HAMILTON

Hamilton is my favorite city in New Zealand. I have lived here all my life! Even though those lying Reds said that Hamilton is boring, I disagree. Hamilton is great for the reason that Hamilton is ON!

Events
Hamilton is NZ's premier events city with local, national and international events staged throughout the year - from the V8 street race and world rally car champs, balloons festival, theatre festival through to an ethnic soccer festival, craft & quilt fair and summer arts festival.

Hamilton Gardens
The most popular tourist destination in the Waikato with over a million visitors a year, Hamilton Gardens' unique experience offers the chance to experience gardens from around the world.
Waikato Museum
Visit the city's acclaimed Waikato Museum which showcases arts and culture from the region - also take the time to visit the cafe, restuarant, ArtsPost galleries and museum shop.

Visit Riff Raff
Located at the south end of Hamilton's main Victoria Street is a statue of the iconic Riff Raff character from the cult status movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The statue commemorates the development of the idea and the writing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show by Richard O'Brien - who lived in Hamilton and worked next door to the site of the now demolished Embassy Theatre where the statue is.

Hamilton Zoo
Visit Hamilton Zoo - home to 450 exotic and endangered animals and birds from around the world. Cheeky chimps, white rhino, tigers and the largest walk in free flight aviary in the southern hemisphere are all there - and more. Unique education programmes are also on offer.

Waterworld
Hamilton's premier swimming pool complex located in the north of the city boasts multiple pools – one multi-laned, Olympic sized pool with stadium seating, another large, multi-laned pool for youngsters and even a large paddling pool for the wee ones. For parents who need to put in some serious swim time, a licenced crèche is available. Special events are continually on offer for visitors of all ages.

Sporting action
Take your seat at Hamilton's world class sporting venues - or take part yourself. The city hosts international, national and local sporting events at its premier facilities and sports fever is a big part of Hamilton life.

Visit the city's libraries
Hamilton city is well supplied with libraries with one in the centre of the city in Garden Place and 5 community libraries. They offer free membership to people living in the city and provide access to books, DVDs, CDs, archives, magazines, and more.
Cruise the Waikato River
Enjoy a cruise on the mighty Waikato River aboard Hamilton's paddle steamer the M V Waipa Delta.

Lake Rotoroa (Hamilton Lake)
A popular Hamilton walk is to circle Hamilton's Lake Rotoroa. At around 4km, the off-road walkway with nothing between you and the lake takes you around its edge on boardwalks and paths, through stands of bush and past myriads of wading and free flight birds.
A cafe and extensive children's playground lie at the eastern end of the lake, while many types of boating from yachting to waka paddlers enjoy being on the lake.
Waikato River Walkways
A recently completed 11km walkway along both banks of the Waikato River which runs through the centre of Hamilton offers endless oppurtunitiesto walk, ride bikes and watch boats on the river. Whether you want to relax and unwind, or burn off some energy with a run or walk, this is the perfent place for that.

SKYCITY
The fun comes indoors at SKYCITY Hamilton with its casino, Laserstrike game, ten pin bowling and sports bar - and more.

So there, Hamilton is such a great place (minus some of the names we've been called: Hamilton, more than you expect, the fountain city, hamiltron!!!) so don't call us boring!!