A daywalk in the Wellington Botanic Gardens

The wind it blew, the rain it fell
The weather bomb had hit
Did this put us off our walk?
No!  (Well, maybe a bit.)

No epic voyage did we plan
Our spines were less than hardened
With our kids our journey took us
To the botanic gardens.

With the gales blowing, the sleet a’lashing
A lot of people piked
But right on time, the storm clouds cleared
And the sun came shining bright

‘Neath the watery sun we headed in
To where the hot plants grow
To see the ferns and poke the cactus
And the fish that chew on your toes!

But caffeine poor we all did feel
So it was time for tea
And coffee, biscuits, chocolate cake
Gluten free – just for All-y.

The café was warm, but we couldn’t stay
We needed to be fleet
So off we headed up the hill
For sculptures of concrete.

The wall of bright and shiny stone
Meant we had to try
A careful balance standing thing
That made you seem to fly!

We found a place where we could chat
While kids played on the grass
Chasing, shouting, laughing too
When Dom fell on his – face.

Wandering further up we found
The Meteorological Service
So no surprise the rain stopped on time
Back when we thought it’d beat us

The track was steep, the children found
The grade too hard to bear
Until I pulled my usual trick
Of jellybeans to share

At last we made the summit high
With views that went so far
Across the town and hills behind
And look – the cable car!

The cable car made cries of glee
As kids piled on and then
To Lambton Quay and straight back up
(Why did we walk again?)

But Dom and Si were drawn
To the cable car museum
To see the cars of old and yore
Nothing rhymes with Museum!

But me and Beth and others too
Thought the view too good to miss
So we sat around and talked a while
Of stuff, and that, and this.

Eventually we’d had our fill
Of views and history and riding
So down again we ran and ran
To the playground so exciding

The slide was steep and fast and great
With chains of children popping out
The flying fox was long and fast
and loud with screams and shouts.

And that was where our trip did finish
Not the staunchest in this book
But if you want a day with fresh air and play
The gardens, they’re worth a look

So watch for family trips like this
And easy daywalks too
You won’t be bagging mighty peaks
But a good time will ensue!