Sunday was another beautiful day, temperatures reaching 16 in the city meant it was just perfect. Sundays are meant to be one of those days where you are meant to take your time, so with a lazy morning we headed off for a walk on the afternoon.
We decided to go to the Lady Norwood Rose Garden, which is next to the Botanical Gardens. There are sadly no roses on display at this time of year but the walk here is still stunning. You can walk through the rose gardens and into the Begonia House. It has lush tropical and semi-tropical plants including begonias and orchids. There are also spectacular seasonal displays, and a lily pond. 
Normally we would call for an ice cream but the cafe here is being revamped for the summer, poor Bethany was not pleased!!
The walk then takes you to the Bolton Street Memorial Park. Its hard to describe the pure beauty of this old grave yard. The history here is just phenomenal.
In 1851 following some controversy, the ‘town cemetery' was split into three sectarian areas known as Bolton Street Cemetery (for Church of England burials), Sydney Street Cemetery (the public one for “non-conformists”) and the Jewish Cemetery. Honestly, if you want to read just how steeped in amazing history is this place is, you can here.
We stopped off first to take in the sight of Richard Seddon's grave. Now this isn't any normal grave, he was the longest serving prime minister of New Zealand, and regarded by some as one of the best political leaders ever, one who certainly shaped New Zealand the way it is today. 
The walk then drops down past the Jewish graves on one side and the 'town' graves on the other. The scene is very serene and its interesting how 'sad' the trees are here. The view of the city behind the gravestones is an amazing sight.
We then pass the Public Cemetery Sexton's Cottage which was built of timber in 1857 and demolished in 1908. It was occupied by David Robertson, and his family for 30 years of his life, and then remained the home for his widow for the following twenty years of her life. Its brick outline can be seen on the upper lawn. Due to development though the view from here takes a dramatic change as the Highway now splits the memorial park. A step in the right direction for this amazing area I am not so sure.
After enjoying a stroll through history we hit the local garage and grabbed some ice creams. We laid back outside the parliament buildings in the sunshine and enjoyed some amazing family time.
We have so much to learn about where we live, the history and the culture, it amazes me how much we learn everyday, and we cant wait to see what we learn next.
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