Day Trips for the School Holidays

By Tristan Hooker/MediaPA

The beauty of Hamilton and the surrounding Waikato Region is not to be underestimated. National and international visitors are enticed to the region’s many natural and man-made attractions.

Lornae Lowe, owner of Aspen Manor Motel, says with school holidays coming up next month there will be plenty of places to visit for day trips, all within easy reach of Hamilton.

“That’s the great thing about Hamilton,” says Lornae, who co-owns Aspen Manor Motel with her husband Simon. “It’s central to everything, which makes it an easy day trip to so many places.”

Lornae says her guests appreciate the location of Aspen Manor, on Grey Street in Hamilton East. “This location makes it really easy to get out of town,” she says, “as well as being close to the Central Business District. There’s even a free courtesy coach from Sky City.”

One of the region’s most celebrated attractions is the Hobbiton movie set location – otherwise known as Middle-Earth. Here you can take a guided tour of the movie set, visit the Green Dragon Inn or enjoy refreshments at The Shire’s Rest Café.

Middle-Earth is located in Matamata, which is around 40 minutes’ drive from Aspen Manor on Grey Street.

An hours’ drive south will take you to the famous Waitomo Glow Worm Caves. Glow worms, or Arachnocampa luminosa, are unique to New Zealand. The Waitomo caves have been open to tourists since 1889 and the caves have been beautifully preserved. There are a number of options to explore at Waitomo, from canoe tours through the caves to black water rafting, to exploring the history of the town of Waitomo.

Within Hamilton itself are a number of options for day trips, such as the Zealong Tea Plantation, on the outskirts of northern Hamilton, where you can learn about growing and harvesting tea; the Hamilton Zoo, New Zealand’s second-largest zoo, with the largest free flight aviary in Australasia; Candyland at Taupiri where you can watch candy being made and make your own lollipop and Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, the largest ecological ‘island’ on mainland New Zealand, where you can see kiwi, kokako and other native birds.

Lornae says she relishes helping her guests at Aspen Manor Motel plan their day trips and says she and husband Simon have plenty of advice and information to offer.

“The possibilities for day trips are almost endless,” says Lornae.

Contact Aspen Manor Motel:

Address: 209 Grey Street, Hamilton East, Hamilton, New Zealand

Phone: +64-7-856 9029

Fax: +64-7-856 9028

Reservation Freephone: 0800 ASPEN 9 (0800 27736 9)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AspenManorMotel

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AspenStay

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/AspenManorNZ/

Website: http://aspenmanor.co.nz/

Email: stay@aspenmanor.co.nz

Contact MediaPA:

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