Family Places at Auckland

Yesterday I went to places that's great for families with small kids. At Crystal Mountain, guests are encouraged to pet farm animals, ride a pony and ride a train. They even have some kiddie rides,  including a small rollercoaster where my two-year old flatmate simply had a blast! Afterwards it was late lunch at Western Springs Park, just across Auckland Zoo. There were so many families out today coz the sun's out and it's probably the first warm Saturday after winter. We still have the zoo in our itenerary for the day so eventhough it would have been great to just lie around in the park all day, we had to go again.

Auckland Zoo was full! There were a lot of folks with small kids, mostly toddlers either strapped or on strollers. The zoo got a variety of animals and blends in some natural history of NZ as well as some environmental campaigns.

We were in there for about 3 hours and I really felt exhausted. I've been out all day the day before and here I am again walking about. 

Kangaroos

 After the zoo, we drove to up to One Tree Hill. The hill is like a far with sheeps grazing in the pasture. That's the interesting contrast that's probably unique to Auckland, having a farm or a horse in one's backyard within Auckland. The house owner on where we went to just a few paces from our place owns a horse! And i see a lot of boats parked next to the garage in the homes here.

Sheep in their pasture, One Tree Hill

As the sun sets, I got occupied with trying to feel my numb fingers and in trying to get a nice view of Auckland at dusk. I can see how big Cornwell Park is and how many Sakura trees there are. I'm sure it's all going to be beautiful when the flowers bloom. I miss my kids more.

Dusk at Auckland Central