Have you ever done it? Travelling north from Hamilton, wishing they would complete the expressway, driving through Ngaruawahia, then the sign: Town Centre 150m Turn Right. Why not I thought? I realised I’d never been into the town centre. Come to think of it, I wasn’t sure that I even knew that there was a town centre. 
Wasn’t it just that BP, the pub with the huge Waikato Draft sign and a couple of shops on the main road? Well no, actually, there’s more to it and it’s not bad. Tidy, some nice buildings and quite a lot of activity. Not exactly Matamata (who would have thought you would look up to Matamata!) but it’s okay. So what is Ngaruawahia about? The Maori King, close to Mt Taupiri and probably it’ll be the last town to be avoided before Hamilton as the expressway starts it’s next trip south and away from all those small towns. The street you drive in to get to the town centre is Galileo Street. I wonder how they ended up with that one? Maybe like me, they like space. Could be why you’d live there too.
There’s a website for the town if you’re interested.
