Waipa at heart of tourism in Waikato
Kelly Rd Cambridge Lodge officially opened its doors and special guests gathered for the celebration.
Sir Colin Meads and Verna Lady Meads, along with Sir Patrick Hogan, politicians, business and community leaders attended Cambridge’s newest accommodation facility.
The lodge, on the corner of Hamilton and Kelly Rds, is ideally situated between the town, the Avantidrome and near the Te Awa Cycleway, St Peter’s School and the Te Awa Retirement Village, which is under construction.
The lodge provides 22 boutique rooms, consisting of one bedroom suites, two bedroom suites and studio apartments.
Waipa Mayor Jim Mylchreest, one of the guest speakers, said the lodge would boost the district’s accommodation offering.
It would help meet demand of Waipa’s growing events and visitor programmes.
‘‘And it continues to grow, based on high standards through all of our facilities such as the Avantidrome, Karapiro, our equestrian centres and Mystery Creek where the Fieldays is held.
‘‘To live in a district such as this is just a blessing and to have a facility like this is a great achievement. Many motels end up in the Environment Court but you’ve [developers] done everything well to please our planners and keep everyone happy.’’
Mylchreest said the opening of the lodge was timely, given the completion of the Cambridge sec- tion of the Waikato Expressway and visitor numbers on the rise.
‘‘Cambridge is certainly a destination and from a tourism perspective, the heart of the Waikato.’’
He said tourism was becoming a major export earner for New Zealand and it was thanks to investors like Kelly Rd Cam- bridge Lodge director Terry McFadden and Livingstone Building NZ, which had constructed the lodge.
‘‘I suppose the major goal of tourism in Waikato is to encourage people to spend more than one night in the area so facilities like this are essential for Waipa. Council can provide infrastructure and facilities but without the people I have mentioned, we wouldn’t be able to make this a community people want to live in.’’
Mylchreest, highlighting the district’s Home of Champions theme, had earlier in his speech said he believed Sir Colin had been born in Cambridge. Sir Colin nodded in approval.