{"id":11690,"date":"2024-05-05T21:35:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-05T09:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/?p=11690"},"modified":"2024-05-10T22:14:33","modified_gmt":"2024-05-10T10:14:33","slug":"kirikiriroa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/05\/kirikiriroa\/","title":{"rendered":"Kirikiriroa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

May 5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The gateway to the Central North Island, Hamilton<\/a>, is called Kirikiriroa in Maori, and is NZ\u2019s largest inland city, straddling the Waikato River.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Waikato River<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Kirikiriroa means long stretch of gravel and refers to the area on the west bank of the Waikato River, which was home to several M\u0101ori villages, including Kirikiriroa, Te Parapara, Pukete, and Miropiko. The name also references the area’s rich soils, which support productive gardens. More on that in a moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But first, sleeping in someone\u2019s comfortable house is the next best thing to sleeping in your own! We had a great night sleep on the most comfortable bed and pillows of our trip. After we made a plan for the day, Michael and Lucinda took us on a driving tour of the city. We grabbed brunch at Gather Food House<\/a> before heading off to Hamilton Gardens<\/a>, a popular attraction featuring 20 or so gardens of different themes and design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We sauntered through the Chinese Scholars\u2019 Garden, Modernist Garden, Japanese Garden of Contemplation, Italian Renaissance Garden, Tudor Garden, Surrealist Garden, M\u0101ori Garden and the Mansfield Garden, highlighting the NZ author\u2019s famous story \u2018The Garden Party.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kumara or Sweet Potato Crops and Store Pantry<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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From there Mitch and I made a quick trip to the west coast town of Raglan, known for its surf and black sand beaches. We didn\u2019t see any surfing as the beaches were outside of town, but we thought the town had a cool, relaxed vibe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Low tide<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We got on the road before sunset and drove back to Hamilton. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Unfortunately, Michael got an ER call for a 911 eye surgery for one of his patients, so he couldn\u2019t join us for dinner. Lucinda, Mitch and I headed to Babaganush<\/a>. It was an excellent Turkish restaurant that rounded out the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we got home, Michael was back from work, so we talked late into the night enjoying tea and homemade cake.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

May 5 The gateway to the Central North Island, Hamilton, is called Kirikiriroa in Maori, and is NZ\u2019s largest inland city, straddling the Waikato River. Kirikiriroa means long stretch of gravel and refers to the area on the west bank of the Waikato River, which was home to several M\u0101ori villages, including Kirikiriroa, Te Parapara, Pukete, … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11627,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-new-zealand-north-island"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/img_7034-1.jpg?fit=1500%2C2000&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12216,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/11\/it-is-life-i-think-to-watch-the-water-man-can-learn-so-many-things-nicholas-sparks\/","url_meta":{"origin":11690,"position":0},"title":"\u201cIt is life, I think, to watch the water. Man can learn so many things.\u201d -Nicholas Sparks","author":"Victoria","date":"11 May 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"May 11 A lemon friand from Industrie French Kitchen was an excellent start to the day. Lemon Friand Aratiatia Rapids dam release was our next destination and we needed to arrive at a certain time. https:\/\/youtu.be\/IOiarl-qxvc?si=-oxGooBU9KA0XG6c Eighty thousand liters of water are released three times a day (four in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/img_9926-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/img_9926-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/img_9926-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/img_9926-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/img_9926-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11694,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/06\/if-you-dont-keep-your-feet-theres-no-knowing-where-youll-be-swept-off-to-j-r-r-tolkien\/","url_meta":{"origin":11690,"position":1},"title":"\u201cIf you don\u2019t keep your feet there\u2019s no knowing where you\u2019ll be swept off to.\u201d -J.R.R. Tolkien","author":"Victoria","date":"6 May 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"May 6 Lucinda stood outside and waved goodbye to us this morning. We had a wonderful visit with her and Michael. Meeting people as kind and hospitable as they are has been a definite highlight of the trip. An excellent a\u00e7a\u00ed bowl and coffee from Soul Boul in Hamilton started\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/img_7395-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/img_7395-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/img_7395-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/img_7395-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11606,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/04\/the-early-bird-gets-the-worm\/","url_meta":{"origin":11690,"position":2},"title":"The Early Bird Catches The Worm","author":"Victoria","date":"4 May 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"May 4 Wai = Water Tomo = Cave Travelers we met in the South Island highly recommended the Spellbound Glowworm and Cave tour in Waitomo. 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Rise and shine. Listen to our wake up call below. That was our morning alarm! A call for all the volunteer W\u0101naka fire fighters to report to the fire station for emergency. https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/l9aoLLDcTu0?feature=shared Air horn above fire station Looking out the window, this is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_9134-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_9134-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_9134-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_9134-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_9134-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10806,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/22\/chasing-sunsets-islands-and-kiwi-adventures\/","url_meta":{"origin":11690,"position":4},"title":"Chasing Sunsets, Islands and Kiwi Adventures (RV Day 9)","author":"Victoria","date":"22 April 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"April 22 Today was our Fullers Hole in the Rock boat tour around the Bay of Islands. 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