Mona Vale Walk

 Yesterday we had the school van so we were able to travel to one of Christchurch's most beautiful parks. It is a long time since we have been to Mona Vale. During the earthquakes Mona Vale's brick buildings and walls either fell down, or were badly damaged, and repairs are still to be started, or are underway. Luckily the gardens are still as beautiful as ever, and there are lots of birds to be seen.

Mona Vale has some beautiful bridges to walk over.

 Rawiri was happy to be in charge of the backpack that we take on all of our outings.

 Blossom already!!!? Winter has only just started.

 We have always admired the "gingerbread cottage" at the gateway. Unfortunately there are lots of cracks in the cottage, and the chimneys fell down.

 Merit looked so beautiful in the sunlight.

 Rawiri looked for interesting things along the river walk.

 Can you see the twisted shapes of the tree branches?

 Matthew was very fast on our walk. He loves to be the leader.

 Alex thought the birds and ducks were really exciting.

 The old bath house is not able to be used at the moment. It is a beautiful old building made of lots of glass.

 Aimee-Lee and Fay enjoyed the sunshine.

 Matthew and Alex had a run around on the big lawn.

 Over the bridge.

 This year Rawiri has been interested in finding leaves. He was looking under this big tree. What colour are the leaves on this tree? If you use a communication device can you find the colour?

 We went into the gazebo. The light was shining through the stained glass windows and glowing off the tiles.

 Alex was fascinated by the stained glass windows. There is a protective sheet over the special windows so we could get up close to have a good look.

 William seemed to feel right at home in the gazebo. He sat down and looked like he wanted to stay all day.

 On outings we make sure that we have a good look around to locate the toilets, rubbish bins, drinking fountains and other things that can help us to have a good outing. We found the signs on the toilets that show who should use each toilet. Matthew is checking out the sign for the men's toilet.

 Merit found the women's toilet.

There is a drinking fountain by the bathrooms, so we checked that out too.

If you are out and about and need to use the toilet can you ask for help? If you use a communication device can you find a way to ask to use the toilet or a drink?

We are so lucky to have beautiful parks and gardens to visit in Christchurch. A long time ago the Mona Vale house and gardens were a private house. Can you imagine living in such a beautiful place?