"A few days in the Waikato" Top 5 Page for this destination Waikato by Oyston

The Waikato is a beautiful part of NZ. The scenery is fantastic and there are interesting natural attractions.

Waitomo is a must see. The caves are eerily beautiful and the tours are informative and interesting, though they can get a bit expensive depending on the tour you choose.

I usually travel along highway 1 when trying to get from A to B for business but I was on a road trip returning to Auckland from the Taranaki . The back roads are not used much except by locals and then not much! There is adequate signage along the way as long as you have a reasonable map - available free from the AA. Make sure your petrol tank is full before venturing off the main routes.

The drive from Waitomo to Raglan was about half unsealed but good roads - it was dry at the time, they had had a few slips in the storms at the beginning of the year which were still obvious.

Raglan is a lovely, sleepy, arty type of town. It's about 5km from a huge expanse of classic west coast surfing beach - a great arc of sand and ocean (see picture). There is a good selection of cafes and the people are the friendliest I have come across in the Waikato.

• Pros:Scenery, roads
• Cons:Attitude of people
• In a nutshell:Stock up the car and go for a drive!