Hairy Feet Waitomo

Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula


Detour at Pio Pio northwest to the Mangaotaki Valley and Hairy Feet Waitomo, one of NZ’s most interesting Middle-earth–themed attractions. Scenes from The Hobbit were filmed here with a background of towering limestone cliffs.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Waikato & the Coromandel Peninsula attractions

1. Ruakuri Cave

14.79 MILES

Ruakuri Cave has an impressive 15m-high spiral staircase, bypassing a Māori burial site at the cave entrance. Tours lead through 1.6km of the 7.5km system…

2. Aranui Cave

15.1 MILES

Three kilometres west from the Glowworm Cave is Aranui Cave. This cave is dry (hence no glowworms) but compensates with an incredible array of limestone…

3. Te Kuititanga-O-Nga-Whakaaro

15.86 MILES

Te Kuititanga-O-Nga-Whakaaro is a beautiful pavilion of etched-glass, tukutuku (woven flax panels) and wooden carvings that celebrates the town’s history.

4. Meads Brothers Exhibition

15.9 MILES

Located in the same building as the Te Kuiti i-SITE, this interesting exhibition of sporting memorabilia is a tribute to Sir Colin Meads and his brother…

5. Sir Colin Meads Statue

15.9 MILES

This statue commemorates the late Sir Colin Meads, a legendary captain of the All Blacks, and regarded as one of New Zealand's finest rugby players…

6. Glowworm Cave

15.97 MILES

The guided tour of the Glowworm Cave, which is behind the visitor centre, leads past impressive stalactites and stalagmites into a large cavern known as…

7. Big Shearer

15.98 MILES

The 7m-high, 7.5-tonne Big Shearer statue is at the southern end of town.

8. Waitomo Caves Visitor Centre

16.06 MILES

The big-three Waitomo Caves are all operated by the same company, based at the spectacular Waitomo Caves Visitor Centre (near the Glowworm Cave). Various…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "new-zealand/pio-pio-awakino-mokau/attractions/hairy-feet-waitomo/a/poi-sig/1479774/1320061",
      "destination": "Waikato-&-the-Coromandel-Peninsula",
      "continent": "Australia-&-Pacific",
      "country": "New-Zealand",
      "region": "Waikato-&-the-Coromandel-Peninsula",
      "position": "superzone"
    }