The exterior of Love Grove Lane in Hamilton.
The exterior of Love Grove Lane in Hamilton.

Hamilton

If you’ve never had the charred broccolini with dan dan sauce at Sage, or strolled the boutiques of Lovegrove Lane, have you really been to Hamilton? Whether you follow champion barista Dove Chen to his favourite neighborhood haunts, join yoga teacher and designer Katie and Alan Deare on an intoxicating walk up Mt Pirongia, or get a permanent souvenir from Holiday Tattoo alongside yoga teacher Rachel Hope Peary, this burgeoning city is bound to surprise you. Discover weird and wonderful things in Browser’s Bookshop with the husband and wife duo behind Banh Mi Caphe, and end your evening in the cosy, dimly lit Wonder Horse.

Seven people. Seven ways to see a city. Find your Never Have I Ever.

What's your Hamilton Never Have I Ever?

  • Anh Chaimontree

    Restaurateur

    Never stared up at the mechanical hedges or looked down the chequered walkway at Hamilton Gardens’s new Surrealist Garden? It’s restaurateur Anh Chaimontree’s favourite part of her city’s famous gardens.

    Discover Anh’s Hamilton.

  • Katie & Alan Deare

    Yoga Teacher & Designer

    Never been to the old Matangi Dairy Factory? The 1919 building has been transformed into a funky new space with shops and the Bootleg Brewery. Yoga teacher and designer Katie & Alan Deare say if you squint, it might remind you of Cockatoo Island.

    Discover Katie & Alan’s Hamilton.

  • Dove Chen

    Champion Barista & Café Owner

    Never had the high tea experience overlooking the tea fields at the Zealong Tea Estate in Hamilton? Barista champion and café owner Dove Chen appreciates the subtlety of a good brew. He says the stunning Zealong experience is not to be missed. 

    Discover Dove’s Hamilton.

  • Steph and Emily

    Artists & business owners

    Never seen Robert Jahnke’s sculpture Te Tatau Ki Kirikiriroa in Hamilton’s new urban architecture project? Artists Emily and Steph love its striking corten steel and mind-bending infinity lighting illusions.

    Discover Emily & Steph’s Hamilton.

  • Rachel Hope Peary

    Painter & yoga teacher

    Never found the hidden gem that is Lovegrove Lane in Hamilton? This is where painter and yoga teacher, Rachel Hope Peary, spends most of her time. Delicious food, calming yoga and boutique retailers keep her coming back.

    Discover Rachel’s Hamilton.

  • Leafa Wilson

    Multimedia performance artist

    Never thought of a carved waka as an ancestor you should visit regularly to pay respects? New Zealand-born Samoan artist Leafa Wilson does. She’s the visual arts curator at Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga and she’s got a unique insight into its collections and to her city.

    Discover Leafa's Hamilton.

  • Kim Higgison

    Ice cream maker & business owner

    Never experienced Sage, the dining experience in a brew bar in Hamilton? Kim Higgison of Duck Island Ice Cream thinks you should. She’s proud of the creative community in her adopted home of Hamilton.

    Discover Kim’s Hamilton.

Hamilton