Day 35: Peter Pan in the Botanical Gardens

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Just as she had promised, Frances picked me up at 10:15 and took me to see the Botanical Garden. The roses were in bloom, and they were beautiful, though somewhat daunted by the heavy rain we had last night. There were all sorts of varieties, old-fashioned and modern alike, including a nice display of climbing roses and ramblers.

In the gardens there was a duck pond, and one of the ducks had three adorable little ducklings. A sign explained that free duck food was available, of a type unattractive to seagulls, and I considered asking for some, but this was supposed to be a short jaunt since I would be going on the Elm Wildlife excursion later in the day.

There were statues on either side of the duck pond. One was of Peter Pan, cockily imperious as always, with Tinker Bell on his shoulder. The other was of the three children about to launch themselves from the window, while Nana looked up mournfully at them from outside. Nana wasn't obviously chained, and should have been; that was the only error I saw in either statue. They were both very lifelike.

The Gardens' restaurant was the Croque-o-dile, a "croque" apparently being some sort of sandwich or sub. I presume this was also a Peter Pan reference.
Frances treated me to another hot chocolate and half of some sort of pastry; she offered to buy me a whole one but I declined.

We also saw the greenhouses, which contained a beautiful collection of cacti (I do like cacti) and a number of other tropical and subtropical plants.
A sign explained that cacti were New World plants while succulents, which also held water, were African. I had never realized that cacti were New World. I suppose I should have, as slowly as they grow, since there are so many of them all over the western deserts.

Frances was kind enough to take me to the supermarket, too, so that worry was off my mind and I could actually rest for the two hours or so until the Elm Wildlife tour began. At 3:30, I was dressed, packed and as ready as I could be. I was anxious about the tour because my shoulder hurt and because I had failed to climb the albatross hill. I knew from their website that a hill was involved.
I resolved to do my best. I had put on both halves of my brace; I don't usually bother with the outer layer.

When the Elm Wildlife driver arrived, he took one look at me and said, "Are you sure you can handle the hills? There are steep hills involved in the tour. Didn't you know?"

I said that I had the gravest doubts about my ability to handle the hills, but that their easier Twilight Tour had not been available at the time I had booked, many months ago. He said that I could not be booked on that today, but that I could reschedule it for tomorrow. I explained about the albatross hill; he said theirs was just as bad, and that if I insisted on going on this tour I would find myself spending all my time sitting on the bus.

So we rescheduled for tomorrow. He said they might still be able to arrange the Monarch Cruise for me. If not, I may be able to get my money back, or go again to see the albatrosses (though I'm not sure they'll be glad to see me if I do; the mobility scooter was a bit of a hassle for them, I think). It was rather a let-down, all dressed up and no place to go, but it's probably for the best. It will give my shoulder another day to heal.

I went out to see if I could buy some soy lecithin, but no pharmacies were open. I also tried to walk to the bus station and found that in my current condition (shoulder hurting, ankle sore from that sign that fell on it) I couldn't. Fortunately the Kiwi's Nest staff tells me that a taxi will cost less than $10.

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Photos

Fern
In the greenhouse.

Comments

[NGOC]

BOTANICAL GARDEN
THIS BLOG MAKE ME MISS NZ SO SO MUCH. I USED TO LIVE AT NURSES HOSTEL UP HILL AND WORKED IN THE HOSPITAL NEXT DOOR IN 1974. I WALKED THRU THIS GARDEN ALMOST EVERY DAY -A SHORT CUT TO DOWN TOWN AND THE BANK. MARKET... I PLAN TO COM BACK IN A FEW MONTHS TO SEE MY DEAR FRIEND. THANK FOR THIS BLOG.

[Kevan]

Croque
Croque was almost certainly short for Croque Monsieur It's a French cheese and ham toasted sandwich, except, being French, it tastes a whole lot better than it sounds There's also a Croque Madam which is a Croque Monsieur with an egg on top I think Croque means bite as in a snack