 Hamilton is one of New Zealand’s fastest growing cities. Located just 90 minutes south of Auckland, and situated on the Waikato River, it’s a vibrant centre filled with art galleries and cultural tours, clusters of restaurants and bars, a lively nightlife and stunning scenery – there really is something for everyone.
The gateway to the region known as the Waikato, Hamilton has a raft of attractive venues, both with and without accommodation that will tickle the fancy of event planners from across the Tasman.
With a variety of both city- and rural-based activities, it’s an ideal location for pre- and post-conference touring out of Auckland, Tauranga and Rotorua. Groups have so much to choose from in and around this region of lush, green hills, bush and farmland with accessibility to exceptional surf on the west coast.
Cruise down the Waikato River on the recently-refurbished paddleboat, the MV Waipa Delta, an iconic replica paddle steamer. Passengers enjoy daytime cruises, seeing the city from a different angle and hearing interesting accounts of the surrounds. Night cruises include dining and entertainment with spectacular views of the illuminated city while journeying under all the bridges.
Alternatively groups can see Hamilton from the air! Hot air balloon rides normally take off just after sunrise and give spectacular views of the city, river and region. Kiwi Balloon Company offer flights of around one hour with a champagne-style breakfast to finish. Quickening the pace of a tour is easily accomplished with a drive in a rally car! The professional drivers at Rally Drive NZ can take passengers out on five kilometres of forest tracks so they can experience champion rally driving at its fastest, or visitors can learn how to drive a rally car themselves. There is no better place to learn than the New Zealand host of the World Rally Championships and the V8 Supercar Street Race.
Visiting the Hamilton Gardens is always a sensual pleasure, but actually discovering the rich interpretations of the Paradise Collection brings a visit to another level. The gardens are a blueprint of centuries of art, as well as being a collection of beautiful plants. The Japanese Garden of Contemplation, Italian Renaissance Garden, and Indian Char Bagh are just a few of the impressive collection.
Just a 60-minute drive from Hamilton is the glowworm caves at Waitomo. Waitomo Adventures offers real adventures for people wanting safe, quality fun in some of the most special wild places, such as abseiling down underground waterfalls and cave rafting. There are various tours to choose from requiring different levels of fitness and courage.
Hamilton offers all this, plus deer-hunting, wineries, sculpture park-cum-arboretum, the finest cuisine and exquisite luxury lodges. And getting there by road or air is easy. The city is linked to major cities by the main national highways, and is well serviced by regional and inter-city public transport. Flights to and from Hamilton include connections with New Zealand towns and cities, Australia and Fiji.
So are you ready to visit Hamilton? For more information see www.visithamilton.co.nz.
Hamilton’s skyline is set to include a multi-purpose events and conference centre on the historic Claudelands Showgrounds site. Construction on the new Claudelands Events Centre is due to start in November 2007, with a scheduled completion date late in 2010. At MEETINGS 2007, Hamilton City Council lifted the veil on its plans for the venue, which will feature three floor spaces of between 400 and 1000 square metres, all of which can be divided into three. It will also feature a tiered plenary for up to 2000 and a live performance arena of 5000 seats. The new venue will be built on the site of the Claudelands Showgrounds. The first stage of construction will see the site’s original grandstand relocated and extensively refurbished to become an internal function/café space. Bookings for the events centre will be taken from early-2008.
NOVOTEL TAINUI HAMILTON
Where: 7 Alma Street, Hamilton.
www.accorhotel.co.nz
Capacity: 177 guest rooms and conference facilities for up to 350 delegates.
USP: It’s location in the heart of the city, on the banks of the Waikato River, adjacent to the Skycity Casino and entertainment complex.
SKYCITY HAMILTON
Where: 346 Victoria Street, Hamilton.
www.skycityhamilton.co.nz
Capacity: Four function rooms catering for up to 350, plus 340 on-site car parks, three bars, a new restaurant and team-building activities, such as tenpin bowling, laser strike and the main gaming floor at the casino.
USP: The largest conference room has natural light and views over the Waikato River.
MYSTERY CREEK EVENTS
CENTRE
Where: Gate 2, 125 Mystery Creek Rd, Hamilton.
www.mysterycreek.co.nz
Capacity: Eight flexible venues, including the Mystery Creek Convention Centre for functions from 20 to 2000, and the Mystery Creek Pavilion catering for up to 9000.
USP: Situated among 87 hectares of park, with the Waikato River on its doorstep, the venue offers endless activity opportunities.
<< Top
|