Hamilton is the only city on the Waikato plains, so it would almost be honest to claim the many nearby attractions as evidence of urban beauty. I shall refrain from doing so, however, and seek instead to convey a sense of the city.
The Waikato plains have two distinguishing attributes: they are plains, and they are in the Waikato. If I had to pick two words to describe them, I would choose flat and green. If I was a allowed a third, it would be cows. Hamilton the city is quite different, a bustling metropolis, as the photograph above atests. It was taken on the main commuter route between the University and the city proper. During rush hour.
Hamilton was founded upon, and has grown along, the Waikato river. Hamilton was originally a Maori settlement called Kirikiriroa, or "long gravel beach".
It was later used as a base by the colonial military, who renamed it in honour of John Fane Charles Hamilton, an officer and gentleman who was shot dead, preventing his ever visiting. The area was "settled" by the soldiers of the 4th Waikato regiment in 1864.
Little remains of all that, except the river.
Hamilton's second aquatic feature is Lake Rotoroa, a body of water in the centre of the city that should not be confused with the more famous Lake Rotorua in Rotorua. Lake Rotoroa is generally known as "the lake" because it is a lake, and because nobody pays much attention to any other lakes in the area. (Not even the people who live in Forest Lake.)
Rich people (not shown) live on the edge of the lake, and try to stop you walking around it by building fences up to the water. In theory, that's illegal (there is a strip of public land around every body of water in the country), but nobody of consequence ever objects.
So feel free to swim on up to the expensive-looking houses and sunbathe on the lawns.
But don't drink the water.
The Hamilton gardens
are well worth a look, especially if you're into flowers and trees
and other growing things with no legs. (If you're more interested
in things that grow, and grow legs too, I can recommend the
Hamilton Zoo, too, which has a full complement of birds and
mammals. I particularly liked the walk-through aviary, and the
spider monkeys, which are hyperactive even in winter.)
This is the Piazza, from which many of the gardens can be reached.
One of these is the
Japanese Garden (left); there are also a Chinese garden, an
English herb garden, a Rose garden, an Egyptian garden, and
various other gardens. Mark Long took these photographs, and has
kindly let me use them.
As an aside, the Gardens also have a nice big (8 feet square or more) chess board, which I recommend. There is no charge to use it (or rather, there wasn't in 1995), but you have to ask for the pieces at the cafe. There is no immediate shelter, so don't try playing if it is very sunny.
As you leave Hamilton, southwards, along scenic State Highway 1, this vista reminds you of the splendours of Hamilton. If you're entering the city from that direction, as I frequently do, it eloquently belies the beauty to come. So much for first impressions.
