Bossing a Rainy Day in Hamilton

Waka, Matariki and neon Maori Art

A section of the Riverside Walk that we approach is closed for maintenance, so we walk the rest of the way to the museum down the streets of Hamilton. A cool little place we find is Garden Place, Hamilton’s city centre square. There’s a light show water fountain going nuts in the middle of the square, while there’s a few sculptures around to photograph too. The journey continues to the Waikato Museum, which has an interesting sculpture and water feature of its own, the Tongue of the Dog. The water rolling from the mouth of a colourful square does indeed look like the tongue of a dog. (We like it when art makes sense).

What we like more about the Waikato Museum, other than the fact that it’s free entry, is the huge waka (Maori canoe). We’ve seen quite a few of these boats used by the Maori to cross the Pacific Ocean, but none as impressive or as decorative as this one. There’s a huge emphasis on Maori art throughout the museum, we especially like some neon contemporary art by Zena Elliott.

As the Maori New Year is fast approaching, we also enjoy an exhibit on Matariki, which is a cluster of stars marking the new year. There’s an artsy light show reflecting off pillars of woven rope in the centre of the room used to help tell the Maori legend behind Matariki.

The most European street in New Zealand

We eventually peel ourselves away from the Waikato Museum and slowly head back to the hostel, making sure to explore the city centre of Hamilton on the way. As we pass all the enticing bars and restaurants of Victoria Street we have to tell ourselves: “No, we are on a backpacker budget! We cannot keep eating out!” Victoria Street actually looks like a great place to party. Dare we say it seems miles ahead than the party scene in Auckland?!

Another street catches our eye on the way down: Casabella Street. Did we just walk into Greece right now? One end of the street is decorated in the Greek flag colours, with shop walls covered in plants, while the street progressively turns Italian with a hint of France in there too. The far end of the street even has a posh water feature churning away. Hamilton loves a good water feature.

We have to congratulate Hamilton on actually having free things for us to do on a rainy day! We still go back to the hostel feeling like we’ve seen a great side to Hamilton, despite the gloomy weather. Luckily for us (or not so lucky depending on how you look at it), we will be returning in a few days to get the rust on our campervan fixed. Until then, we’re heading to Raglan where we have a few exciting things planned: a waterfall walk, eel conservation and, of course, surfing!

See you then!