Blockhouse Bay

It was 9 a.m. The temperature was about 45 degrees and the sky was gray and threatening rain. It was time for me to jump on a train and bus and go somewhere. I decided on Blockhouse Bay. (I saw it listed as one of the stops that bus 68 makes after leaving New Lynn and I liked the name.) 

The name blockhouse refers to a military building that's built to withstand (block) musket balls.  

The sails one sees all over the Blockhouse Bay area are a tribute to the area's maritime history. 

That's a big planter along the street.

This house was built in 1890 and stayed in the Armanasco family until 1987. It was then almost demolished. At the last moment, it was purchased, refurbished and now continues under the care of the Historical Society. 

The Gittos family arrived in New Zealand around 1850 and generations of them expanded and prospered. 

This sign shows the trail system that winds throughout the area named for them. It is deceptive. All those little white lines look so innocent that ageing, slightly overweight gentlemen can easily be lured in to strolling into it's green passageways.  However, if the steep stair sections that hide in, and dominate this domain were shown in red, then the map would show very little white.   

At this point in my walk, I was still blissfully unaware of what I was getting into.

I have just walked down at least 50 steps. I turned around to take this picture and discovered that I can show you only the last batch of steps. The rest of the 'flight' disappears around the corner and goes up and up and out of sight. 

The path flattens out for a short ways and crossed a short bridge. 

Just beyond the bridge I started descended more stairs....
Hmmm.. paraphrasing...What goes down has got to come up? 

Oh no. I thought so.  Look at what is at the end of this new bridge I'm crossing. This stretch of steps led me to another, steeper set that led in turn to an equally steep path. I was seeing stars and my ears were ringing. It's a good thing there were no bugs in the air around me because I could not have avoided inhaling clouds of them as I labored to pay off my oxygen debt. 

I had stumbled along only a small portion of the domain and decided that it appeared to consist of mostly stairs. If the rest of the paths were similar to what I had just endured, I wanted no part of it.  I was fortunately able to exit it from the side and found myself on a street just above the Bay, Blockhouse that is.  

A sign said that at low tide, one could walk around the point seen in the distance and find the start of another trail farther on. Well, it wasn't low tide now, so I wasn't going to follow it. The black thing at the top of the picture is my umbrella. It is raining gently. 

This is the view to the right of the little wharf I was standing on in the last picture. 

I am now walking back up the street away from the bay and am looking at someone's front steps. They too go up and up and disappear around a corner.  You've got to be hearty to live around here. 

(Hmmm. the old questions of nature vs. nurture...Do you have to Be hearty to live here, or are you Made hearty by living here?) 

Well, I made it. I am once again up to the level of the town  and am passing this long planting of lavender. 

'I shall commence to walk hence, past this immense fence of intense incense.' 

(I don't think my blood O2  levels are still back up to normal. I'm probably delirious)

I like that tree against the blue background and the painting.

I had done this trip today as a test. I wondered if Blockhouse Bay and Gittos Domain might be a good place to bring Jeanne when her knee gets a little better. The answer is no. That domain is an obstacle course. We 'mature' explorers need to search out mundane sorts of trails to follow, not the exciting ones.  

Actually, I should have expected this from a 'domain.' The word comes to us from Latin. 

Dominus, master. In French, domaine, power. In middle English, demeine, rule. Yipes, no wonder it was a tough hike.  

I need to take Jeanne to places that are a bit more friendly to the older set. Maybe like the Tui Glen Reserve.  From the Latin reservare, preserve, protect. Yeah, that's what J and I need. Some preserving. I need to do some more research.  

I'll get right on it.                                                                                -djf

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Here is this post's limerick. This was written sometime after Fred spotted a deer with only one ear not far from Four Corners. We had been driving around looking at deer the day before Michigan's Firearms Deer Season opener on Nov. 15th.  

That deer with odd ears is from Nizes,
Where they grow deer with ears of two sizes,
At Nizes' yearly Ear Fest, 
Those deer's ears judged the best,
Win the top Nizes' Odd Deer Ear Prizes.  

If you recite it aloud and maintain the rhythm limericks are supposed to have, it also counts as a tongue twister.