
On clear days this lofty wooden viewing platform, located about 13km west of the city centre, provides a panorama of nearly the entire Bay of Plenty – see…
11.44 MILES
About 7km south of town, this gorgeous 4-hectare private garden is all aflap with native and exotic bird life. There's 1.5km of paths, looping out to a…
12.9 MILES
Built as a millennium project, this unusual attraction consists of boulders inscribed with haiku verses wending through a pretty park flanking the Uretara…
13.04 MILES
Housed in a former fire station, this little regional museum displays a selection of Māori artefacts from the local tribe, Ngāi Te Rangi, along with…
13.55 MILES
Due to copyright, all the movie sets around NZ were dismantled after the filming of The Lord of the Rings, but Hobbiton’s owners negotiated to keep their…
13.89 MILES
Country-club-like Mills Reef, 7km southwest of the city centre at Bethlehem, has tastings of its award-winning wines. This isn't grape-growing country, so…