Travelsmartplanet

New Zealand art is influenced by the Maori culture. You can see the influence here by the swirl of this sculpture. Look at the small shapes – they’re all animals.

Tags: animal, Animal Art, art, culture, Indigenous, influence, Maori, Maori culture, New Zealand, New Zealand art, North Island, sculpture, shape, sights, sightseeing, swirl, tour, tourist, travelblogger

We were lucky enough to be invited to a Maori cultural group to mingle with women and children. We learned the craft of making instruments. And then we enjoyed singing along (with song sheets) with everyone from kids to their grandparents. All ages joined together to sing – and the kids knew all the words! People are wonderfully inviting all over the world.

Tags: age, Cambridge, children, community, craft, cultural, cultural group, gathering, Grandparent, group, heritage, instrument, inviting, kids, learn, Maori, Maori cultural, mingle, music, neighborhood, New Zealand, people, sheet, sights, sightseeing, sing, sing along, singing, song, song sheet, tour, tourist, tradition, traditional, travelblogger, women, word, world

Just like all over the world, people of similar backgrounds form social circles to keep their heritage intact. In Cambridge, NZ, we were invited to this Maori gathering to make our own poi balls. The balls are attached to long strings and swung rhythmically, one in each hand. Today, the women dancers perform the Maori poi. Men used it for strength and coordination and they were also used as a weapon during a battle. It is really hard to spin those balls.

Tags: background, ball, battle, Cambridge, coordination, craft, dancer, gathering, heritage, History, intact, Maori, Maori culture, Maori gathering, Maori poi, men, neighborhood, New Zealand, people, perform, poi, poi ball, rhythmically, sights, sightseeing, social, social circle, spin, strength, string, swing, tour, tourist, tradition, traditional, travelblogger, weapon, women, world

Invoking the floral colours of an intricate Indian rug, the Indian Char Bagh Garden at Hamilton Gardens definitely has the feel of India. A bagh is an enclosed 4-part garden 8 -18th century Muslim world Asia to north Africa to Spain, paradise gardens universal garden became a distinctive art form in 16 & 17th century under mughal Rulers and then Hindu aristocracy poetic secret pleasure gardens feel breezes, hear water gurgling perfume of flowers real living carpet.

Tags: 16th century, 17th-century, 18th-century, Africa, aristocracy, art, art form, Asia, bagh, botanic garden, botanical, breeze, carpet, century, Char Bagh, Char Bagh Garden, colour, distinctive, Emperor, enclosed, floral, flowers, form, garden, gardens, gurgling, Hamilton, Hamilton Gardens, Hindu, Indian, Indian rug, intricate, living, mughal, Muslim, New Zealand, North, North Africa, Northern Island, Paradise, paradise gardens, perfume, pleasure, poetic, rug, Ruler, secret, secret pleasure, sights, sightseeing, Spain, tour, tourist, travelblogger, universal, water, world

This “garden’ in Hamilton Gardens, NZ just did not evoke Hollywood to us. Only the image of Marilyn Monroe gives a hint of what it is. And yes there’s the ubiquitous swimming pool you would find in Hollywood, but who’s in it?

Tags: art, basen, botanical, botanical garden, garden, Hamilton Gardens, hint, Hollywood, Hollywood Garden, image, Marilyn Monroe, New Zealand, pool, scupture, scuptureart, sights, sightseeing, swimming, swimming pool, tour, tourist, travelblogger, ubiquitous

In the Te Parapara Garden in Hamilton Gardens, NZ, traditional (to Maori) rare kuumara (sweet potato) varieties are planted on puke (mounds) in the summer and then harvested. 

Tags: aspect, beliefs, botanic, botanic garden, crops, cultivation, cultural, design, food, garden, gardener, gardens, Hamilton, Hamilton Gardens, harvest, harvested, History, Kūmara plant, kuumara, landscape, Maaori, Maori, Maori Garden, Māori settlement, material, mound, New Zealand, North Island, park, philosophical, plant, planted, practical, practices, productive, puke, purpose, rare, representation, settlement, sights, sightseeing, spiritual, spiritual aspect, spiritual representation, structure, summer, sweet potato, Te Parapara, Te Parapara Garden, tour, tourist, traditional, travelblogger, values, variety, vegetable, Waikato, Waikato river

Here is the traditional entrance to the Te Parapara Garden in Hamilton Gardens, NZ. Notice the carved face sticking out his tongue. This is a gesture you would see in Maori dancing and is a method of intimidating invaders.

Tags: carved, carved face, dancing, entrance, face, garden, gardens, gesture, Hamilton, Hamilton Gardens, intimidating, invader, Maori, Maori dancing, method, New Zealand, sights, sightseeing, Te Parapara, tongue, tour, tourist, traditional, travelblogger, Waikato

In the 16^th century the English aristocracy were fascinated by intricate geometric patterns. These Tudor Garden reflects this. There were also knot gardens and some were called fantasy gardens where fantasy plays were held.  Notice the carved heraldic beasts on poles: griffin, dragon, centaur, phoenix, unicorn, satyr and sea serpent. See if you can find “Bottom”  from Shakespeare’s play Midsummer Nights’ Dream.

Tags: 16th, 16th century, aristocracy, beast, bottom, carved, Centaur, century, dragon, English, fantasy, fantasy play, garden, gardens, geometric, griffin, Hamilton, Hamilton Gardens, heraldic, heraldic beast, intricate, knot, knot garden, Midsummer Nights' Dream, New Zealand, pattern, phoenix, play, pole, satyr, sea, sea serpent, serpent, Shakespeare, sights, sightseeing, tour, tourist, travelblogger, Tudor, unicorn

Katherine Mansfield may not be a name you know, but everyone in New Zealand knows her. Her famous short story, “The Garden Party” is depicted in a garden in Hamilton Gardens. She is by the way, often considered one of the founders of modern literature.

Tags: ambiance, art, famous, founder, garden, garden art, gardens, Hamilton, Hamilton Gardens, Katherine Mansfield, literature, modern, modern literature, New Zealand, outdoors, scupture, short story, sights, sightseeing, story, The Garden Party, tour, tourist, travelblogger, Waikato, writer

You never know when you might bump into Alice and Wonderland depictions as you travel around the world. This one was in the Hamilton Gardens in New Zealand. It is truly amazing that this story from centuries ago, has resonated so far and wide. 

Tags: Alice in Wonderland, around the world, art, centuries, century, depiction, garden, garden art, gardens, Hamilton, Hamilton Gardens, New Zealand, North Island, outdoors, public art, resonate, sculpture, sights, sightseeing, statue, story, tea party, theme, tour, tourist, travel, travelblogger, Waikato, world