Sanctuary Mountain & Hamilton Gardens Tour

A pleasant drive south over the Bombay Hills into the rich dairy farmland of the Waikato and beside the Waikato River before arriving in Cambridge, billed as our most English like town. With its stately oak trees, village green and historic St Andrew’s Anglican Church 1881.

A morning tea/coffee break is taken here. Then it's a short drive to lake Karapiro and the hydro-electric power station on the Waikato River for a photo stop, before crossing over the dam. The majestic 797m Mt Maungatautari (Sanctuary Mountain) looms in the background. A mainland ecological island created by a 47 km pest proof fence, the largest of its type in the world. Join an informative 1 ½ hour guided tour about many of New Zealand’s rarest and most endangered plants, insects, birds, fish, geckos, frogs, bats and flora that co-exist in this spectacular environment, on one of the many well maintained tracks to the 16m viewing tower.

A short 35min drive through scenic rural back roads to our lunch stop in Cambridge, billed as our most English like town, with it’s stately oak trees, village green and historic St Andrew’s Church 1881.

The Hamilton Gardens are then just a few minutes up the road. Awarded the International Garden of The Year 2014, not technically a botanical garden, but rather 21 themed gardens representing the art, beliefs, lifestyles and traditions of different civilizations or historical garden styles. The drive back to Auckland, takes you past the city of Hamilton and past the sacred Maori burial ground of Mt Taupiri.