HAMILTON LAKE & TAITUA ARBORETUM
26TH JULY 2010
By Maurice Boniface
Ken said that we haven't been to the Taitua Arboretum at Hamilton for three years so we decided to go there on Monday. We met at Wesley and I took Norma, Ken and Terry with me. I put my Navman on the windscreen for a bit of fun. They were intrigued with how the lady told us which exit on each roundabout to take etc and the little arrow, which represented the car, made its way along the road on the screen. I turned it off when we got to Hamilton because I had put the wrong street address in, so Ken and Norma became 'the voice' and directed me! We went to the Arboretum first and put on our warm gear because it was pretty cloudy and cool but there was no wind. The Arboretum was gifted to the Hamilton City Council in 1997 by the Mortimers - they had started planting trees in 1973 and now there are over 1500 species. We set off down the well metalled paths and passed some Guinea Fowl on the other side of the fence and a notice saying that there was poison in yellow dispensers to control rats and possums. There was a panel with a map of the paths which go in a wiggly figure eight. We came to an open area with a paddock with some cattle at the far end under the trees. Down the slope and in the middle was a ring of rocks like a miniature Stonehenge. Ken said it was a very English looking scene. We entered the bush again and saw a Moa lurking in the trees - he was made out of metal. The deciduous trees were all bare and the ground under them was thick with dead leaves. Quite a few of the trees had name plaques at their base including the botanical names. We passed some Redwoods which are called Sequoia. They were very tall with thin trunks. There were swampy parts with boardwalks over them. We came across a shrub with bright red berries behind large leaves and Gum Trees with their bark hanging down in long strips. Another animal lurking in the trees was a large black bull with white beady eyes, also made of metal, thank goodness! There were quite a few chooks wandering around under the trees and they would come rushing up to us hoping to get some food! We passed a small lake with an island in the middle, then came to a map which showed us we had got to the crossover of the paths so we took the farm forestry walk. Ken suddenly realised it was past ten o'clock so we went to one of the three Gazebos in the park and sat there for morning tea. I rang Mum and it was very clear.
We continued down the path and came to some Apple Trees, Malus Domestica, and various Lemon Trees. The path then goes down an avenue of trees and comes to another lake with a gazebo on the other side. We had lunch here last time. We continued on until we came to a sign 'Walkway to Tills Lookout and Wallace Road' so we went up there. It leaves the Arboretum and goes up through farmland. There was a herd of Hereford Cattle in the paddock beside the track and they bellowed loudly at our intrusion on their area. The house at the top was most unusual, the bedroom on the second floor had floor to ceiling windows and the double bed was there for all to see. There was a work of art in the garden made of tubular steel like part of a huge dish. We went to Wallace Road and had a good look around the countryside. We could see the white Mormon Temple across the paddocks with Kakepuku Peak behind it, which we have climbed and Pirongia Peak on the skyline. We went back the way we had come and passed an old couple out for a walk. We passed a group of Monkey Puzzle Trees and I felt one which pricked me through my gloves! We saw a yellow dispenser in amongst the dead leaves. We crossed a bridge over a lake and saw some ducks asleep with their heads tucked into their feathers, one of them was standing on one leg! We went and had a look at the other gazebo which had a Welcome Swallow's nest up in its rafters. We crossed the meadow with the stone ring in it and came to a wooden table which had a plaque 'For Clare who loved this place'. There were some wooden seats so we sat down and Terry and I took photos of the group. Behind it was a large area under the trees with Daffodil plants whose leaves were appearing all over the place and even one or two flowers coming out. We passed an old moss covered wooden frame and Ken said it was a Wigwam for a Goose's Bridle while Laurie said it was an ancient solar panel! We came to a big Camellia Tree with huge flowers on it so Terry and I again took photos. We made our way back to the car and set off for Hamilton Lake. Norma and Ken again supplying 'the voice'. We went into the car park near the Hamilton Yacht Club buildings. There was a sign nearby which said 'Lake Rotoroa - Hamilton Lake'. We carried our packs over to the building which had a bench seat right along the front of it on the lake edge. It was now twelve o'clock so time for lunch. I rang Mum and of course it was a very good signal. I sent a text 'Lunch near lake Rotoroa' and got quite a few replies. After a while I relented and sent them another on 'Lake Rotoroa, Hamilton'. Over the other side of the lake was a building with a long verandah in front with a curved roof. They said it was the new restaurant which had been built where the old tea kiosk used to be. Of course the ducks came around looking for a feed and also a couple of Pukeko who were so tame they would come up and take crusts from Terry's hand! The sun had come out earlier so it was lovely sitting in the warm with little wind and watching the people going passed as we ate.
We took our packs back to the car and set out around the lake in the opposite direction to the one we usually take. There was a notice saying that they lock the access roads at night and there is a $35 fee to unlock the gates if your car is locked in! Norma and I followed Ken and Terry and they took us up and down hill when we got around to the other end. There were beds of snowdrops flowering away under the trees. We came to the old railway engine on display. It was a F230 Smithys Special built in Glasgow in 1880 for NZ Railways and served in New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Napier and Wellington. Napier Harbour Board then owned it and finally a timber mill used it to haul logs. They presented it to the Park in 1957 and it was still in good working order then. We looked across the road and there was the new restaurant and it is called The Verandah! We crossed the road with Wallflowers in full bloom in the garden beds alongside and walked in front of the Verandah where people were sitting inside and out having lunch. There is a lawn in front down to the lake edge with a notice which said 'picnic lawn'. Further along was a playground with all sorts of things for kids to play on. Looking across the lake from there you could see the Yacht Club building where we had lunch. I will attach a photo. The building is between the two palms. Norma and Terry's heads are just showing at the bottom of the picture. Along a bit further were a couple of Chinese girls feeding the Ducks, Pigeons and Pukeko. Up on the hill were large houses, the biggest one was in the process of being renovated. There were quite a few park seats along the walkway dedicated to various people and a house with a couple of mature Lancewood Trees with their leaves going upwards instead of downwards in the juvenile ones. Another house had a statue of a White Heron flying up from their garden. Up the hill behind all these houses was the Waikato Hospital glistening white in the sun with blue sky all around it. Another house had a bronze dragon statue on its lawn behind a railing fence. The path now becomes a boardwalk over part of the lake. We saw a chap paddling his kayak around the lake. There was a patch of Water Lilies near the edge and a couple of old dead trees with Shags on their branches warming their wings in the sun. We got back to the car then drove to Cambridge to Lake Te Ko Utu which has a park around it. There were several classes of children from a local school doing all sorts of things on the lawns. We walked along the path around the lake. We came to the Olympia Flowforms, which is a long series of concrete cups which the water flows down on the side of a hill. We found they had built a wooden staircase on the side of it which spoilt the look of the waterfall. We climbed up to the top and found there was a plastic pipe taking the water to the top of the falls. Where it came from we couldn't tell. We continued around the lake and saw a tree with its autumn leaves still on it down the other end. Across the lake, up in amongst the trees was a Wattle Tree in full flower, its bright yellow flowers contrasting against the green of the trees around it. It was also reflected in the lake below. There were various paths going off the one we were on and when we got around the other side we found the children were heading up one that lead to the top, on their way back to school I suppose. We got back to the car, had afternoon tea and set off back home. I put my Navman on again with our home address and when we got back to Tauranga she didn't like us going to Wesley and kept telling us to go down all the side streets along Cameron Road to go back to where our place is. I got home at 4.30 p.m.
E-mail
Return to Walking Group Page |
