What to do in Hamilton on a wet day? Waikato Museum

On a day like today, I often find myself wondering what to do - it's wet, so a walk is more or less out of the question, and there is little enjoyment to be had shopping on a wet day - it's busy and especially aggrevating when you don't need anything.

So, we went to Waikato museum. There are as always a few exhibitions on - only two of real interest to me, which are:

Never a Dull Moment focuses on Hamilton's history - and features much of the sort of history that I feature on this blog. There were even a few interesting photos that I'd never seen before, and a re-cap of much of the city's history. The history in this exhibit starts after the land-wars, and carries through just past WWII. Probably 30-90 minutes of material here.

Never A Dull Moment - Hamilton Stories (Waikato Museum)

Ngaa Pou Whenua tells the story of the four tribes that descend from the Tainui canoe - Waikato, Pare Hauraki, Raukawa and Maniapoto. While the exhibit is small, it is an interesting insight into the history of the tribes, and their modern form. Most enjoyable for me was some modern Maori art - a nice change from the ubiquitous traditional styles. The exhibit has maybe around 20 to 60 minutes worth of material.

Ngaa Pou Whenua (Waikato Museum)

Maungakawa Reserve / Te Waikato Sanitorium

My walk today was a little further afield - outside Hamilton, outside Cambridge even - to the Maungakawa Scenic Reserve, which also happens to be the site of the Te Waikato Sanitorium and incorporates the Guidex memorial park.

This is all that's left of the once sprawling facility, along with a few stray exotic plants.

Old Boiler house: Te Waikato Sanitorium

The property was first purchased by Daniel Thornton in 1886 from the local Maori, and, after his death, his wife had a homestead built on the ridge (in 1890), which was later, in 1902 purchased by government and utilised as a sanitorium for sufferers of tuberculosis. The site would be utilised after the first world war for recuperating soldiers, and dismantled and sold in 1922.

Some historic photos of the site:

Of course, nowadays, the site looks very different. The bush has regenerated, and there is a 30 minute track. I'm no good at taking photos in the bush, the light is difficult, but here are a few photos of the park none-the-less.

The Lions Club put this lookout up recently

Hard to imagine there was so much here in the past.

A very old sign. When the way up the hill was still by horse and cart, this was the spot to stop for a break.

And for that reason, the scouts put this bench up.

An interesting carving someone made...

All in all, this is a historic site that's well worth visiting, bush, birds, a picnic spot and history...