Now, what season is this again?

We don't know what to think of the southern hemisphere! We think we're almost in the dead of winter - just passed the shortest day of the year. However, looking around, we're not really sure. The tree at the foot of our stairs is a bare skeleton - not a leaf left on it. The flower bed planted under it is a carpet of violets in full bloom, beautiful fragrent little purple flowers. In among the violets, spring bulbs have popped up - narcissus blooms. And then, in a pot under the tree, we have a Christmas cactus in full bloom. Down the street is a sweet gum tree full of yellow, orange, red and maroon leaves. And the grass is as green as ever. Rain, wind, sun, clouds, whatever you want, just wait and it will be here. So what season is it? Heck if we know!

We spent a nice leisurely Saturday at home last Saturday, socked in with fog – the first we’ve seen since we’ve been here. We cooked, cleaned, did laundry, had a haircut, read, talked to several family members via Skype, and just generally relaxed, but by the end of the day, we had a touch of cabin fever. We’re so used to being outdoors on Saturdays! We went for a long walk in a very silent evening, quieted by the fog. We were down on the beach for part of it, listening to a fog horn out on the water. Good day.

The week before we decided to go back to one of the first places we visited. It’s actually two parks, side by side. One Tree Hill, when acquired by the English, had...one tree on it! It’s one of the highest of Auckland’s fifty or so volcanos and can been seen from all over the area. We were there on a gray, blustery day the first time, but this time was a beautiful, crisp bright sunshiney Fall-like day. The road leading up to the top is lined with a moss-covered volcanic rock wall.

However, this time we decided, rather than walking up the road, to do the climb up through the steep fields. There are remnants of an old olive grove planted there in the late 1800s, as well as sheep and cows roaming in various places. These hills are steep and were terraced by the Maoris. The hill is said to have been a stronghold of the Maoris in earlier days. The terraces make the climb a little easier, because you climb for awhile, then hit a level spot, and then go up again from there.

There is monument is at the top, where we had a beautiful view of the whole surrounding area.

We could look out across a couple miles and see another volcanic hill and a range of mountains beyond it.

Many more trees now grow on the hillsides, and this was a big, beautiful one, with a little foot path going past, and a beautiful view of the surrounding area.

An English nobleman by the name of Campbell owned the hill and property adjacent to it, intending to build his home on the estate. He hired a landscape architect, who began laying out the grounds. The architect was familiar with Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, and incorporated some of the ideas from there. The very long drive leading up to the future home site was planted with trees on both sides of the “carriage way”, intending for the trees to arch over the roadway in a canopy. They’re huge beautiful trees now, and do provide that archway. Another divided drive was planted with oaks on both sides of the street and in the promenade that now make a double arch. The promenade is also planted with bulbs and is said to be a gorgeous stroll in the spring, with the daffodils and blue bells carpeting the ground under the oaks. Once spring is here, we'll have to make another trip back here.

This Campbell guy didn’t ever build his house here, but instead deeded all the property to the city as a park. The hill is still One Tree Hill, but the remainder of the park is called Cornwall Park, and is free and open to the public year round. During WWII, an American Army Hospital was built on the grounds, and used to treat casualties of the Pacific battles. It has long since been demolished and the grounds returned to a park setting.

It was a beautiful crisp, sunny day and we thoroughly enjoyed our walk up the hill and around the park. We took a lunch with us and were so glad to have spent another wonderful day outdoors in this beautiful place.