INNOCENCE LOST

Isn’t it annoying nowadays when you are forced into behaviour worrying what others may think.

I’m referring to propriety and the way that adults, particularly men have to act around young women and children. It is said to be one of the reasons that early education and primary schools don’t have enough male teachers.

Admittedly Stewart Murray Wilson types and that school teaching fool recently arrested for paedophilia exist but in general they are in the minority. Why then do we adjust our behaviour?

Today I went for a walk to Auckland Domain from our city apartment. I decided to take a short cut through Grafton Cemetery as I hadn’t seen the bottom part of this large, sprawling, delightfully unkempt bit of Auckland’s history. I thought that I would get to the bottom of the gully on the slopes of which the cemetery and bush cling and be able to easily cross over to the other side where Auckland hospital and the domain are.

Well, I got lost. The tracks petered out and I had to bush-bash a bit, cross a stream and climb up the other side.

It was here that I encountered a young German woman. She was also lost. When I asked here which way she had come from she answered ‘Germany’.

Oooookaaay – I twigged that, so eventually found that she was trying to get to Mt Eden (quite a way from where we were). As we were already on the other side of the gully we kept going up and met the motorway (or at least one of the 2 lane off-ramps going in to the city). Waiting for a break in the traffic I darted across to climb the bank at the other side.

 This was at the base of the Grafton Bridge towering above. This old bridge spans Spaghetti Junction with a total of about 12 or more motorway lanes and entry/exit lanes. 

 Unfortunately it was impossible to get anywhere at the other side so turned to go back and found that she had followed me across the motorway. We returned. We re-crossed the motorway off-ramp (which had got busier) and bush-bashed back down the gully to the stream and up the other side. Eventually finding one of the many criss-crossing paths in the bush that lead back to the cemetery I went right and she went left. I pointed out the direction she needed to get to Mount Eden, strongly suggesting that she goes back up to Symonds Street and go South from there. I told her that I was going to get to the bridge and cross it to the East.

I was conscious that I was in the bush alone with a young blonde German student (about 20) in one of the city’s dodgier areas which is haunted at night by drug addicts, down-and-outers and unsavoury characters. I wanted to take her hand and help her up the slippery and muddy paths to the top but was aware that it could freak her out. As it was I kept my distance, directed her where to go and watched over her as she made her way back up to the (slightly more) established cemetery paths.

She was obviously in no danger from a sexual predator with me but on reflection I had led her across several motorway lanes, down and up slippery banks, across a fallen tree that spanned the creek and through a decaying and decrepit cemetery. All this from a joker who got lost in Western Springs park (see here).  

WILD WEST END

I went on across Grafton Bridge (that any sensible person would have crossed in the first place) to the domain and visited the delightful Winter Gardens with the magnificent old tropical greenhouse (a sort of mini Kew Gardens).

On my way back across the bridge I couldn’t help wondering if my bush companion had in fact made it out to Symonds Street or would she be doomed to be lost there to become feral.

I hope she made it out of the park