Fall at Hagley Park

We have been enjoying a change of seasons here on the southern island. Hagley park in Christchurch is one of our favorite places to walk and enjoy the fall foliage!

The boys gather leaves in a pile and jump in.

The trees in the park are huge, with some of them being over 100 years old. The tree trunks are the width of a VW Bug car. Very cool!

The evening are crisp and we have taken out the winter blankets and fleece jackets. With the heaters on, we can keep the house at 20 C, with outside temps at night falling to 9 C some nights.

Ben is on vacation for two weeks for school holidays, but Zack and Mike are on regular school/ work schedule.  So, Ben and I have been swimming at Jellie Park pool and Gordon Condon pool. Good way to start the morning.

ANZAC Day

Next Thursday is a holiday! People sell red poppies to wear on your shirt. A Memorial Day of sorts.



ANZAC day is a Memorial Day for soldiers that fought in WW 1, so they have parades and memorial services.

All these Kiwi holidays...hard to keep track of!

Update: so we sold red poppies to pin to your shirt last Sat in front of Harvey Norman department store. My kids drove the middle aged ladies selling sausage nearby insane! Oh well, my loud American kids were too "annoying" , so we were asked to leave by the sausage sizzling gals after 30 mins. The sky was raining a solid downpour, so it was good timing.

Then, on Anzac Day, we marched with the scouts in the Papanui parade, which was fun. Here is a pic of us in our scouting uniforms for the ANZAC parade.

Autumn in Christchurch

A very warm Easter weekend this autumn, so we decided to take a walk through Hagley Park's botanical gardens.

Zack has also taken an interest in gathering feathers for a nature collection.

Our favorite redwood tree!

My family loves this redwood tree because it is huge and easy to climb on.

There are some deciduous trees at the park, so we made a leaf pile and the boys jumped in for fun.

Can you spot the two paradise shellducks next to the silver metal structure at the park's pond?

 

The warm fall means there are a ton of flowers still in full bloom, which is neat.