The biggest city in NZ is Auckland which is about 2½ hours away from Waikeria to the north and has all the advantages and disadvantages of a big sprawling metropolitan city.

Te Awamutu is about 16 kms north of Waikeria and is a great town. It has all the shopping and services that you need including all the retail type shops you can imagine, two large supermarkets and numerous fruit and veg shops etc. There are also ethnic restaurants including Thai, Indian, Chinese and Japanese as well as other types of restaurants, fast food joints; McDonalds, Kentucky Fried and Subway.

The town also has a large Dairy Factory which processes milk from the surrounding Waikato farms and is also a large employer. A large secondary school, three primary schools and also bus services to Hamilton and Cambridge for other schools in those locations. There is an excellent library, two theatres, a picture theatre, three large pubs and several smaller bars and numerous sports clubs. Rental accommodation in Te Awamutu can range up to $250-$300 per week and there are also opportunities to build as new sub developments are under way.

Here are some web sites which will give you some more info re Te Awamutu: www.waipadc.govt.nz www.teawamutu.net and www.teawamutu.co.nz

Otorohanga is another close town, about 18 kms away to the south and has all the amenities as above but just on a smaller scale. Rental accommodation in Otorohanga can range up to $150-$250 per week and there are also opportunities to build as new sub developments are also under way.

It is known as the Kiwi town of NZ and here are some further web sites for more info. www.otorohanga.co.nz www.kiwianatown.co.nz and www.otodc.govt.nz

{mosgoogle right}Hamilton is north of Waikeria. It is a lovely city built on the edge of the Waikato River and the rental properties are around $270 up to $400 per week depending on location and size. This city has everything that you would expect including a casino but is very laid back. It is also growing very fast in a northerly direction.

The biggest city in NZ is Auckland which is about 2½ hours away from Waikeria to the north and has all the advantages and disadvantages of a big sprawling metropolitan city.

Right on our doorstep is the Pirongia mountain, (and little village), and Maungatautari reserve, which are covered in bush and have numerous bush walks and lodges for outdoor activities, several lakes for boating and skiing. We are about an hour away from the west coast which has excellent fishing, (but can be dangerous going over the bar), and about 1¾ hrs from the east coast which also has good fishing but is more all weather access out to sea. The beaches on the west coast are black iron sands and the east are white/silver sands. Both coasts have brilliant surfing opportunities.

We are about 2½ hours away from the snow, heading south, where there is magnificent skiing and snowboarding opportunities in season. Sport plays a major part in the NZ lifestyle, but as well as all the outdoorsy type activities available there are numerous cultural activities to be enjoyed, and Hamilton also attracts overseas groups to the Founders Theatre.

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