Location: Tirau
Top Things to do in Tirau
What to do and see in Tirau, New Zealand: The Best Places and Tips
Tirau is a small town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand, 50 kilometres southeast of Hamilton. The town has a population of 690 (2013 census). Tirau is Maori for "place of many cabbage trees."
Restaurants in Tirau
1. Lake District Adventures
Overall Ratings
5 based on 105 reviews
Based at the southern end of Lake Karapiro, near the geographic centre of the North Island of New Zealand, Lake District Adventures is positioned to let you enjoy the clean air, great scenery & lakes of the Waikato / Bay of Plenty. We hire mountain bikes & kayaks plus have a shuttle van to move you around the various trails of the area. PLUS - Kayak Glow Worm Tours.
Reviewed By BLienhard
If this is the only way you can figure out to go and see the glow worm canyon, by all means do it. Floating down through the glow worm canyon at night is an awe-inspiring experience.
However, if you've ever kayaked before or if you have any familiarity with boats/water, you're going to find this annoying. From the emails we received in advance and the way the guides were talking when we got ready to go, I assumed that we would be heading through some moderately challenging whitewater. Not so - the trip is up an utterly calm river with few challenges, and the kayaks are the sturdy plastic kind built for beginners. The guides, however, seemed to be afraid of people getting wet at all. They are very bossy, and require you to put on plastic pants and neoprene booties. Then you have to go through a lengthy on-land training on how to paddle a kayak and how to get into a kayak. You can't just grab your paddle and kayak and get in - two guides insist on helping each person in the group.
The trip itself is a lovely, easy paddle - except for the guides. The guides herded us and told what to do constantly. They must have mentioned one tree stump about 100 times, and went into emergency mode when our group approached the stump. One guide sat in his kayak on top of the stump warning us while the other shouted directions.
The nagging and nannying did not stop when we reached the midway point to stop, rest, and wait for nightfall. Again, we couldn't just hop out of our kayaks and pull them up. The guides had us line up, and get out one by one. Then, in a throwback to 1970s ideas about wildnerness survival, they demanded that we drink hot Tang and eat snacks. After this, we went through the torturously slow procedure of getting back into our kayaks one by one.
For the float down through the glow worm Canyons, they told us to be silent, which was great. However, they did not stay silent, and seemed to be obsessed with keeping all the kayaks in a perfect line "Relax and look at the Glow Worms! Keep to the left! You, start paddling! You - stop paddling! That's good!"
I'm all for safety, wearing life jackets, etc, but this was just ridiculous.
If you have never kayaked before and are a bit afraid of the water, this is definitely the kayak trip for you - you will feel comfortable and confident. If you're not a beginner when it comes to this kind of thing, you're going to feel nagged and penned in.
2. Dog and Sheep Shaped Corrugated Metal Buildings
Overall Ratings
4 based on 71 reviews
Reviewed By Allgoodthyngs - Shrewsbury, United Kingdom
Where you have corrugate sheep, you need a corrugate dog to mind them. Where you have a corrugate dog minding corrugate sheep you need a corrugate shepherd to mind the corrugate dog that's minding the corrugate sheep!
Not just the buildings, there are lots of signs in the town as you drive through so keep your eyes peeled.
Guess its these buildings that have put Tirau on the map. Plenty of parking and some good shopping and information inside the dog and sheep too!
3. Tirau i-SITE Visitor Information Centre
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 22 reviews
The Tirau i-SITE Visitor Centre is part of a Visitor Information Network with 90 i-SITE’s nationwide. We provide a comprehensive, impartial information and booking service for Tirau and New Zealand for accommodation, activities, attractions and travel bookings: Itinerary planning and information Free maps, weather & mountain safety information Gift Shop and Internet kiosks Bookings nationwide for accommodation, transport and activities Local information on events, attractions and restaurants Public Toilets (accessed from outside the building) We’re situated close to a variety of popular New Zealand natural attractions. Tirau is a vibrant little town set in the South Waikato amongst some of New Zealand’s most fertile farmland. Three main roads pass through this small town which boasts a large variety of unique shops popular with both overseas tourists and passing motorists. Whatever you’re after, drop in today and ask our friendly team of local travel experts.
Reviewed By Christine R - Welwyn Garden City, United Kingdom
The town is a useful coffee stop on the road between Rotorua and Coromandel. We thought the dog and sheep corrugated iron shops and I-site were good fun. Shame they plonked the street light column bang outside to spoil people's photos!
4. Tirau Shell & Jade Factory
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 17 reviews
Reviewed By Erin_leigh79 - Erin_leigh79
I stopped in while hubby got gas at the station across the street. I just wanted a basic jade beaded stretchy bracelet, but they didn't have anything remotely like this. It was all jade art carvings on leather or other kind of clunky stuff. I'm sure the quality is all very good, but the range of items seemed a bit limited especially for the larger size of the place. I guess I was in the wrong market, so maybe that's my mistake. The staff were just moderately friendly/helpful.
5. Tirau Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 14 reviews
Reviewed By w00fies - Auckland, New Zealand
we googled the Museum after a lot of people said it was a great place to visit. Although they don't have a website there were a lot of sites with information. They all said it was open daily Monday-Friday from 9am. (no mention of public holidays)
We arrived around 9.30 and it was closed... no sign at the gate or on the door. We wandered around outside for a few minutes and noticed there were people at the house next door but no-one came out.
Although it is not far to travel from Tirau we were disappointed.
6. The Castle Pamela
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 32 reviews
Located in the beautiful town of Tirau, The Castle Pamela combines the traditional atmosphere of a castle with the marvel of New Zealand’s largest doll, toy and train collection. Relive your child hood; experience the wonder of over a hundred years of childhood delights housed in an awesome building. If you can imagine it, then you have already under estimated it!Situated two hours from Auckland on route to Rotorua or Taupo, The Castle provides tourists with a quiet place to stop and enjoy the splendor of the countryside. Guests can enjoy a bite to eat from the tea rooms and then spend time exploring the museum. Visitors to The Castle will enjoy some of the most creative displays ever, as Pam and Kelvin Baker show just what 21 years experience in doll expo’s and production’s can do.
Reviewed By BrendaMatamata_N_Z - Matamata, N.Z
Wonderful displays of vintage dolls set up beautifully in glass rooms with amazing detail. Great train display which keeps you watching for ages! Children love it and older grandparents have lots of memories brought back. Cafe area is a bit tired and could do with a spruce up but museum of toys is great.
7. Pippi
Pippi is a gem & gift shop as well as a local craftsperson. Pippi has a workshop onsite where she creates a lot of the products available in her shop. Products on offer include unique hand-made jewellery & accessories, crystals/stones & lamps, local crafts, imported items, incense & natural products. Watch Pippi work as you browse her shop in the peaceful atmosphere she has created. Enjoy!
Reviewed By kainso
Cool little store, found a few cool gifts but thought was a little bit over priced for somethings in there.Thank you for your review :)
8. Learn About Living Sustainably
Tour an organic lifestyle block and learn about growing and raising nutritious food. Bespoke tours, weekend retreats or scheduled courses on different aspects of sustainable living. On 3.5h we have an established orchard (over 250 labelled trees and shrubs) plus hundreds of herbs and vegetables integrated with bees, cows, sheep, pigs and a variety of poultry. Organically and sustainably we have been producing all our own nutritious food for over ten years. Experience and experimentation has taught us there are many ways to achieve "The Good Life" and the best way to learn is hands on. The Waikato climates enables us to grow a huge range of food from all over the world. I enjoy pushing the boundaries and growing the unusual - which means our diet (and waistlines) have expanded considerably. I use only organic, sustainable growing methods and are continually improving our soil, and nutrient-density of our food.
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