Wow, as someone (you know who you are Sean), mentioned - we are packing a lot in! What a day!
We had no idea that the Hamilton Gardens are ... well, world class! There are no other words for them. Not sure I have ever been to gardens as good. In fact I know I haven't. Dedicated to telling the story of garden development through the ages, they are set out as a series of enclosed gardens, from the Chinese Scholar's Garden of the Tang Dynasty in the 7th century, to an American Modernist Garden of the mid 20th, through various incarnations of Italian Renaissance, Tudor English, Japanese Gardens of Contemplation, Indian Char Bagh, English Flower etc. And all this in a magnificent park we didn't even have the chance to explore. And it was free! We made a donation.
Quite frankly it was amazing! And for that reason alone I have included a whole series of photos at the end of this blog. And that is a fraction of those that I took. The only downside was that we only had 2 hours there because we had a pre-booked appointment with some glowworms at Waitomo!
And so on to them... Another amazing experience. Donning caving helmets that made us look far more professional than is warranted we followed our guide Scuba (that really was his name) down a sink hole and through a narrow passage into the underground river system below the limestone pavement that creates the ideal conditions for glowworms - basically, clean running water, limestone caves and mayfly to eat. That might be to oversimplify it but it is close enough for this blog.
We even got to float down the river in a rubber boat with literally thousands of glowworms overhead. Did I get a decent picture? Of course I didn't. Did I care? Not one bit. The magical experience of floating gently down an underground river surrounded by tiny pinpricks of light produced by the bioluminescence of a truly magical creature - that is what is lodged in my mind and no photograph would have made it any better. I really was in the moment! And to Nareesa's relief we did not have to abseil into the cave, don wetsuits and crash down the rapids in a rubber ring! That was another tour - tempting, but it might just have taken away from the experience of the glowworms. Blackwater rafting sounds great, but the adrenaline rush should be the single focus. The glowworms "speak" for themselves. In the absence of any decent photograph I have nicked one from a website to give you an idea. But to be honest it doesn't even come close to the real thing! You can't feel a photograph.
And so on to our resting place for the night. Tongariro National Park. One of very few places to stay near the magnificent volcano that is the highest point on the North Island, turns out to be a fabulous ski lodge, complete with bar, restaurant and an open fire.
What's not to like. And this the view from the bar as I type this drivel.
That is probably enough gloating for one day. I will leave you with some spectacular gardens in Hamilton...
The Japanese Garden of Contemplation. Water without water. Very Zen.
The Indian Char Bagh Garden
Walking through the bamboo trail in the Chinese Garden
Italian Renaissance Garden
Tudor English Garden
Entrance to the Maori Nga Pukeahu o Puna
And harvesting the Kumara tubers, planted in mounds (puke) to avoid rotting in wet soil
The Surreal Garden
The Egyptian Garden
Reflections in the Chinese Garden
Marilyn in The Modernist Garden
I think that had better do!
You'll need a holiday when you get back!!
That looks like manor from heaven for Nareesa. Fantastic.