You walk up the road a way, and then have to climb across a stile into the nature preserve area. I was looking forward to seeing sheep inside the fence, but the sign seems to indicate that they don't need the sheep to do their natural landscaping anymore since they planted a new kind of grass.
Although it looks like this contraption, which I'm guessing is a sheep-waterer, is still in operation.
I climbed and climbed, way up, to the top of the hill. The highest (natural) point in Auckland! It was a really hot day and I was glad I'd brought some water with me when I reached the top.
Below are views to the north and east. You can see other green parks rising up out of the city. The one with the obelisk is One Tree Hill.
Mount Eden is actually a volcano, as are the other sticking-up green parks. The crater is very steep and deep. There are numerous signs requesting that we stay out of the crater, because it is sacred to the native people and also a valuable archaeological site that they don't want damaged. So when I saw this guy, I tsk-tsked to myself... hmmph, rules don't apply to him, eh. But then I saw that he had a garbage bag and was picking up errant bits of wind-blown trash. And when he got to the bottom he shoved the rocks around with his feet to erase the name that some other disrespectful tourist had written. I forgave him. :-)
This meadow is the site of an epic battle between warring iwi (tribes). I can just imagine eight or ten fierce Maori warriors crouching in each of these mini-craters and waiting to spring out at their enemies.
This tree attracted my attention because it's so unpleasant. This tree never gets invited to the parties.
And on the stone fence surrounding the park maintenance building, is a whimsical little stone decoration. As Amiri says, "Kitties say now, now.'
2 comments:
Are those little yellow flowers I see scattered about in the meadow what I think they are? OMG! Dandelions!
is that a kittie or a rat?
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