13th September 2020.
This was actually our Father's Day celebration. Father's Day was the Sunday before but luckily for Garth, myself and Heidi we were in Queenstown and we couldn't celebrate the "Good Old Dad" without all the offspring being there!
So we chose 13th September as our Father's Day and planned a surprise day out for Dad. Heidi had made vouchers that Garth would receive at breakfast, his fave pancakes, to give him clues as to where we were going.
We chose Hamilton Zoo, it has been a long time since we have been there, it was before we had children!
Hamilton Zoo is only a 1 hour 20 min drive from us so very doable for a day trip. It is on the outskirts of Hamilton but not too far that you can't venture into Hamilton afterwards.
Well, we loved it! We spent pretty much the whole day there. I had made a picnic for lunch and we treated ourselves to ice creams for an after lunch treat, biggest and most generous ice creams ever!
We have been to Auckland Zoo numerous times and love it but Hamilton is very different we loved the more park like surroundings and the seemingly more open spaces. They have some different animals, we were really hoping to see the chimps but they were not out on display but we saw so many other very cool animals. A new find for us were the Agouti, they are a rodent about the size of a large rabbit and we were taken with them!! Marcus loves Cabybaras and these were the closest thing at Hamilton Zoo! The pigs (!) were also a big hit as were the Painted Dogs. There are heaps of Rhinos in a great enclosure. There was lots of space and not many people so it was a great day for just wondering around. There were plenty of places to sit for a picnic, the cafe looked nice but like all places like this was on the pricey side.
We definitely have plans to go back!
After most of the day at the zoo we headed into Hamilton and the girls got
their K Mart fix whilst the boys went to a driving range! Different ideas on how to spend late Saturday afternoon having fun! Great K Mart in Hamilton!
Dinner we had at Gengys, we have eaten at Gengys a few times but not at the Hamilton one. It was very busy when we arrived and we thought it may have been a mistake but it turned out there was big 18th party at the back of the restaurant and once they had finished eating and singing it was a lot less crowded! Gengys is a Mongolian BBQ, you pick your own meat, veg and sauces and take your bowl full to the chefs with the big hot plate in the centre of the kitchen and they cook your food there and then! It is fun to watch a very sociable way to eat! There are a huge variety of veges, meat and seafood for you to make your own concoctions! They also have a little buffet with soup, hot chips, nibbles, bread and other bits. There is not a huge selection of dessert but there are pancakes, ice cream and a few other treats. It is a place that is worth trying at least once.
A fabulous Day Out!
https://www.gengys.co.nz/
Comments