For a peaceful stop between Rotorua and Te Urewera National Park, check out Murupara Motor Camp. Half holiday park and half motor lodge (motel), Murupara Motor Camp has a variety of accommodations for guests. Located in a small town in the Bay of Plenty Region on the North Island of New Zealand, the motor camp offers lodging that is both removed from busy tourist centers and close to lots of fun activities, including the geothermal attractions south of Rotorua. ...Read more.

Impressive hydrothermal features surround Rotorua on the North Island of New Zealand. Kerosene Creek is one of the easiest to visit, and it's also free. After a brief walk, hop in a steaming stream and soak in a pool below a short waterfall. They don't call it Kerosene Creek for nothing, but you can forgive the harsh small as you relax in this refreshing hot pool. ...Read more.

Get ready for a short, colorful walk at Rainbow Mountain Scenic Reserve outside of Rotorua on the North Island of New Zealand. The mountain, which the Māori call Maungakakaramea (mountain of colored earth), has steep red and white cliffs above a crater filled with turquoise water. Crater Lake Walk reaches a lookout above Crater Lake for a 1-kilometer (0. ...Read more.

If you ever read J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings or watched the trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, you probably wished that the peaceful, bucolic land of the hobbits was a real place. As it turns, the Shire exists and you can go there! At the Hobbiton Movie Set, you can stroll up to Bag End, drink like a hobbit at the Green Dragon Inn, and walk past hobbit hole after colorful hobbit hole. ...Read more.

Kakepuku Track offers a farm-to-summit trek in Kakepuku Mountain Historic Reserve. The track to the summit of Kakepuku Mountain is 8 kilometers (5 miles) round trip with 407 meters (1,335 feet) of elevation change. A lookout tower atop the 449-meter summit garners round-the-compass views above the treetops. A wooden viewing platform and benches along the track provide spots to relax and look out over the mountain's current surroundings, while panels placed at pa sites around the summit allow visitors to appreciate the Māori past. ...Read more.

Tucked in between the land of hobbits and the land of glowworms, Matariki Motor Lodge offers well-kept accommodations in the quaint town of Te Awamutu on the North Island of New Zealand. The motor lodge is a 40-minute drive from Hobbiton in Matamata to the northeast and 40 minutes from the Waitomo Glowworm Caves and other outdoor fun around Waitomo to the southwest. ...Read more.

Rathmoy Lodge isn't just a place to spend the night; it's a destination. The lodge sits on a private and picturesque bend on the Rangitikei River surrounded by a working sheep and cattle farm. Located on the North Island of New Zealand, the lodge is near State Highway 1 by the town of Hunterville, two and a half hours north of Wellington. Rathmoy Lodge is an ideal spot for a relaxing outdoor getaway for a family or a couple. ...Read more.

Nature produces some surprising creations, like the large, freakishly round boulders found along the Rangitikei River on the North Island of New Zealand. The boulders, known as cannonball concretions, are clustered in a moss-covered forest that is charming to walk through. Take a 4.1-kilometer (2.55-mile) walk across Whitecliffs Farm and up the Rangitikei River to the boulders. ...Read more.

Above Huka Falls, the Waikato River presses through a ravine of sheer rock cliffs, creating a churning canal of rapids. At the end of this ravine, the water surges out as Huka Falls, where it makes a powerful push into the river below. To see the waterfall and the ravine, visitors can simply walk 200 meters from a car park by Huka Falls. To add a walk along Waikato River to the itinerary, set out on Spa Thermal Park in Taupo. ...Read more.

With scenery that is more verdant than the volcanic landscapes at the center of Tongariro National Park, Lake Rotopounamu Track provides a peaceful walk to a small, forest-cradled lake with inviting beaches. Lake Rotopounamu, which is also know as Greenstone Lake, covers one square kilometer. Lake Rotopounamu Loop Track circles the lake for a hike that's 6. ...Read more.