Monday, October 29, 2012

Parkinson Walk Monday 29th October

Today's walk was in the grounds of the Museum and Heritage Park at Maunu.  In spite of the forecast we were, once again, lucky with the weather.


 The above is an old school and I should have taken a photo of the rules for teachers which included that they must not marry during their term of contract,  be in a vehicle with a man other than father or brother, skirt to be no less that 2 inches above ankle, not wear bright colours, sweep the classroom daily etc etc.
 There are two different train systems in the complex and this is the main station.  (Kauri is just on the outskirts of Whangarei.)

 The above is an old (octagonal) church from Oruaiti in the north.
These hens and their chick were delightful


 This shed of old tractors was the only one open today.  There were photos of the tractors before they were done up.
 This little model of a tractor and driver is a work of art.
The complex is built on the Clarke family land and the old homestead is still there.  This was the grave of (I presume) the original Clarkes.

None of us had seen a white peacock before - he was a real show off.

We then headed further into the country to Maungatapere to the Office - a cafe in what was the office of the former Dairy Factory and enjoyed a coffee and chat and sorted out where the next walk will be.

Oh, and at the start of the walk we were joined by a photographer and reporter from our local paper, the Northern Advocate who are doing an article on Parkinson's

7 comments:

  1. Lovely old tractors, I drove a Fordson which had rubber tyres at the front and the larger rear tyres had steel blades on them,Guess any farmer would be very interested looking at these. Greetings from Jean

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, the tractors are great. It was amazing to see the "before" photos. We were lucky as someone was working in that shed so it was open. Generally, it is only on "Open Days" that everything is open and the trains are running. Must go to the next one.

      Delete
  2. Wow Susan you got some amazing photos! Thank you for sharing. I will show my hubby the one with the tractors as the little grey one looks exactly like our 1948 8n tractor. Love ALL your photos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is an amazing place - must take my camera when I go to an "Open Day"

      Delete
  3. You HAVE seen a white Peacock before; at Kew Gardens. I was with you. The Grey Fergie is my all time favourite tractor.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good grief - when was that - I have no recollection of it at all.

      Delete
  4. Just doing some catching up after the journey, Susan, and sorry to hear you haven't been feeling well. Both your walks look fascinating. I love the idea of a walk through lovely scenery and also including a visit to a place of interest like that.

    ReplyDelete