It was a rather cold day with low thick clouds. I think I've become spoiled after my time in the sound. But it was a good day to get caught up on stuff. The days have just been flying by! I've now been here 5 weeks. It's hard to believe!
When Regan came home, we drove down to the store to pick up a few groceries. One of the things Regan had been talking about since I got here had been "squeaky cheese." So we picked up some halloumi to cook up in a curry dish. The excitement grew as he cut and cooked up the cheese. What did squeaky cheese sound like?! I had to know!! He threw it in with some cauliflower, kumara and a curry sauce. Soon the moment was upon us... I bit slowly into a piece of cheese... and... nothing. No squeak. I chewed it from every possible angle... and then suddenly it happened... a tiny squeak! Yes, it was definitely a squeak... but you had to get it just right on the sides of your teeth. Anyway, it wasn't QUITE what I had been expecting (a symphony of cheese noise), but it was indeed "squeaky" cheese.
Fortunately it is warmer today. I did some laundry, hung it on the line, then worked on computer stuff for most of the day.
After a quick dinner of leftover curry, bread and cheese we drove out to Otari-Wilton's Bush, an incredible park/botanic garden. We first encountered the "canopy walk." Wow! This was a walkway that literally had you walking through the tree tops of some VERY tall trees. Looking over the side, the ground was a loooong way down, and the tree tops still towered above our heads!
This is only the tippy-tops of the giant trees.
The whole bush is just incredible... packed so incredibly thick, it is too dense to walk through and very dark. It is also deceiving how tall it really is too, because when you look at a hillside, it looks just like shrubbery, but is actually all the tops of these incredibly tall trees.
Tui birds filled the air with their bizzare clicks, clacks, warbles and song.
LISTEN TO A TUI
We walked through a garden filled with native plants, including the lancewood (there was a sign which verified the moa story too!). We took a steep gravelly path down to the ravine floor and followed a small stream for a while. Small birds flitted about. Others were scampering along the ground, their presence made known only by the rustling of the fallen leaves.
The path then turned steeply upward as we made our way to Karori Cemetery located at the top of the hill. What an amazing place! The cemetery was HUGE! We entered first into the old section. It was completely overgrown. Headstones twisted among the tree branches and mingled with the flowers. Strange noises from the tui birds drifted down from the high trees. We walked among the many rows, reading the stories of past lives. At one point, a fantail decided to follow along with us. It hopped from headstone to headstone, singing and dancing for us. It finally gave up as we left the oldest part of the cemetery and moved on to some newer sections.
The fantail kept up with us for quite a while. It would always remain just within a few feet of us, putting on quite a show.
Many of the graves had these partitions. We weren't sure what they were for.
A variety of shapes and sizes... from a simple unnamed wooden marker to elaborate stone structures.
There were many different languages, such as this Chinese one.
Eh heh... his name is... Beer... heh heh heh
The "newer" sections were still pretty old and overgrown though. There were large crypts, a wide variety of tombstones, and a large military grave section.
It was interesting what people chose to have put on the headstones. Several also had photos, which I thought gave a nice feel as to who the person was.
'Tis a long, 'tis a last,
'Tis a beautiful rest,
When all sorrow has left
the brow and the breast,
And the lone spirit truly
and wisely may crave
The sleep of the dreamless,
The rest of the grave.
One of the several crypts
The color of flowers livened up the... well... dead.
Evening comes
As it started to get dark, I didn't feel like walking back through the dark bush, risking tripping over one of the many large roots that crisscrossed the steep path. So we took the road back. We passed a woman playing with her dog in the park. Immediately upon seeing us, the small white terrier ran up, found an opening in the fence, and bolted towards us (and the street). The woman freaked out, calling to it, but it acted as if she weren't even there. We tried to help catch it but it kept darting away. It ran into the road just as no cars were passing. She managed to run and get it to chase her to the far side. Finally she was able to catch it and get a leash on it. Darwinism, I suppose.
The stars had started to come out as we reached the car. We drove home and finished off a lovely dessert of whipped cream flavored with mango and passionfruit.
