AMBURY PARK SATURDAY 24TH JULY
What a bit of luck...no rain, so off we headed to Ambury Park, Mangere. When we arrived we read our options, as to which walk we'd do. We chose to do the 'Foreshore Walk', along the way we stopped to read the information boards, doing so meant we not only enjoyed a leisurely walk, but learnt a lot.
Here are a few facts we learnt...
18 000 years ago Mangere Mountain erupted, throwing out a whole heap of ash. The ash enriched the soil in the area, and that's why it became a popular area for Maori people to settle (they arrived in the area about 700 years ago) as it was easy to grow crops there.
In the 1890s, Stephen and Joseph Ambury (brothers) started a Creamery and Butter factory in the area. They would deliver fresh milk to the people in the neighbourhood, as there were no shops to buy bottled milk from in those days. When people had finished their supply, they'd leave their 'billies' or 'milking jars' out for refilling when the brothers came by with their horse and cart.
We also learnt that the lava that was thrown out cooled and turned into porous rock, which is different to the usual rock we see around, which is solid. The porous rocks, that is rocks which have lots of little holes in, allow water to filter through and often little springs are formed.
Sadly, we also noticed garbage lying around, such as plastic bottles, crisp packets and even old tyres. This was distressing to see, as we are learning about the impact we as people, have on our ocean communities, as well as our environment. Let's be responsible and remember, to reuse, reduce and recycle.
Even though we came across the 'garbage' problem, we had a fabulous morning, as you can see in our photographs below.
Written by: Diana and Tohi
