Geat hopping off point to see the North Island!

We stayed in Hamilton because it was a central point to visit Hobbiton, the Glow worm caves, and the thermal wonderland. The downtown had some good restaurants on the main strip. There's also a new law for street parking in the heart of downtown, first hour is free, and the next hour is only 3 bucks, so it's way better than finding one of the parking lots downtown.