Places to visit in Waikato, New Zealand
8 places to visit in Waikato, New Zealand, each with LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own: Hobbiton Movie Set, Lake Taupo, Cathedral Cove and more. Stand at any of them with the app open and the stamp is yours, confirmed on site, in your Waikato volume.
2 Famous places to visit · 6 Hidden gems
Famous places to visit in Waikato (2)
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Hobbiton Movie Set
A working sheep farm near Matamata where Peter Jackson built the Shire for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films. Visitors can walk past the round hobbit holes and finish with a drink at the Green Dragon Inn.
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Lake Taupo
New Zealand's largest lake by area, filling the caldera of a supervolcano in the centre of the North Island. Its last major eruption, around 232 CE, was one of the most violent in the last 5,000 years, and the lake is now a famed trout fishery.
Hidden gems in Waikato (6)
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Cathedral Cove
A sea arch and sheltered beach on the Coromandel Peninsula, reached by a coastal walk from Hahei. It lies within the Te Whanganui o Hei Marine Reserve, which covers 840 hectares of Mercury Bay from Cook Bluff to the north end of Hahei Beach.
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Coromandel Peninsula
A forested peninsula on the North Island's east coast with a spine of volcanic hills and long beaches. Hot Water Beach and Cathedral Cove are its best known sights, and the old gold mining towns of Thames and Coromandel lie on its western side.
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Hamilton Gardens
A public garden park of 54 hectares on the banks of the Waikato River in the south of Hamilton. It is known for its collection of enclosed themed gardens, such as Italian, Japanese, Chinese and English styles, plus a lake and open lawns.
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Huka Falls
A set of rapids and a drop on the Waikato River just north of Lake Taupo, where the river narrows from about 100 metres to 15. Around 220,000 litres of water pass through the chasm each second, and the water is a deep blue.
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Orakei Korako
A highly active geothermal area in a valley north of Taupō on the banks of the Waikato River, noted for its fault stepped sinter terraces. It is also called the Hidden Valley, and visitors cross the river by boat to reach the boardwalks.
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Raglan
A small beach town west of Hamilton, loved for its black sand beaches and one of the world's longest left hand surf breaks at Manu Bay. It sits on a harbour of the same name, with a laid back arts scene.
Collecting in Waikato
What are the best places to visit in Waikato?
LOQAH lists 8 places in Waikato. The best known include Hobbiton Movie Set, Lake Taupo, Cathedral Cove, Coromandel Peninsula and Hamilton Gardens. Each has a stamp of its own to collect when you are there.
How many LOQAH stamps are there in Waikato?
8, and more are added over time. Each place has LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own.
How do I collect a stamp in Waikato?
Open LOQAH at the place and get its stamp. LOQAH checks where you are once, at that moment; at the place itself the stamp is confirmed on site, with a gold badge.
I have been to places in Waikato before. Can I add them?
Yes. In Earlier trips, choose Waikato and swipe through its stamps, or import your Google Timeline. Each one goes into your volume with the date, if you know it.
More in New Zealand
Collect your first stamp.
LOQAH is free on iPhone and Android, in India and 40 more countries, with more countries on the way. Stand at a place, collect its stamp, and keep every trip in a passport that grows.