Somewhere worth a visit and a slow wander is Te Marae o Hine - right in the centre of the city.
Te Marae o Hine was central, both in location and in spirit, to the development of our city. It remains central to our city as a place we gather and celebrate. Until the 60s this was where the trains came in and the area was lined with hotels and shopping. It was truly the heart of our city. Now it is still surrounded by good shopping and food options and the old department store now houses our wonderful city library. We spend time here each year remembering the sacrifice of war, welcoming the new year, attending fairs, concerts and celebrations of our city's wealth of beautiful cultures. Even without an event or memorial service, it is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon. My children have spent many hours wandering through the quadrants of the square, always finding ways to entertain themselves. All I have to do is follow and provide them time and snacks. Today we grabbed a sushi lunch and sat under the clock tower to eat. Of course, it didn't take long for toddler to wander off towards the duck pond. He was content to watch the ducks today and not hop in the water. No doubt the request for a swim will come someday. Should I say yes??!! In true toddler fashion, we then zig zagged over the grass mounds, back past the clock tower, through the trees, where we collected sticks, and took an exploratory mission through the Ladies Rest. I love the Ladies Rest; it smells so good and is such a calming spot to take a rest. To me, it is the window into history and I always feel nostalgic (for the good bits only). Aside from the usual facilities, there is a great space for mums, which has changing and feeding facilities including highchairs, and a wee kids loo. There is also another parents room around the corner so dads doing child duties have facilities too. Back outside, my big girl found a shady spot to read and toddler wandered up and down the steps of the King Edward II fountain, climbed across the benches, followed the pathways, and fluffed the hedges and hydrangeas. While he wandered we did a little wild art project - some temporary tagging using our stick collection. Next we found the horse hitchings and the mini hills. Toddler wasn't keen to roll down but more than confident to carefully step down a really big hill... After some more zigzagging, wandering, running, and joyously shouting, and we ended up back at our car, ready to go home. Going slow and letting our wee one decide what's next makes for a relaxed and interesting adventure. It's also nice to let him have a say in when the adventure is over - he knows his limits and knows when his adventure mode is satisfied. Te Marae o Hine is full of history and has a surprising number of spaces to play. I can't recommend it enough if you're looking for a slow, non-specific adventure that can happen in the middle of the city bustle.
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AuthorI'm Kate. I have 3 children - 2 bios and a steppie, 1 under 5 and 2 tweenagers. I am determined to spend more time outside this year and share more of Palmy's wonderful places and free play activities. Categories
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