The India-themed garden at Hamilton Gardens
Here’s something funny; in French Polynesia and Fiji, we fell in love with a brand of New Zealand made ice cream called Deep South. In French Polynesia like all things there, it was expensive and we splurged only once in a while for a tub. In Fiji, it was a regular treat as a store near us had a good supply at about half the French Poly price. One of the things we were excited about was being able to buy this ice cream when we arrived in New Zealand. You’d think that if it was exported to other islands throughout the South Pacific, it’d be readily available in New Zealand. Ha! We have yet to find it.
Captured from their website – we love the Double Chocolate, Boysenberry and French Vanilla.
The Deep South website says it is available in some of the stores where we grocery shop. But, no luck so far. Thankfully, there is a small local store across the street from the dock that sells Magnum ice cream bars, another favorite. This has our ice cream cravings in check in the meantime.
Driving about New Zealand really offers some stunning vistas. Each time we’ve taken a road trip we’re never disappointed with the scenery. New Zealand is renowned for its stunning landscapes, including mountains, lakes, beaches, and lush greenery. We have been told to expect even more breathtaking views when we visit the South Island. We’ll get there eventually.
A typical view of what we see when driving New Zealand – Usually with a few more cows and sheep than this scene.
Ah ha! There are the sheep
Driving on the left side of the road is starting to feel more natural. Fiji also drives on the left. So, we are not beginners to this. And, I learned to drive on the left in the UK and I think it sticks with a person. The only other previous countries where we have driven on the left are Grand Cayman, Bermuda and Grenada. I still have a habit of turning on the windshield wipers when I intend to use the turn signal. And, there is the occasional going to the wrong side of the car when getting in. Other than that, we haven’t had any close calls. I wish I could say the same for walking about here.
The other day, an obnoxious Kiwi yelled at me because I didn’t walk to the left on the sidewalk as we passed. And I mean, he really yelled. I swear, it absolutely ruined his day. This country still is not growing on me and people like him really do not help impress. However, Cindy really likes it here and has found plenty of nice people to associate with but she has a way of fitting in wherever she goes.
We passed through Te Puke – the Kiwifruit capital of the world. TBH – they may want to reconsider the name of the town. Perhaps Te Delicious should be considered, or Te Juicy.
I uploaded this from Wikipedia so you could get a sense of the size of these horrible critters
Also not helping my impression of New Zealand are the wretched sandflies or blackflies. I have been attacked more than once and they are darn painful. Cindy and I purchased an ice cream bar and sat on a bench near the river to enjoy a cold treat on a sunny day. Within a few minutes, we realized our exposed ankles were been eaten by the female sandflies. Only the female bites as she needs blood for her eggs. The bite is painful, but not immediately. For the next 3 days, our ankles were swollen and itched terribly. I’ll spare you any pictures. The itch is so bad that it prevents us from getting a good night’s sleep. Even the touch of the bed sheet on the bite area causes more discomfort. Yes, we use anti-itch creams and lotions. But, none of them are 100% effective. If I get a few bites, I can even run a low-grade fever for a couple of days. The bites tend to last about 3 days. I have scars on my ankles where I scratched. A not-so-fond souvenir of New Zealand.
If you read this blog regularly, you already know I start my day with a Times Crossword and a big mug of English Breakfast Tea (Black Tea). I do this from our cockpit while watching the world around me come alive as the sun rises. Here, I have to cover myself completely with a hoodie and sweatpants. This is partially because of the cool morning temperatures but mostly to protect me from the bugs that are eager to attack first thing in the morning. Cindy has loads of mosquito repellents on the boat but I prefer not to start the day covered in chemicals. We also have mosquito screens for the cockpit but they get in the way during the day. I read on the New Zealand government health site that visitors can be more susceptible to the bite as locals tend to build up immunity. They’ve certainly managed to keep any of this off the tourism pages for people wanting to travel here.
Meanwhile, back to driving and our road trip. One of the things we enjoy doing on our outings is turning down a side road when we spot a sign for a place of interest. One of the places we took a side trip to was Okere Falls Reserve. On this reserve, they have river kayaking, zip lining, rafting, and hiking. But, the thing that appealed to us most of all at the time was a toilet. After which, it was a short walk to the waterfall.
Can you spot the person on the zip line?
Speaking of pretty things. Many of the farms and orchards grow massive hedges on the perimeter of the fields to protect the crops. The hedges are often more than 10 meters tall. Besides protecting the crops, it adds a nice habitat for birds. This has reminded me of my days growing up in England when hedgerows around the fields were commonplace. It adds another level of splendor to the already picturesque countryside.
The main road is to the right of the hedge that protects the kiwifruit orchard.
Papamoa Beach near the Bay of Plenty
So, we went to see Hamilton. Not the Broadway show. Hamilton, New Zealand is renowned for its picturesque gardens that weave a tapestry of colors, fragrances, and tranquility. The Hamilton Gardens, situated along the banks of the Waikato River, is a sprawling 58-hectare public garden that is a captivating blend of themed landscapes, each representing different historical periods and cultural influences.
Quite frankly, the gardens blew me away. It was not the only time on this trip I found myself in awe of something beautiful. I am a person who is hard to impress. So when I say I was in awe, it is not an understatement.
The Italian garden was one of my favorites. It offered multiple viewpoints like this one with a seat to sit and take in the aroma and beauty
Mark taking some pics in the English garden
Cindy rubs the Chinese dragon for luck (per our tour guide)
The gardens are free. To help subsidize the cost, people can donate, hold an event such as a wedding, or simply rent a handset to receive a guided tour with various tidbits of information about the multitude of gardens. We did the latter. It took us a little over 2 ½ hours to walk about and we didn’t dilly-dally. I’m really glad we did this in the morning.
Besides it being a little cooler, by midday the tour busses started to arrive. Some of the tranquility you’d expect to have enjoying nature disappeared as children ran noisily about and the crowds increased. The weather this week has been really nice. Since we arrived in New Zealand, this is the first time we can plan outdoor events. It has rained a lot.
The gardens are laid out in a way that often entering a particular area is done via a short tunnel or gate. As soon as a person enters, there is a wow moment. There is really no “circuit” to follow, one merely roams about and checks the map periodically to ensure all the gardens in the area are seen. There is often more than one entry and exit to a garden. However, there are central points where a person can retreat allowing access to most of the gardens in that particular zone. Here is the layout.
Hamilton Gardens
A beautiful vine-covered pathway leads to the Italian garden
We find a tunnel that leads to a garden dedicated to Mozart
Entrance to Chinoiserie garden
A reflection pond is a central hub that has paths to multiple gardens
The pathway in the English garden. It smelled so fragrant walking along here, as you can imagine.
The Chinese Scholar gardens, as you’d expect were very tranquil with koi ponds and reflections. There were two tied with a pathway leading through a bamboo forest to the upper level where a pavilion provides incredible views of the gardens and the adjacent Waikato River.
As a person enters the Chinese Scholar garden, they find a koi pond – this is just the beginning of a magnificent treat.
Crossing the koi pond leads to the bamboo trail and a short uphill hike to the upper level
Bamboo is actually very noisy when the wind blows the reeds into each other
One of the larger exhibits is the Mansfield garden. It is themed about Katherine Mansfield’s short story ‘The Garden Party’, Katherine was a New Zealand-born children’s author. There is a faux house and Ford Model T, a tennis court complete with a tent and table of treats. We learn the treats include cream puffs. In her story, Mansfield describes the 15 kinds of sandwiches with the crusts cut off and ‘Godber’s famous cream puffs’. All of the food is actually made of concrete and painted to look real. As are the piano and other instruments.
A replica of the Mansfield’s family home where it is said the inspiration for the stories came because of the garden parties
The tent on the tennis court houses the table with all the delicious (concrete) snakes – I swear they look good enough to eat
Take a good look at the piano. It is solid concrete painted to look like wood. Wow, right!
There is also some humor in the garden. One such example is Hamilton Gardens’ most innovative piece of gardening equipment. It is an oversized steampunk blimp. Designed to glide silently through the night delivering plants and pruning hard-to-reach hedges for the gardening team, the Huddleston Airship is chock-full of industrial gadgets and mechanical steam engines.
The Huddleston Airship parked and not trimming bushes. I love the teapot.
The most talked about garden is the Surrealist Garden. It certainly has a wow factor as one enters through a narrow path complete with a fireplace. In this garden, nothing is as it seems. Everything is out of scale or distorted. The lawns curve up at the corners like a sheet of paper. Even the huge biomorphic shapes known as the trons move their limbs about in the air.
The exit is somewhere amongst those trons
This garden gate looks normal until you put a person near it
Look at Mark. He drank the Drink Me potion and is now looking for the Eat Me cake.
Just outside the entrance to the surrealist garden is a tribute to Alice in Wonderland, the story that helped inspire the theme for the garden.
One of the unexpected gardens was the Egytian-themed exhibit. Once again as a person enters via the only way in, there is a wow factor.
How cool is this!
At the time we were in the Egyptian Garden, it was us and about 4 other people. It all seems so peaceful. This guy was smart and stood in the shade when taking it all in.
An advantage to taking a guided tour or using a headset are the tidbits of information given about various aspects of the gardens. One example is in the herb garden. The term herb was used by gardeners in medieval times for plants thought to have special medicinal or cosmetic value. The lion centerpiece was donated by some American tourists. Their guide made an off-the-cuff comment about how the garden needed a central focus in the middle as it seemed rather bare. Right there and then, the tour group had a whip-around and coughed up enough money for the lion planter that occupies the space today.
The four lions have a tie to the USA
Another example is the Strawman, He is from the UK and has a spot in the Kitchen Garden. It is from, quite simply put, a friend of Hamilton Gardens in the UK. Originally, Strawman had a wren perched on his shoulder but once in New Zealand the piwakawaka, also known as the fantail, was added and now shares his arm as a perch with the wren.
Strawman is being swallowed by the bushes. In earlier pictures on the internet, it shows the bushes barely knee-high.
Cindy snags a picture of a bee collecting pollen.
After the gardens, we had a bit of energy left. We decided to walk about the local zoo. We were already both armed with our big fancy cameras after the visit to the gardens and figured it’d be a fun way to kill the afternoon. The zoo was only on our list if we had time. It was a nice day, so what the heck. The zoo isn’t massive. However, there is a lot of pride in the fact the animals have very large enclosures. This is a double-edged sword.
On one hand, it is great for the animals (this is what really matters most). But on the other hand, it makes them hard to find. We walked all about the Cheetah enclosure only to find them in a shady spot as far away from the zoo visitors as possible. We were eventually treated to a visit when one of them decided to stretch their legs.
A really cool cat
At one exhibit, I joked with Cindy that I thought the animal was dead or invisible. A worker overheard me and joined in the hunt. She looked at all the hiding places unsuccessfully. After a few minutes, we all agreed the pygmy marmosets had escaped.
Hi [get it?]
I’m sorry I don’t have mangos
Our AirBnB condo was in the heart of downtown on the main street. One of the advantages of this area was the sheer number of eateries within a short walk. On our first night there, we enjoyed Mexican food. This is the most authentic Mexican food we’ve had since leaving the Americas. On another night, we had some delicious BBQ. On the day we did the gardens and zoo, our feet hurt and we wanted to stay in.
Hamilton City Centre
Victoria Street in Hamilton where our rental was located
Directly across the street was a Thai restaurant with an awesome to-go/delivery app. I ordered and paid online and they sent a text when the food was done. It took about 15 minutes to cook and about another 2 minutes for me to take the elevator down, cross the street, and pick it up. I’m starting to like being in first-world countries again. We spent the evening with our feet up watching a Netflix movie on the biggest TV we’ve seen in quite some time.
It was the next day when we were awed once again.
