If you really want to get away from it all, take your fishing rod or mountain bike to Mangakino. This friendly little town is handy to three hydro lakes.
Mangakino township, located on the shores of Lake Maraetai, is a town that has survived against the odds. It was originally founded in the 1940’s to house workers involved with the construction of five power stations on the Waikato River. When the work was completed many of the houses were removed and the streets were converted back into farmland.
These days the population has stabilised and the area has become an affordable place to own a holiday home. Lake Maraetai is now well known for wakeboarding and water skiing.
Mangakino is great for mountain biking; it sits in the middle of two of the North Island's best tracks - the Waikato River Trails and the Timber Trail that run alongside rolling farmland and through beautiful New Zealand native bush.
Nearby are the Whakamaru, Maraetai, Waipapa, Atiamuri and Ohakuri hydro lakes and dams, which are all popular for swimming, boating, fishing and hiking.
