Occasionally the folks of Auckland are given passes to head over the Bombay Hills to head south…mainly for good behaviour and there are a few rules…but the most important one is that you don’t mention that you’re from Auckland. So getting our pass we headed on our next Tiki Tour to explore Hamilton Gardens in Hamilton obviously!
Hamilton is just over an hour south of Auckland (depending on how many Aucklander’s are trying to escape) so it’s rather easy to get too and you can stop off at Pokeno to get that giant jumbo ice cream on the way…a reason alone for visiting Hamilton really. As I’ve said before, the weather in New Zealand during December can be a bit four seasons like however it was blue skies ahoy for our day exploring the Hamilton Gardens.
The Gardens in Hamilton are broken up into many different areas to celebrate the different traditions and styles in gardening from around the world during different centuries…basically you can travel around the world without leaving Hamilton! You basically pick a path and you end up feeling a bit like Alice in Wonderland…
…like mum did!
So let’s follow dad through the gardens…
…with our first stop at the Te Parapara Gardens..New Zealand’s only traditional productive Maori Garden.
The garden showcases how the Kumara (sweet potato) were grown using the traditional methods of gardening and how the crops were stored.
I’d forgotten how much I love the traditional Maori carvings…
…I often get asked at work why I don’t poke my tongue out (and do the Haka) to scare people so they do what I want…
…I find my evil glare works much better these days!
^^My evil glare is similar to this!
The Tudor Garden…well after almost destroying one of the last remaining Tudor Gardens in England, I thought it was high time that I visited another but without trying to kill this one…
…everything is very geometric which was the style of Tudor Gardens. I left smartly without destroying the garden…phew!
Our next stop was the Italian Renaissance Garden which I think is my favourite garden however there is a very close second place…
…it’s all rather beautiful and you do feel like you’ve been transported back in time to Italy…
…your tummy will start rumbling and you feel the need to eat pizza! Mmmm…pizza!
I had a few giggles watching mummy and daddy getting their selfie on…
…and then took a lovely pic of them together…awww. My parents are very cute…it’s their 40th wedding anniversary this year…how cool is that…Ruby, Ruby, Ruby!
We also took a few photos for my instagram cliche post…a coloured wall poser anyone…moi…
…and Lisa!
Then came The Sound of Music action…you may be able to see why I’m giggling…
…hovering in the wings…
…and then my favourite photo of the day…Lisa is going to kill me but I love this photo so much.
Trust me you can have so much fun at these gardens!
After leaving Italy, we headed to India…to the wonderful Indian Char Bagh Garden…is it weird that I fancy visiting India more than ever now.
The garden is truly stunning and you aren’t expecting it at all when you step inside…it’s a visual feast for the senses…
…the detailing is just exquisite.
I managed to get another photo of mum and dad together…
…and me!
We left India and headed to England and a pure English garden which included a secret door…
…I managed to get photo bombed by three unruly Kiwi’s…
…maybe living in England has spoiled me but I felt a little underwhelmed by the English Flower Garden…but it still looked pretty with it’s pond…
…and flowers!
We left England promptly…and popped over to China to visit the Chinese Scholars Garden…
…it’s a rather relaxing garden compared to the colours of the gardens of Italy and India…
…and then you get a peep of the Waikato River while in China…how cool is that!
If you’re an Instagram ninja then you will love all the vibrant colours and wonderful coloured walls…my daddy modelling a coloured wall.
There are so many wonderful gardens to explore at the Hamilton Gardens that you could honestly spend a whole day visiting…even a non gardener would enjoy these gardens. The Hamilton Gardens have intentions of adding more gardens over time so it will continue to evolve and I think the gardens will become a major tourist attraction in New Zealand in years to come.
So have you visited these stunning gardens…did you enjoy them as much as us? Where are your favourite gardens from around the world?
xx
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