I had so much fun on this Trek and the scenery is unbelievable! Nicole was a great guide and told…read moreme all about the family farm while we were riding. I really enjoyed getting to see the farm animals up close and Nicole's pup Luke was a fun addition to the Trek. We took a quick break by the stream and her homemade German bread was a nice touch! My horse Sally was beautiful, and a bit of a troublemaker searching for food, but she was also safe and easy to ride! I would definitely recommend this horse trek as it is the perfect way to enjoy the NZ scenery!

Spent a great day here at the Southern Enclosure with the whole family (hubby, boys 7 and 4). I've…read moreheard a lot about this place, but it's taken us a while to finally make the short trek down from Hamilton. When you arrive, there is a car park and visitor centre. Pay for your tickets at the visitor centre. They have some souvenirs and a small cafe there as well. There are toilets near the visitor centre. They have passes for adults, children, a family pass, yearly pass and various options for guided tours. We opted for the self-guided experience (though, I might have chosen the guide if I went without the kiddos). We also had a coupon from the Entertainment Book (buy one get one adult entry). Mostly, this is a great bush walk and place to see native birds. Bring some binoculars if you have them. The pathways are all gravel or raised wooden walkways. We stuck to the Rata path on this occasion, which had some up and downhill parts, but nothing exceptionally strenuous. We packed about 3 bottles of water and brought our own snacks, which was good since the boys expended a lot of energy running around on the trails. I definitely recommend the viewing tower. It was there that we were visited by a kaka. It just landed on the railing of the tower and walked up and down, checking us out, before flying away. There was another toilet along the way. I just constantly encourage everyone to go when there is one, and we didn't run into any troubles by doing this. I also recommend going to the pond. My boys loved looking at the numerous crayfish scuttling along the ground of the pond - water was so clear you could see right to the bottom.

I had some expectations of what a river cruise might be (I have done one on the Potomac River in…read moreWashington, DC) and this was different than what I expected, but I think that if you don't have any preconceptions, this was a nice little cruise. I went with my husband on a Sunday afternoon. We booked just tickets (not food) and arrived about 20 minutes before the start of the cruise. I would recommend getting there early so that you can get the seats you want. All the seating is bench seating with a table, but some are near open walls of the boat and some are by regular windows. I'd say the open areas are good if you want to take photos. We started off by having a drink - I had some sauvingon blanc and he had a beer. The prices were regular sorts of prices, not overly expensive, given the captive audience. Our particular cruise was from Hamilton Gardens and went into the Hamilton CBD area up to the Fairfield Bridge and then back again. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't awesome for us. It was overcast and drizzling most of the time, with a couple of downpours in there as well. That said, it wasn't a total wash and I did enjoy our time. There is a recorded tour guide that points out some of the sites along the river during the cruise. They also provide you with a small map and a guide to some of the birds you might see along the way. I was getting kind of hungry and had a brownie and then later ordered a ham and cheese toastie. I was actually really surprised that the toastie wasn't just microwaved or something. The hostess went to the back of the boat, cooked it on the grill and it was served nicely with a small salad and quite nice presentation. Overall, I think this was a fun experience, particularly if you're just visiting in the area. It would have been nicer in sunnier weather, but it wasn't too bad in the rain. They also have cruises that go in the opposite direction to Mystery Creek Winery, for wine tasting.

The Waikato River Explorer website is tired and old, certainly needs to be updated as its really…read moreunappealing in its present form. Overall this website is a boring customer experience Other issues the site has listed below. 1. Reduce or optimize your meta keywords 2. Check all images for ALT attribute 3. Make your HTML code less messy 4. Delete frame and iframe tags 5. Add proper sitemap.xml file 6. Get some Google +1 clicks

The idea of combining kayaking and viewing glowworms sounded like a great idea so I booked an…read moreouting with The Boatshed Kayaks. My husband and I (private tour) had a great time. We kayaked with our guide Sean for a while and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. While we waited for the sun to go down, we got out of the kayaks and hiked up a small hill to enjoy the views and a snack. Once it got dark, we got back in the kayaks and started paddling back; 1000's of glowworms were visible on the walls of the gorge. We saw very few people and the evening was very peaceful. I would highly recommend this activity.

I drove down to Hamilton for two of the Black Caps games against India earlier on this year and I…read morewas really impressed with the car parking facilities. There were several car parking areas set-up to accommodate for the influx of Black Cap supporters to the stadium. On both occasions, I paid a mere $5 to park my car in an area that was only a stones throw away from Seddon Park. The park itself has a village green sort of feel to it. The treeline along the embankment offers some shade but I prefer the seated stands. Plenty of food and drink options on site. I can't comment on the toilet facilities as I haven't used them - I don't like public toilets! Getting back to the cricket, the Black Caps are due to take on Sri Lanka for a five-day Test match from 18-22 December, then Pakistan for a T20 international on 17 January in 2016 and Australia for an ODI during the Waitangi weekend. Bring it on!

This is such an awesome place! We came here with friends who have been several times and got to try…read moreout one of the rooms where you are trying to find as much money as you can before the time is up. It was fun to mix it up and not just try to get out of the room in an hour, but to try to get more money than previous teams. It was definitely challenging, but not so challenging that it wasn't fun for 4 of us to do decently well. They also have snacks and a great area to play board games if you're not into escape rooms. Lots of great game options available!

Yep, we had fun! Fun clues and great clean rooms. Helpful staff. The puzzles kept with the theme,…read moreplus the room definitely added to my overall enjoyment. Our group was separated in to two rooms. We had to solve puzzles in order for the other group to proceed. Also, there were sound effects that added to the atmosphere. They also have board games and soft drinks. Fun was had by all! Recommended.

On a road trip of the North Island recently, I had a free morning and decided to have breakfast in…read moreHamilton and visit the gardens. Driving by the entrance, it was clear to see this is a large and worthwhile spot. I highly recommend it if you love flowers, plants, and pleasant strolls outside. Parking is free and plentiful, signs guide you to the entrance. There is a cafe outside too, with lots of seating both inside and out, including restrooms. The main building contains a gift shop with lots of garden and plant supplies, plus the main ticket booth. Prices vary depending where you're from, and they have annual memberships. The gardens are large and divided by both type and historical period and geographic location, which I loved. I mostly visited the various parts clockwise, with Japanese, Chinese, Egyptian, Italian, and New Zealand all being unique. I loved how each has buildings and water features common to the place and time, like a zen rock garden, fountains, and even 60s Americana. At the edge of the Renaissance garden is an outdoor theatre, where I'm told productions of Shakespeare take place. Beyond there are mostly New Zealand centric gardens including what ancient rainforests looked like, and more mountainous areas. There's art throughout like murals and statues. I loved the Maori garden, with traditional carvings and buildings. The Wellington themed Sunday garden was also a highlight, with outdoor tea setup and antique Ford. In all I spent a few hours here and thought it was well worth the entry fee and time. I know I missed springtime by a couple weeks, but there was still plenty to enjoy. It's worth your visit.

We stopped by Hamilton Gardens on our drive back from Hobbiton to Auckland and really enjoyed the…read morevisit. The gardens are no longer free, they charge $20 admission but it's worth visiting. There are a number of different gardens to walk through (e.g., Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Egyptian, etc) with a lot of thought put behind the design to pay homage to the different artistic styles and evolution of gardens. You really get to immerse yourself into different cultures and expression of art in the garden form through time. I loved the gardens so much I ended up buying the book and have been learning more about the history and development of the gardens (fun fact: it used to be a garbage dump). By the far the best gardens I've visited.

I absolutely had to see a black sand beach on my trip to New Zealand and on our way to Hamilton we…read moredrove along the coast to Manu Bay. There are several small seaside towns to visit on the drive and though we didn't stay long to look around, it appeared there were some places for tourist shopping and some dining options. This beach was beautiful and I really wish I had more time to spend here. The black sand is striking yet soft on the footsies. There was a great menagerie of shells and rocks washed up along the beach that were fun to pick through. There are a lot of hills around, and there was a short little hike to a lookout point with a great view. Apparently one of the best surf sites on the North Islands west coast, it did have some surfers out there despite the weather being a bit nasty. There were places to rent gear if you're interested in some water activities. We also passed by several nice looking camping and recreation areas. Great stop and very glad I didn't miss it!!