However, in the interest of maintaining some form of sanity, study breaks are a necessity. Public holidays are wonderful because there is no class, which for the graduate student translates to more study time! The most recent holiday we had was Anzac Day (a month ago, paper writing has taken priority over blog writing) which happened to fall on a Wednesday so it was a nice mid-week break to catch up on some things. But it was also a beautiful,warm and sunny day. So I got up early to be productive and decided my mental health break would be attending the mid-morning Anzac service that was only a few blocks from where I am living. It was a beautiful service, a lovely way to remember and be thankful for the sacrifice of those before us.
The only problem was that I realized when it was over that I was not yet ready to head back home and continue with academic productivity. So I went adventuring instead.
I stumbled on a lovely little place called Eden Garden, which is only a few minutes walk in the other direction from my temporary home.
The garden was established in 1964, built at the site of an abandoned quarry. It is located on of the the city's forty volcanic cones and when operation as a quarry had provided stone for building the city. Also after it closed it became an overgrown mess and it was only when horticulturist Jack Clark was approached by the then owner that it had a chance of becoming something lovely.
It currently has a native New Zealand collection with bird life, waterfalls, views of the city from the high point, a Japanese and bromeliad collection, and a range of other annual flowerings. Of course like any good place to relax in New Zealand it also has a nice cafe :)
But I enjoyed an hour or so wandering the trails and enjoying a bit of recharging in nature.
