New Zealand 2018 - Part 4 - Hamilton

October 2, 2018 - Tuesday

There were no commuter flights or trains available today between Bay of Islands and Hamilton which is our next stop. So, we went via Inter-City Coach, transferring in Auckland for a coach to Hamilton. A very long ride (8 hours) but well worth the trip. We are staying at the Ventura Inn & Suites https://www.venturainns.co.nz  which is walking distance to the downtown where there are lots of restaurants and shops as well as the museum. We will be staying in Hamilton for 3 nights.

 October 3, 2018 – Wednesday

Today we have a reservation to take a guided tour of HamiltonGardens.  www.hamiltongardens.co.nz  Our tour has just one other family of 3 people. Our guide, Sue, tells us that this garden is not a true botanical garden as it “reflects the evolution of civilization” rather than dwelling on the species of each plant. The gardens are divided into “collections” with each collection having several individual gardens following the theme but from a different country or time in history, etc. It is Spring and the flowers are beautiful. There is a small fee for the guided tour but the Gardens are free. There is a playground and we saw many families enjoying the park. The gardens are just one part of a larger municipal park that was a “bleak city rubbish dump” that has been turned into an award-winning public garden with over a million visitors a year.

 After resting at the hotel we decided to take a ride on the free downtown bus. The bus stops in front of the Court House which is across from the hotel. It then goes along the main downtown street to the bus depot and then circles up to the Court House. It gives an overview of old and revitalized areas and is used by visitors and locals.

 October 4, 2018 - Thursday

Yesterday while at the garden we saw an advertisement for a riverboat cruise on the Waikato river which runs by the park. We took the brochure and made a reservation for an 80-minute cruise today. We came back to the park and had lovely weather for about 20 minutes when there was a torrential rainstorm. Luckily, the boat was covered and needless to say the plastic window curtains were lowered. We were dry but our view of the river was limited.           

 October 5, 2018 - Friday

We don’t leave Hamilton until 3:30 pm so we decided to walk to The Waikato Museum of Hamilton www.waikatomuseum.co.nz and spend the morning there. The museum is four stories with a variety of exhibits, some temporary and some permanent. We found the exhibit about the indigenous people very interesting as well as the World War I exhibit. I had no idea how active New Zealand was in that war. We spent three very enjoyable hours before we had to head back to the hotel and a taxi ride to the train station. The Kiwi Rail – Northern Explorer www.greatjourneysofnz.co.nz train runs from Hamilton to Auckland on Friday so we decided to experience another form of transportation as we continue our journey and head back to Auckland to meet up with the GAdventures group www.gadventures.com   that we will be with for the next two weeks.

We stayed at the very upscale Crown Plaza Hotel, located in the heart of downtown and only a few blocks from the waterfront. The Concierge recommended Elliott Stables www.elliotstables.co.nz   for dinner. Just going in is an experience. It is a fancy food hall with a large variety of ethnic stalls and a center with tables to sit and eat. The noise level was over the top but we persevered and found a Mexican restaurant at the back that had table service and was much quieter.

***Michael and I joined Goldrush Getaways Travel Agency, as independent travel consultants, in May of 2017. We have been low key until now (January 2019), testing the waters with domestic travel and taking many classes. This is the third big trip for us and each has been a total success!!! We are now ready to actively help others with their travel needs. Contact us at 410-929-1732 or mytravelinglady@gmail.com