Urban jungle

The more serious metal detectorists spend quite a bit of energy looking for good spots to hunt. Up to now, I’ve basically just gone to the beach. That’s working out pretty good, but still… what else is out there?

I found a 1970s map of a neighboring town online, and it showed a big empty area just at the edge of the built-up part of town. Comparing that to a current map led me to take a look at this little park, the Puriri Bush Reserve.

It’s barely a city block in size, with no trails or other facilities, but when you walk in past the leafy hedges you enter another world… there are a few big trees that would make fabulous forts, but it’s mostly palms and fern trees, so the ground is a crunchy mess of old fronds. It’s surrounded by regular neighborhood, houses and cars, so it’s doubly surprising… how did they decide not only not to build right there, but also not to tame it into a regular park with grass and paths and a swing set?

It wasn’t great for metal detecting, but it was fun to wander around in the land that time forgot for a couple of hours.