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Straddling the mighty Waikato River, Hamilton is a city of rich diversity, from its thriving cultural precincts, lush gardens and sweeping parklands, to award winning eateries, vibrant nightlife and colourful street art.
We began our Hamilton Kirikiriroa weekend hunkering down from cyclone Gabrielle in the Classics Museum Car Park! Luckily it was not too bad and in the morning the rain did continue but not for too long!
The car park is massive, they do charge $15 a night to stay which is quite expensive for just a car park but there were lots of other campers which makes it feel safe.
That morning we decided to go and take a look around the Classics museum- which is a perfect rainy day activity! The museum is packed with classic cars and memorabilia and you could spend a few hours there for sure! Afterwards we ate lunch at the Jukebox Diner next door which was actually like an American Diner with a working jukebox.
Later that day we took a walk into town and visited the ‘Artsposts Galleries & Shop’, also part of the i-site (info centre). This is a cool little building to walk around and look at the art on display.
Next we visited the Waikato Museum just around the corner. They have exhibitions and activities which tell the stories of the region and include visual art, social history, science and Maori culture. Definitely worth a stop and its free!
Later that day we needed to fill up water, and this did turn into quite a difficult task as Hamilton Kirikiriroa Council don’t provide any drinking water for RV’s which is crazy for such a large city! We ended up filling up at Carter’s Tyres as this company seem to have an agreement with the NZMCA to provide drinking water to those who need it- this saved us!
For the night we drove to Shaw’s Bird Park which is a fantastic Park over Property just south of the city. Its free to stay although donations are welcome. This one was a brilliant find, set in lovely gardens and a short stroll away from lots of different birds and parrots. There is even a wetlands loop walk that we did with lots of birdlife around. If we come back to Hamilton Kirikiriroa, we would stay back here for sure.
The next morning we stopped off at Hamilton Kirikiriroa Gardens, which is one of our favourite gardens in the world! Each part of the gardens transport you into a different era or century with various themed gardens. We spent a few hours here but you could easily spend a whole day!
We love Hamilton Kirikiriroa, and next time we come we would love to get on some bikes and bike along the mighty Waikato river which we missed this time.
