On our way to Raglan, the little hippie surf town on the west coast, we passed Hamilton. We had not planned to do anything there but as we drove through I saw Hamilton Gardens on the side of the road. It looked like a nice place so I decided to research it a bit. We were going to pass Hamilton again coming back from the coast so we still had a chance to spend some time there.
I googled “what to do in Hamilton” and the Gardens was the first thing on the list. Supposedly the most visited attraction in the area featuring parts inspired from different places in the world. Further down on the list I found Zealong, the only tea estate in New Zealand. As it happens they have a restaurant that offers High Tea. Perfect!
In the morning we arrived at the Hamilton Gardens which surprisingly enough are free considering the work they have done. Most things here in New Zealand are expensive including some of the hikes unfortunately. At the visitor center we picked up a map and the lady at the desk pointed out the most interesting parts. It is a huge garden so it is not likely you would go through the whole thing unless you bring a picnic and spend the entire day there. There are many lawns perfect for picnics so go for it!
We started off in the theme gardens and walked through the Chinese, Japanese, English, modern American, Italian and Maori gardens. They are all lovely and very well done and kept. Further on there was a kitchen garden and a herb garden. After all this it was time for a coffee break. The café was under renovation but they had put a coffee trailer next to it in the mean time.
Japanese garden
Chinese garden
Indian garden
Italian garden
Maori garden
After the break we had energy to keep on going to the rose garden, rhododendron lawn and the green houses. In the green house they had a cactus garden which reminded us very much of Arizona. 🙂 The way back to the parking lot went over the small lake in the center of the gardens where the ducklings were swimming along.
Rose garden
With tired legs after hours of walking we were looking forward to high tea. The Zealong Tea Estate was on the other side of town which was a 20 or so minute drive. As we came closer we saw the long lines of tea plants on the rolling hills and pickers in between them. There was maybe 15 pickers out on the fields working and they moved closer to the restaurant as we were enjoying our high tea. The chinese owner happened to sit at the table next to us and we over heard them discussing the efforts of exporting their tea to China. Obviously they are serious and should be, the tea was excellent.
Zealong Tea Estate
Click the image to see more photos from Hamilton:
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| Tauranga – Hamilton |