We stopped in Hamilton for one night.  It was only one of two nights our entire time in New Zealand that we stayed in a hotel.  It was a “Bella Vista Hotel,” which I think it similar to a Hampton Inn of New Zealand (without the free breakfast).  The hotel was fine, but the only thing we really did in Hamilton was to visit their gardens.  It was well worth it.  The country of New Zealand is loaded with beautiful gardens.  Every city and many towns seem to have these dedicated, well-maintained gardens that are just beautiful.  We REALLY liked the gardens in Hamilton.  What is unique about them is that they have different sections or “rooms” with different themes.  It was like a theme park garden!  They had the Chinese Garden, the Fantasy, the Italian, the Indian, the English, and the “kitchen” garden, as well as many others.  The gardeners spent so much time researching the different characteristics of these gardens and they were all so different from one another.  Seriously, even if you’re not a big flower fan, these gardens were cool because you learned history while you explored them…

Hamilton Gardens

Next Post:  Back to Auckland for the Superbowl and Picking up Corinne and John From the Airport