Greenhithe

I've shown you many of the suburbs of Auckland. Today's subject, Greenhithe, seems to me to be a bit more village-like than suburb-like. It's farther out, on the very edge of Auckland. The 120 bus, which has the longest route of any of the buses I know, and ends its run way up on the north shore at the Constellation Terminal, goes through Greenhithe. A couple of weeks ago, I rode along and hopped off just opposite Collins Park. 

There is nothing wildly exciting here, but it's a nice place to walk around. I was treated very nicely in the bakery where I bought the pie that I'll show you in a minute. I suppose I spent about an hour wandering. Take a look...

Collins Park

The 'Old School' is a historic building that is now rented out for gatherings. 

It's winter and that means Wet. I doubt that many folks will be trying out this hammock in the middle of the park. 

See, it is a village.

I always feel a connection when I see Fire Halls (Brigades)

 One sees paths like this all over the place here. Shortcuts between neighborhoods. Let's follow this one...

Cabbage trees...an edible (I've never tried it) palm. You pull off all the leaves and boil up the remaining part. Tastes like, you guessed it, cabbage. 

You see this sort of fencing all over the place. It is 'hardwood broom.' It is supposed to be good for sound absorption. And, supposed to last up to 20 years. I would imagine that these are produced in a factory, but they made me think of cedar brush blankets.  

 And here is the neighborhood beyond the shortcut. 

I've retraced my steps and am back on Greenhithe Road. It's getting on toward lunch. Maybe just a small snack ...

Not pasties of course, but tasty meat pies very similar to our 'pot pies.' These are very popular and you often see people snacking on them as they walk around town. My favorite is the chichen. Steak and cheese is good too. The mince is okay, but I think they tend to put too much clove in those. The tube shaped things on the bottom shelf are sausage rolls. I don't like them much because I don't like the sausage. It is very finely ground and contains too much filler of some sort. They are popular though. 

I think that most of the pies here have a crust made of puff pasty. They are very flakey and light. It is impossible to eat, especially while walking down a street, without leaving a substantial trail of crumbs behind you. Which will disappear almost as quickly as you can lay it down, due to the opportunistic birds which are never far away. 

The Malt is not far from the bus stop I need to reach for the return trip to Henderson. I've had a nice time getting to know this rather quiet corner of Auckland.     -djf