Hamilton Gardens

Guided Tour of Hamilton Gardens

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Forty years ago Hamilton Gardens was a bleak landscape. It was the site of a former Victorian rifle range and dog dosing station, covered in blackberries with seagulls circling above. It was the city’s rubbish dump. Today, the Gardens has 21 themed gardens on 54 hectares alongside the Waikato River.

Telling the story of gardens through themed garden collections, Hamilton Gardens explores different civilisations, and recreates historically important garden styles from the farthest reaches of the world. Hamilton Gardens is not a botanical garden. Instead, its unique and internationally recognised concept has been compared to a museum. Each garden collection has historic integrity and provides a window into the story of civilisations, their arts, beliefs and lifestyles.

Guides will share the ‘inside story’ of how Hamilton Gardens was transformed from a rubbish dump into an internationally significant garden and take visitors on a journey of discovery along paths delivering mysterious surprises: step from a peaceful Sung Dynasty Chinese Scholar’s Garden into an Italian Renaissance Garden, before being enthralled by the grandeur of the Indian Char Bagh (four quartered) Garden. Guided tours leave from the Hamilton Gardens Information Centre and last approximately 75 minutes. All Guided Tours are offered in English only.

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