Hello and welcome (hopefully again) to the mrlukeniktravels blog. This week coming to you from Hamilton, New Zealand. This Monday my ‘office’ is in a basement kitchen so there is, unfortunately, no view to describe as I write this. There is, however, a lovely smell of curry wafting around: sadly it is not mine! I have been out and about exploring the local area and planning future escapades of the trip…
After a 5-hour journey down from Whangarei by bus I arrived in Hamilton. One of the first things I noticed is the amount grazing land there is here. There are cattle and sheep everywhere, even in the back of livestock trucks. This area is also less tropical than the Northlands, with frosts in winter, so the vegetation is a little different too. Hamilton sits on the banks of the Waikato River the longest in New Zealand. The arrival of the railway in the late 19th Century provided transport for the local mining industry.
Nostalgic railway signals. Today’s electric lights don’t have the same feel.
Whilst here I spent a good morning exploring Hamilton Gardens. There were featured gardens featuring plants from New Zealand and all over the world. As I was making my way around there was the sound of pipes and drums reverberating from a heritage display. Even the weather was obligingly creating Northern European experience. The soundtrack was a contrast to some of the gardens to see from countries as diverse as Italy, India and England(!). In the New Zealand area I learnt about pre-European Maori gardens and agriculture, developed from Polynesian origins. It was fascinating to see the amount of decoration and embellishment adorning structures used for the simple task of storing harvests and food.
A finely decorated food store. If only they were all this well adorned.
The frost-resistant sub-tropical section of the gardens.
Another great visit whist I have been here has been the Waikato Museum. There is so much history to learn here so it is impossible to run out! Exhibitions included local Maori canoes, the Southern-hemisphere constellations and the First World War. The museum was free to enter and really informative. I find it is very important to engage my brain fully and learn about the places I travel to and around. The video and light display on the Southern night sky was particularly impressive. It featured Maori folklore on the creation, positioning and names of the stars in the night sky.
Traditional carvings made by Maori carvers conveying stories, characters and warnings for potentially hostile guests.
During my stay in Hamilton I have been using time to research and plan my time in New Zealand and afterwards. I do not try to plan too much ahead as that breed inflexibility, but having some well thought out ideas is no bad thing. I have begun to look into my time on South Island where I will be heading around Christmas time. Talking to other people is really helpful for this to find out their experiences. It is easy to rely solely on the Internet as a source of information which isn’t necessarily a good thing. Having these conversations is also a chance to share my experiences and knowledge I have gained over the past 5 months (wait…5 months). In reality I mainly get asked about Japan but I don’t mind at all!
A symbol of the city of Rome very far from its origin.
That is about all for this week. I shall be back next Monday from Rotarua where hobbits and volcanoes reside. Until then, as always, you can follow my Twitter feed @mrlukeniktravel. For creatively angled and slightly digitally manipulated images (come on, we all do it) my Instagram feed is @mrlukeniktravels. From now until next time, hopefully posted on time, stay safe and travel on!