Waikato highlights
Māori midden, Aotea Reserve
The Waikato region extends from the Coromandel Peninsula, through the King Country and across most of the Waikato. It falls mainly within the rohe of Tainui waka and the Tainui, Hauraki, Maniapoto and Raukawa Trust Boards.
The region features the famous glow worm caves at Waitomo, Te Whanganui-a-Hei (Cathedral Cove) Marine Reserve, internationally significant wetland areas, Pureora and Pirongia Forest Parks, the Hakarimata Range, and Whareorino and Tawarau forests.
Species conservation programmes include kōkako, NZ dotterel, kiwi, kākα, dactylanthus (wood rose), native fish, including kōkopu, Moehau stag beetle, Mahoenui giant weta, Archey's and Hochstetter's frogs, tusked wētā, striped skink and bats.
A number of offshore islands for conservation purposes including the Mercury group, which are home to endangered species such as tuatara and skinks, Cuvier Island and also the Aldermans are found in the region.
Most historic sites in the region have special significance for tangata whenua. Historic programmes aim to protect a diverse range of archaeological/historic sites among the more than 7000 known in the region.