Exploring New Zealand

Hamilton Area Guide

Hamilton, New Zealand's largest inland city, a 90-minute drive south of Auckland, is defined by the broad swathe of the Waikato River, a major transport link in the early days of colonial settlement and now a green belt for the city, with scenic walkways either side, and pretty Memorial Park on the eastern bank.

Most of the city's attractions, including a funky bronze statue of the Rocky Horror Picture Show's Riff Raff, are on the main Victoria Street, which runs alongside the western bank of the river. The Riff Raff statue was the first public artwork by Weta Workshops, the special effects creators for The Lord of the Rings movies, and it pays tribute to the Rocky Horror Show's creator Richard O'Brien, who lived in Hamilton as a youth. The south end of Victoria Street and around Hood Street is the heart of a lively cafe and bar scene, thanks to the 25,000 students who study here at the University of Waikato and other tertiary institutions.

The Waikato Museum is housed in a modern building, which steps down to the river at the south end of Victoria Street. The museum has a good permanent collection of Tainui Maori treasures, including the magnificent Te Winika war canoe gifted to the people of Hamilton by the Maori Queen, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu.

The Riverside Entertainment Centre, home to SkyCity Casino, is further north on Victoria Street in a modern glass-sided building overlooking the Waikato River. The centre also houses a tenpin bowling centre, laser tag team games, and virtual reality games for rainy day entertainment.

On the opposite bank of the river, on the edge of Memorial Park, the replica paddle-steamer, the MV Waipa Delta, offers cruises of the river, recalling the days in the 19th century when the original paddle-steamer, the Waipa, transported settlers to the fertile heartland of the Waikato.

From Memorial Park, a riverside path leads to the fabulous Hamilton Gardens, two kilometres to the south. The Gardens' Information Centre has a free map for first time visitors, and their informative website is well worth a look for an explanation of the themed gardens. The Paradise Garden Collection comprises six inspiring enclosures: the Chinese Scholar's Garden, an English Flower Garden, the Japanese Garden of Contemplation, an American Modernist Garden, an Italian Renaissance Garden, and the recently opened Indian Char Bagh Garden. An imposing modern sculpture with 21 stone columns, five of them covered by a woven pebble cloak made of 13,000 quartz and greywacke pebbles, stands sentinel at the western entrance to the gardens.

Just west of the city centre, Lake Rotoroa, also known as Hamilton Lake, has a good one-hour walkway around it and is a pleasant place to walk or feed swans. The five-day hot air balloon festival, Balloons over Waikato, is held on Innes Common at the lake in April each year.

Hamilton Zoo, eight kilometres from the city centre, is a good place to visit with children with its large walk-through aviary and focus on natural habitats and conservation.