Waikato Region

Not quite world-class, though its 12-scoop cones might just be world-size. And look at that hair! Pokeno is such an important stop that this tiny place actually has two highway exits.

Over to the west and rather off the main tourist routes, Raglan Falls is really just a lovely waterfall - but even for lazy old me, well worth the walk to the bottom and back to the top again.

Some love it, some loathe it: but for any who grew up with Tolkien, Hobbiton is very special. Recent additions include some wonderful internal spaces added to the familiar round 'hobbit front doors', making it even more lovable.

A perfect little New Zealand town being colonised by wealthy retirees from Auckland, Cambridge looks just gorgeous - particularly with it's perfect church and its fascinating (if weird) bells.

The third world-class attraction on this page, an astonishing collection of about 12 'character' gardens. You'd want to visit these again and again if you lived here.

Perhaps familiar in Norfolk (where this is copied from) but certainly a rarity in New Zealand - well worth a visit, particularly if you like a historic 'feel' or if you're a bell-ringer. 

Not a huge drop, but there's a breaktaking flow of perfectly clear blue water from Lake Taupo. A very easy roadside stop and a 'must see' on the way from Rotorua to Taupo.

'Weird' just doesn't say it, particularly after 2 hours when you're cold and tired and you've forgotten what the normal world is like. But for a taste of a volcanic landscape it's first-rate.

'Weird' just doesn't say it, particularly after 2 hours when you're cold and tired and you've forgotten what the normal world is like. But for a taste of a volcanic landscape it's first-rate.