New Zealand Timber Museum

Putāruru is a small town in the South Waikato District and the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It lies on the western side of the Mamaku Ranges and in the upper basin of the Waihou River. It is on the Oraka Stream 65 kilometres south-east of Hamilton. State Highway 1 and the Kinleith Branch railway run through the town.

Lichfield is a rural settlement in the South Waikato District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. The community is centred around the Lichfield Fonterra facility, which opened in 1995. The factory features the largest cheese factory in the southern hemisphere, consisting of separate dry salt and brine salt plants. It also features the largest milk dryer in the world, installed during a major expansion in 2016. The dryer can process 30 metric tonnes of milk every hour, and store 40,000 metric tonnes of whole milk powder. The dryer is used during the peak season, with production varying based on prices. The Fonterra site employs 330 people, with extra staff being stationed there during installations. Almost 90% of the output travels by rail from a covered siding at the factory. The local Lichfields Lands farm converted from sheep to dairy and beef farming in the 1960s. It is now an Open Brethren operation, donating its proceeds to charity. South African-born artist Sonnett Olls opened an art gallery in Lichfield in 2019. A Red Cross health shuttle transports Lichfield residents to health appointments in Tīrau.

Tīrau 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 804 (2018 census). In the Māori language, "Tīrau" means "place of many cabbage trees." Tīrau is a major junction in the New Zealand state highway network. Just south of the township is the intersection of State Highway 1 and State Highway 5, where traffic from Auckland and Hamilton on State Highway 1 split to go either to Rotorua on SH 5, or continue along SH 1 to Taupō and beyond to Napier, Palmerston North and Wellington. State Highway 27 splits off State Highway 1 in the north of the town, providing a route north to the Coromandel Peninsula and an alternative route to Auckland, bypassing Hamilton. Tīrau is primarily a farming town but in recent years has begun to exploit the income that comes from being at a major road junction. The small community of Okoroire (with hot springs) is located just north of Tīrau. Okoroire railway station was over 4 km (2.5 mi) to the west of the springs.

Tapapa (Māori: Tāpapa) is a rural community in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island.

Arapuni is a rural town centre on the Waikato river in the South Waikato District of New Zealand. The town sits next to the Arapuni Dam, a hydroelectric dam at Lake Arapuni commissioned in 1929. The Arapuni Power Station consists of eight turbines which give a total output of 196 MW, the largest of the power stations on the Waikato river. The Arapuni hydro station is owned and operated by Mercury Energy. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "blocked path" for Arapuni. The Arapuni Suspension Bridge below the dam is freely open to public. The name Arapuni derives from Ara, meaning path and puni, meaning blocked or covered, and translates as blocked or covered path.

Kinleith is a rural settlement in the South Waikato District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It includes the Kinleith Mill. Statistics New Zealand defines Kinleith as an area covering a land area of 947.52 km2 (365.84 sq mi).

The Arapuni Suspension Bridge is located just downstream from the Arapuni Power Station on the Waikato River in the South Waikato District of New Zealand. The 152-metre (499 ft) suspension bridge in the bush-lined gorge was built in the mid-1920s to allow workers from the village of Arapuni to access the power station construction site.

Arapuni Power Station is a hydroelectric power station on the Waikato River, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is owned and operated by Mercury Energy, and is the seventh and penultimate hydroelectric power station on the Waikato River. It is also the oldest currently generating, the first government-built, and the largest capacity single hydroelectric power station on the Waikato River. The two power houses that make up the Maraetai Power Station have a larger combined capacity however. Arapuni, due to its proximity to Hamilton, plays an important part in voltage support and frequency keeping in the city and the wider Waikato region. Continuous improvement and refurbishment of the station's generation equipment ensures Arapuni remains efficient. The powerhouse and dam at Arapuni are under protection of the Historic Places Trust, becoming Category I Historic Places in November 1987 and August 1991 respectively. It is one of the few generating power stations in New Zealand to be listed on the register.

The Pōkaiwhenua Stream is a tributary of the Waikato River. It flows into Waikato River at Lake Karapiro. The Pōkaiwhenua Stream is approximately 56 km in length. The Waikato River Trail starts close to the mouth of the stream.

Lake Karapiro (Māori: Karāpiro) is an artificial reservoir lake on the Waikato River at Karapiro, 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south-east of Cambridge in New Zealand's North Island. The lake was formed in 1947 by the damming of the Waikato River to store water for the 96-megawatt Karapiro power station. The lake is also one of two premier rowing venues in New Zealand (alongside Lake Ruataniwha in Canterbury) and is the base for the country's high-performance rowing programme.

Karapiro (Māori: Karāpiro) is a settlement and rural area in the Waipa District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It includes both the artificially created Lake Karapiro and the accompanying Karapiro Power Station. Karapiro is located just off State Highway 1, south-west of Cambridge.

The Opuiaki River is a river of the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows north from the Mamaku Plateau into Lake McLaren, to reach the Wairoa River 15 kilometres (9 mi) southwest of Tauranga.The river contributes to the Kaimai hydro power scheme built in the 1980s. A dam was built uphill from where the Ngatuhoa Lodge is now. From the dam a tunnel was dug, which channels the water into the Ngatuhoa Stream, where it enters just above another dam built there. Provisions are made to maintain some flow in both streams. Digging the tunnel was a challenging operation due to the geology of the area, formed by volcanic activity from various volcanoes, with clay and other sediment in between. Artesian waters also flow between the layers of rock and contribute to the flow of the streams in the area. Te Rere I Oturu Falls are on the Opuiaki River, with the coordinates of 37° 55' 34.89" S 175° 59' 55.38" E. The name is based on a legend about a member of the Ngāti Ranginui tribe. His name was Oturu and while being pursued by members of his tribe, he jumped from the falls. The falls are about 25 metres (82 ft) wide and 40 metres (130 ft) high. The Opuiaki river is mainly rain-fed and the flow can change rapidly during and immediately after a downpour. The falls can be reached via hiking tracks starting at the Ngatuhoa Lodge. A gravel forestry road runs past at some distance, from where a hiking track leads to the falls. The river runs through, and is part of, the Opuiaki Ecological Area, created for the protection of native flora and fauna. The Department of Conservation (DOC) carries out pest control and breeding programs, including for the kōkako, an endangered native bird species.