Symphony to Flowers

Another fine weekend with partly cloudy (which means partly sunny) and mild days and nights.  The Howick Market was hopping this Saturday with fresh produce, Middle Eastern fare, and an assortment of plants.  Howickians were out in droves enjoying a cuppa with friends along the sidewalk cafes.  What a pleasant way to begin a Saturday.  Then it was on to Mangemangeroa Reserve for a quick 2 hour bush walk.  No pictures since I have already posted some from this walk.  We topped this relaxing day with a visit to the Vodafone Events Center for a concert entitled "We are Pasifika" with the Manukau Symphony Orchestra in collaboration with Auckland's Pasifica community.  The soloists were incredible and had absolutely beautiful voices.  The concert honored all Pacific Islanders and Maori beginning with the usual Maori greeting.  Children from the Auckland area played instruments and familiar songs in an incredible collaborative venture.  Their conductor was Irish and Samoan.  Here are a few photos.

You can see the choirs on the top bleachers that was made up of students from several schools.

Our friend, Chris, who plays a French Horn with the symphony invited us to this concert and was one of the musicians invited to play a conch shell at the onset of the concert.  Here is a picture of her taken after the concert.

It is so cool.  Each conch has a mouth piece inserted in it and each makes a different sound.  It produced an unusual musical sound.

Sunday was another perfect day for an adventure.  So we piled in Carol's car and headed 2 hours south to Hamilton to visit the Hamilton Gardens.  These Gardens are a public park owned by the people of Hamilton.  There is no admission fee.  Not only did we enjoy the gardens but continued on a river walkway into the town for lunch.  A beautiful area.

                                This waterfall greeted us as we took our first turn in the park.

                           These blue boys were sunning themselves on a rock in Turtle Lake.

                           Check out how the circle is completed in the reflection in the water.

No, it's not the Wizard of Oz --- though we did feel like we were following the yellow brick road.  This is Sue and our favorite NZ dog, Archie, Carol, and the Scarecrow himself.

My favorite was the Indian Char Bagh Garden with this array of flowers.  The dianthus and poppies were so vibrant.

This is the long view of the four-quartered garden built as an escape from a harsh environment in 16th Century India.

This is another example of the walled gardens.  It is an interpretation of 15th -16th Century Italian Renaissance gardens.

There were several examples of walled gardens that were fun to experience and walk through.

And I will end in the Te Parapara,  the garden demonstrating traditional Maori horticulture,  with two figures that are important in the Maori culture.  The extension of the tongue is not disrespectful as it is in our culture.  Notice --- no purple raincoat ----

                                                                          Kia Ora