Hamilton (Kirikiriroa in Maori) City is the largest inland city in New Zealand. It is situated on the banks of the Waikato River within the Waikato region of the North Island which is approximately 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Auckland. Its entertainment area is quite vibrant due to the large student population and because its population is growing, traffic congestion is increasing as well.
According to wikipedia, the city of ‘Hamilton has a temperate, damp climate, with about 1,184 mm (46.6 in) of rainfall annually. B. J. Garnier said it had the worst human climate in NZ, but conceded that the reliable rainfall of 850mm minimum (1949) and 2000mmm maximum (1956), was ideal for dairy farming. Thick fog is common on winter mornings, and often lasts until late morning. Daily maximum temperatures range from about 22° to 26 °C(72°–79 °F) in January and February to 10° to 15 °C (50°–59 °F) in July and August. Summer occasionally sees temperatures of more than 30 °C (86 °F), while on clear winter mornings temperatures may drop to as low as −5 °C (23 °F). Ground frosts are common but snow however is practically unknown.’
Annual Events being looked forward to in the city
- January: Parachute music festival
- February: Hamilton Gardens Summer Festival
- February: Couch Soup Festival of One-Act Plays
- April: Hamilton 400, V8 Supercars street race
- April: Balloons over Waikato hot air ballooning festival
- June: National Agricultural Fieldays
- August World Rally Championship
- September: Hamilton Underground Film Festival
- November: The Great Race
We visited this city and the following are some of the pictures I personally took.
This is the City Center, The Base, which could be likened to "The Fort" in Taguig, Philippines. This is the major shopping complex in Hamilton, New Zealand. Originally built in 2005, it is currently under expansion, and on completion in 2011 will be the country’s largest mall.
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We also went to Hamilton Lake Domain which is near The Base area.
And then at another day, we visited the Hamilton Zoo which is the main zoological garden of the city. It is situated on Brymer Road in the Hamilton suburb of Rotokauri, on the outskirts of the metropolitan area. The zoo features a number of exhibits, some unique to the zoo. The zoo has over 200 bird species.
- Parrot Court - Contains Australasian, South American and Indian parrots, including Yellow-bibbed Lory, Blue-and-yellow macaw, and the galah cockatoo.
- Rainforest Walkway - Contains South American primatess, including black-capped capuchins and cottontop tamarins, Asian siamangs, and two lemur species; ring-tailed lemursand ruffed lemurs. Other species include Asiatic golden cat, agouti and red panda.
- Free Flight Sanctuary - This is one of the largest free-flight aviaries in the southern hemisphere, housing a variety of native New Zealand birds.
- Reptile House - This includes tuatara, eastern water dragons, various geckos and blue tongued skink amongst others.
- Chimpanzee Exhibit - This exhibit features the zoo’s chimpanzee troop which came from Auckland Zoo.
- Sumatran Tiger Exhibit - The zoo currently has two Sumatran tigers who are brother and sister.
- Waikato Wetlands - This area of the zoo has recreated to represent a local wetlands area. Kept here are New Zealand falcons.
- African Animals - One side of the zoo contains mainly animals from Africa including popular species such as white rhino, zebra, ostrich, cheetah, guineafowl, African hunting dogsand giraffes, as well as the Asian nilgai and blackbuck. The zoo’s herd of American bison is also located in this area.
It was a great experience just to be able to visit another city while I am here in New Zealand. New faces, places, and smiles are indeed the most thrilling parts of the experience. You should go and visit this city one of these days if you get the chance but make sure you make it in time for one of the city’s annual celebrations.
