Pattichio (Salt Lake) Park upgrade

 Back in February, I wrote this post about ongoing construction in the Salt Lake (Pattichio) Park. It all seemed to be happening slowly and somewhat randomly. By the middle of June, when I stopped going for walks along the Salt Lake trail until the weather cools down, it hadn't progressed all that much. 

So I was amazed to see this article about the Pattichio Park come up in my Facebook feed last week. I decided to go and see what was going on - it was hard to believe that in just a couple of months the upgrade really was complete, but that's what the article said. I mentioned this in the Wednesday part of last week's general rambling update, with a couple of photos. But I didn't stray from the main path, as it was so very hot and humid.

Yesterday morning, however, the temperature was a tad cooler, and not quite so sticky. So I decided to be a bit more adventurous. I walked to the park, then wandered up the first trail I came to:

 
It led to the dog park. This is quite a nice looking area that's fenced off, with plenty of bins for dog mess, to allow dogs to run around rather than having to be on a lead/leash all the time.

Some of the fencing looks a bit high off the ground; a small dog could probably escape: 

But the one dog I saw at 7am was a large one, who was running around happily while his people sat on a convenient bench.

There's no shade, but hopefully some of the trees will get a bit taller by next summer. And it's fine early in the morning or after the sun has gone down. I don't think there's anywhere for dogs to get water, but maybe that will eventually change.

The next thing I found was this trail, with a lot of aromatic plants - mostly herbs, I assume. I think this must be the promised nature garden: 

I also saw this rather garishly painted small building which has shelving inside, but no door. For storage, I wondered...?

When Richard saw it later, he thought it was a random piece of architectural creativity. He may well be right. I suppose it would be useful for shelter if a sudden rainstorm hits.

The mystery of the brown cladded building, however, is solved. It has a pump inside, and pipes running out of the back: 

These feed a mini-waterfall that fills up a pond feature that's in the large hole we spotted earlier in the year.

The pond has a nice little bridge going over it: 

It's quite attractive.

It also worries me a lot. That rope would not deter an exploring child, and the rocks are likely to be slippery when it rains - or with spray from the pond itself, or moss or other growth which is likely to develop. 

And, which really concerns me, it's only a few metres from the picnic area which has some climbing logs for small children: 

The water is probably a metre deep; it would only take a few seconds' lack of concentration from a parent or carer for a child to rush over to the pond. I used to watch my children (and, later, grandchildren) all the time if I took them out, but could easily imagine focusing on one of them for a moment and not spotting the other racing away. And many of today's parents pull out their phones as soon as their children are happily occupied. 

I just hope and pray there's no tragedy to prompt the park authorities to make a more secure boundary around the pond.

I told Richard about the developments; he hadn't been to the Salt Lake Park for years. So in the evening - as it was a tad cooler and less humid - we decided to go for a walk and explore some more. I was  surprised to see how many people there were in the park - a lot of them with children. Perhaps the article prompted a lot of folk to investigate. Or maybe this park has always been popular in evenings.

He hadn't seen the strange brown metallic things up close before, just from the road - there seems to be one near each of the main entrances.

There's still nothing planted around them. Richard's theory is that they're an architectural 'modern art' feature.  I suspect he may be right.

After we'd been around the dog park and over the mini-bridge, we found the steps up to the large bridge intended for viewing, just beyond the nature/aromatic garden: 

I didn't see any ramps; I thought they were required for modern constructions, for wheelchairs and buggies. Perhaps they are somewhere else. 

The bridge itself feels wide and safe, with good railings and planks to walk on. The views of the park are good, too:

Looking over towards the amphitheatre area:

The bridge ends with the building that should eventually be a restaurant, although the inside isn't finished. Apparently it will be put up to tender. 

And right outside the restaurant there's a children's playground, which was being well-used.

There don't seem to be any functioning toilets in the park, but hopefully there will be some connected to the restaurant, when it eventually opens.

We walked to the end, then headed back, enjoying more views as the sun went down:

At the other end of the bridge, the railings stop - I don't know if they ran out of railings, or decided that it was low enough that a simple rope would suffice:

It goes right down to the ground, so perhaps this is where wheelchairs and buggies are supposed to go. But the trails around are sandy and unfinished; I wouldn't like to push a buggy there, let alone a heavy wheelchair.

We saw several new benches, with backs on only the middle section - this seems to be a new trend:

By this time, it was almost completely dark and there were very few people at this end of the park. We realised roughly where we were - by a street where friends have a flat - and wended our way back to the main park, to return home.

We had walked almost four kilometres in all, including about half a kilometre each way from our house to the park entrance. 

I will like it more in the spring, I think, when everywhere is greener and some of the plants have become more established. Apparently more trees will be planted, too. But overall, other than the potential danger of the pond, we were impressed. 

We have been walking to Salina Park most evenings; it's ideal if we have just twenty minutes or so available, or if it's too hot and sticky for anything else. But I think the Salt Lake/Pattichio Park will become an alternative when we want a longer walk.