A Guide to the Hauraki District in New Zealand, Waihi, New Zealand

Located at the border of the Coromandel Peninsula, on the Northern Island of New Zealand, you can find the Hauraki District. It’s a small region which is well-known for, among other things, Waihi (a gold mine town) and the Hauraki Rail Trail. It’s a district where you can explore a lot, but it’s also a perfect starting point for visiting the Coromandel, Auckland, Rotorua, Matamata and the Bay of Plenty. In this article I’ll tell you about the places to visit and the things to do in the Hauraki District.

Waihi is the home of the richest gold mine in New Zealand, started in 1878 (and which is still in operation nowadays). If you would like to get to know more about the gold mine and the history of Waihi, you can pay a visit to the Waihi Gold Discovery Centre. The Waihi Gold Discovery Centre is an interactive museum where you get to know more about the gold production by walking around, reading and doing some interactive activities. Those interactive activities consist out of rattling the drill, cranking the handles and pushing the plunger. It’s a fun museum for both young and old! You can go to the museum (Waihi Gold Experience) seven days a week: from 9 AM to 5 PM in the summer time and from 9 AM to 4 PM in the winter time. A ticket costs NZD 25,- for adults and children from 5 to 14 years old pay NZD 12,-. Children under the 5 years old have free entrance. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).