Alexandra Stacked Wetlands

This morning we walked a portion of the Alexandra connector along the Alexandra canal. The city has built a nice walkway along the lower portion of the canal which consists of concrete and was not all that interesting. However, in the upper region of the canal, the city has constructed a beautiful stacked wetland that is well-integrated into the local housing development. At the top end (bottom of the aerial picture below) there is a shallow wading pool for children (big and small) with a waterfall at one end. Water that is collected in the wetlands is naturally filtered before entering the large canal downstream, the clarity of the water in the last section before entering the canal was impressive. Even more impressive were the species that were inhabiting these wetlands: 5 species of fish including a top level predator (snakehead), shrimp, and snails. It will be interesting to watch these wetlands over time as the ecosystem continues to mature. After walking the stacked wetlands, we migrated over to the Alexandra Village Food Court for lunch, the dumplings were awesome.

Southern Ridges and Faber Parks

After lunch we found our way to the Forest Walk, an elevated path among the trees leading into Southern Ridges Park. This elevated walkway offered some spectacular views as it wound its away up the lush mountainside. Several signs along the way warned not to feed the monkeys, teasing us that we might see monkeys in the trees, but to no avail. This ecosystem appears to be maturing as larger animals are apparently taking up residence. At the top of the trail, we found the Henderson Waves walkway and some great photo opportunities on the way down to Faber Park. These parks are only two of many and we could spend days exploring all the trails.