Hamilton!
The kitchen got the stamp of approval from Munchie! Some people visit zen like gardens full of tranquil auras to get to their happy place, for my Darling Bride, its being in a kitchen creating gastronomic delights for others! And when she gets to her happy place, I reap the benefits and eat like a king!
Our wonderful little Hamilton home!
On Tuesday we went to the Hamilton Gardens. Quite an impressive and free local attraction. Although we were told that the free admission may be coming to an end. The gardens would obviously require constant care and this always comes at a price, so it stands to reason with the cost of everything always going up, companies have to explore all revenue streams to keep afloat.
The many different and diverse "collections" offered a pleasant afternoon. We even found a quiet oasis nestled in the midst of the gardens that served delicious ice cream! It was an ideal way to sit and reflect on nature's beauty!
Just a few of the many themes within the gardens.
The gardens included large raised beds producing herbs, spices and vegetables. The signs said not to pick any as they were reserved for designated groups. My bride noticed that a lot of the crop was going to seed and in need of picking! Well, apparently our car smelled wonderfully of fresh basil on our ride home! My bride is now a fugitive from the Hamilton Garden Herb Protection police!
Couldn't quite reach the latch! Never did find out what was on the other side!
My best impression of Maori art!
See any resemblance??
 |
| Anatomically accurate! |
On Wednesday we traveled to Rotorua to attend a Maori cultural dinner that serves hangi (food cooked in a pit similar to the luau in Hawaii).
We went early to have a look at some of the features of Rotorua which basically sits on the top of a volcano! The lake is formed by the cone with an island in the middle and a fun fact, it is relatively shallow for such a large lake! Pretty much right in the center of town is a geothermal park. My companions told me there was no missing the smells associated with these types of springs! I have to rely on their noses as I have not had a sense of smell since 2016! I really don't miss it as far as the bad smells go, but I do miss the smells from Munchie's kitchen when she is conjuring up some of my favorite dishes!
Shannon tested the waters! I shouldn't scoff at the therapeutic value of natural spring water, but I am a neanderthal so this kinda stuff is often wasted on me!
 |
| Mostly sound advice! |
You would think by this sign, you could test the pools all around, not! Other than the formal spot that Shannon tried out, all the rest were fenced off with signs forbidding any access! The warning signs also indicated the water temperature was 100C! There were some of the pools that did look like they were boiling!
From the thermal park we hit the Skyline gondola to an elevated view of Rotorua and the lake. Skyline also had luge carts, hiking trails, mountain bike trails, BMX courses, and a giant swing!
 |
3 of us took the ride up the hill in the gondola (can you guess who opted out?). We took a walk along one of the hiking trails at the top. There were some pretty good vantage points to view Rotorua and the lake from up there!
The crater lake with the island in the middle!
I mentioned the giant swing. We watched a couple of groups try it out. There were lots of squeals and screams! Not my cup of tea any more. My days of amusement park type rides are in my rearview mirror!
After the gondola we headed to the Maori experience. We met a wonderful young family who joined us at our assigned table. Dolidar & Mila and their 2 boys, Daniel (8yrs) and Evan (6yrs). Dolidar (from Macedonia) and Mila (from Russia) met in Germany while going to university. They now live in Singapore! It was absolutely outstanding sharing the evening with them! Fortunately for us, they were a multi-linguistic family (Macedonian, Russian, German, and english!) so communication was not an issue! Daniel and Evan were awesome boys and we shared a mutual past time, making paper airplanes! The paper placemats were perfect and a number of them ended up flying around the venue!
As I mentioned, I found the experience to be very similar to a Hawaiian luau. The meal, the entertainment, the culture very much supports the theory that the Maori people found their way to the Hawaiian islands.
Thursday saw us oldsters jump into the world of electric scooters! Hamilton has but one option, Lime! Well, JT, Shannon and I, downloaded the app, located 3 scooters in close proximity to our place and after some trial and error, headed out to the River Ride trails along the Waikato River.
It was a blast! The river trails were pretty impressive and the weather was perfect for the ride!
The only damper on the whole afternoon was the Lime app overcharging JT and Shannon and the resulting plethora of emails and texts back and forth to straighten it out. End result, afternoon was great, Lime is dead to JT!
Thursday night we hit the Cook street bar for supper and to catch the live music, Ben, a solo guitar act. Had a great evening.
These two little cria (baby alpacas) were full of pep and fun!
We also hit Morrinsville in the afternoon and stopped for a late lunch at the Redoubt Restaurant and Bar.
Saturday is Hobbiton day! I'll post again after the visit!
Comments
Post a Comment