I've been coming here for the last few months for swimming lessons for my 3-year-old. I'm aware…read morethat they also have adult classes and FREE mother/infant classes (up to 6 months old). But I haven't done those other things, so this review is just about me watching my kid learn to swim :) The lessons aren't cheap - average just over $15 a pop ($68/month) for one lesson per week. He started at age 3 and they put him in a class based on his age, which seems to have been appropriate thus far. They advance the kids to higher classes once they master the milestones of the class they are in. He's been really enjoying it and his teacher is great, makes it fun and comfortable for each child, advancing them slowly, but appropriately as they gain more confidence. The lessons are 30 minutes long, which feels like the right about of time for the little guy. The pool is right around the corner from a great little cafe, Jam at Queenwood, and I often pop over for a take away coffee to have during the lesson. There are changing rooms for male, females and families, and showers to use as well. Overall, we've been pretty happy with our experience so far :)

Beautiful walk, if you are out on the road to Whatawhata or Raglan. It's a short walk around the…read moremain track, but worth a visit to take in the regional tree varieties, even in winter. Redwoods, oaks, flowering trees, along with a China section and bamboo forest, just to name a few, reflect a global arboretum collection. Free entry. Modest but clean facilities. UV purified well water available (nonflouridated). Lots of chickens (which little ones seem to love ). Nice trails (~90 minute including return).

This was my first touristy activity in New Zealand - and I am very grateful that Phillip set such a…read morehigh bar for my trip! The caves are on private property that he bought about 26 years ago -- and they are pristine. There's a path that goes through the caves from one end to the other -- and you have to crawl through in the water at one spot, be prepared for doing a walking plank position on elbows/toes/knees. The day was warm so the water was quite refreshing and we dried off quickly after we left. The tour center/cafe serves delicious food with homemade bread and local beers -- I had an excellent green salad as well. Great, personable customer service and an amazing setting. Ask all the questions -- Philip is very knowledgable! Private tours are also available at a higher cost. The glow worms are amazing!

Have been there four times now, you get a personal guide by the owner, Philip. A short walk into…read morethe entrance of caves with glow worms within touching distance, but you must not . Be prepared to get wet, wear suitable clothing. Not for those who dislike enclosed spaces. There are no electric lights, no handrails, no easy path. Hard hats and torches are required on this tour. Great pizza and hot chocolate in the cafe afterwards. You can also look at the local artwork too.

This place must have new ownership/management, it's gone really down hill in the last year, really…read moredisappointing, cleanliness has gone down but all the food beverage prices have gone up, serving sizes have got smaller too. We ordered a pizza, a "tray" of wedges, coffee, milkshake and 2x juices.. The juices came straight away, the coffee and milkshake about 20mins later, wedges a further 15min later and then we'll over an hour after ordering, after chasing up the pizza did that finally arrive. They weren't overly busy but in the 80mins we were there we didn't see any of the many dirty/cluttered tables cleared or wiped, orders weren't being taken in any urgency and a couple of the staff just walking around. Unfortunately we have a birthday already booked in a few weeks, but will update if there is any improvements.

I went to Chipmunks for the first time this past weekend, as a playdate with 2 other families…read more There were 5 adults, three 3-year-olds and a baby. We arrived at 12:30 and it was fairly busy during that time on a Sunday. There were some birthday parties and other general attendees. We chose that time so we could have lunch as well. This place is great because you can basically send your kid into the play area and sit and have a snack, meal or coffee in the dining/seating area. I was really happy that there was an "Under 4's" section of the play area. My little guy is fairly adventurous and eventually did make it over to the "big kids" section, but it was nice to start out in the smaller area, with more age/skill appropriate play structures first. We ordered a margherita pizza, a steak sandwich and a flat white. All the food was better than I imagined it would be, given the point is not really to go there for food but for play. They don't permit you to bring in outside food (though I was able to give the baby some baby food without anyone making a fuss about it). It was $12.50 to get in (for the 3-year-old) and the baby was free. We ended up staying for about 4 hours. The kids had a fantastic time. Just when I thought they were getting tired, they got a second wind and stayed for more. I noticed that they have some separate rooms for birthday parties. All in all, we all had a great time and I felt it was a very economical activity. It would be great for rainy days and giving the kids a chance to get some energy out of their systems. The only downside, was, I felt, it was a bit noisy at times. Not surprising given all the kids running around, but also some of the play structures contribute their own noise and that didn't really help. However, it's just a minor detraction from the overall fun that we all had.

I drove down to Hamilton for two of the Black Caps games against India earlier on this year and I…read morewas really impressed with the car parking facilities. There were several car parking areas set-up to accommodate for the influx of Black Cap supporters to the stadium. On both occasions, I paid a mere $5 to park my car in an area that was only a stones throw away from Seddon Park. The park itself has a village green sort of feel to it. The treeline along the embankment offers some shade but I prefer the seated stands. Plenty of food and drink options on site. I can't comment on the toilet facilities as I haven't used them - I don't like public toilets! Getting back to the cricket, the Black Caps are due to take on Sri Lanka for a five-day Test match from 18-22 December, then Pakistan for a T20 international on 17 January in 2016 and Australia for an ODI during the Waitangi weekend. Bring it on!

I had some expectations of what a river cruise might be (I have done one on the Potomac River in…read moreWashington, DC) and this was different than what I expected, but I think that if you don't have any preconceptions, this was a nice little cruise. I went with my husband on a Sunday afternoon. We booked just tickets (not food) and arrived about 20 minutes before the start of the cruise. I would recommend getting there early so that you can get the seats you want. All the seating is bench seating with a table, but some are near open walls of the boat and some are by regular windows. I'd say the open areas are good if you want to take photos. We started off by having a drink - I had some sauvingon blanc and he had a beer. The prices were regular sorts of prices, not overly expensive, given the captive audience. Our particular cruise was from Hamilton Gardens and went into the Hamilton CBD area up to the Fairfield Bridge and then back again. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't awesome for us. It was overcast and drizzling most of the time, with a couple of downpours in there as well. That said, it wasn't a total wash and I did enjoy our time. There is a recorded tour guide that points out some of the sites along the river during the cruise. They also provide you with a small map and a guide to some of the birds you might see along the way. I was getting kind of hungry and had a brownie and then later ordered a ham and cheese toastie. I was actually really surprised that the toastie wasn't just microwaved or something. The hostess went to the back of the boat, cooked it on the grill and it was served nicely with a small salad and quite nice presentation. Overall, I think this was a fun experience, particularly if you're just visiting in the area. It would have been nicer in sunnier weather, but it wasn't too bad in the rain. They also have cruises that go in the opposite direction to Mystery Creek Winery, for wine tasting.

The Waikato River Explorer website is tired and old, certainly needs to be updated as its really…read moreunappealing in its present form. Overall this website is a boring customer experience Other issues the site has listed below. 1. Reduce or optimize your meta keywords 2. Check all images for ALT attribute 3. Make your HTML code less messy 4. Delete frame and iframe tags 5. Add proper sitemap.xml file 6. Get some Google +1 clicks

A nice collection of tree species, with a global presentation from redwoods to China…read more Paths are mostly gravel, so not great for strollers. Picnic tables and serene beauty. Lots of chickens and roosters to entertain the little ones

The idea of combining kayaking and viewing glowworms sounded like a great idea so I booked an…read moreouting with The Boatshed Kayaks. My husband and I (private tour) had a great time. We kayaked with our guide Sean for a while and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. While we waited for the sun to go down, we got out of the kayaks and hiked up a small hill to enjoy the views and a snack. Once it got dark, we got back in the kayaks and started paddling back; 1000's of glowworms were visible on the walls of the gorge. We saw very few people and the evening was very peaceful. I would highly recommend this activity.