It’s Parks Week! Hamilton is home to more than 200 parks and reserves. However well you know our great river city, some of our parks are hidden gems that you may not have heard of yet.
This Parks Week (March 5 -13) Hamilton City Council is sharing some of the city’s hidden treasures. So, if you’re looking for places to check out in Hamilton this weekend, pack a picnic and look no further than this list of top five spots for a nature kick.
AJ Seeley Gully Reserve
In the 1960’s, Dr Alwyn Seeley moved into a house on a quiet street. He also purchased a 2.5ha section of bare gully across the road, and began planting it. Over sixty years later, the gully is thriving, filled with mature groves of kahikatea, rimu, kanuka, mahoe and nikau palms. Tree ferns line the walkways and musical tui can be heard overhead. AJ Seeley is an excellent example of what restoring biodiversity can look like over time.
Hammond Park
Hammond Park is one of the last areas in Hamilton with original, pre-European forest. The skinny stretch of bush is home to lots of native wildlife, including nocturnal ruru and the elusive long-tailed bat. Community groups have done extensive conservation work here over the years. There are more than 145 different native plant species in Hammond Park, including a small population of evergreen swamp maire. Swamp maire, a tree with distinctive pink bark, was once common in Hamilton. Although it’s now a rare sight in our city, it thrives in Hammond Park.
Donny Park/Kukutaaruhe Gully
Kukutaaruhe translates to “the flight path of kereru”. Sadly, the beautiful kereru (New Zealand woodpigeon) is a rare sight in Hamilton these days. However work is underway to restore the gully, thanks to the combined efforts of several groups. Donny Park is also the site of Council’s first project under the Nature in the City programme, which aims to restore Hamilton’s native vegetation cover to 10% by 2050. Donny Park is also home to Giant Kookopu, a population of rare native fish being studied by NIWA.
Jubilee Park / Claudelands Bush/Te Papanui
Jubilee Park is home to a small original Kahikatea grove, a remnant of what was a much bigger forest area – around 200 hectares. A short walk through the dense bush gives you an idea of what Hamilton would have been like before modern settlement. Despite the loss of much of the forest, conservation and restoration work has been going on here since the 1980’s.
Council has been working extensively with The Waikato University students and Centre for Biodiversity and Ecology Research (CBER) on research and practical studies in this area around to reduce species loss and improve vegetation condition and biodiversity. This work includes planting native species, weeding the bush and constructing wind breaks and boardwalks
Minogue Park
Minogue is one of Hamilton’s largest parks, home to Lake Rotokaeo, which translates to lake (roto) of freshwater mussels (kaaeo). The lake and surrounding area were an important landmark to local Maaori, a place to gather food, tools and high-grade flax/harakeke.
The lake is now a haven for aquatic wildlife. A boardwalk around the lake showcases some native bush, and there’s even a model train track that runs through native plants in the back area of the park!
This Parks Week, Council encourages you to get out and enjoy some of Hamilton’s beautiful parks, listen to the birds, and perhaps find a hidden treasure.
Find out more information on Hamilton’s parks and natural areas here.