We took a neighbourhood family of girls with us to meet the turtles at Hort Park.

We were a group of 8 and took the bus, so we got the girls to partner up, so no one got left behind. It worked very well. Even with a 2 year old and a 3 year old with us, we didn't take any strollers. Everyone just had to walk.  

We spent a while checking out the many turtles and the little gold fish in the pond. Then we set out to explore the little secret gardens, and eventually settled down with our snack at the playgrounds.

Doesn't this look like a lovely place to explore with your friend. The youngest girls were most infatuated with the little secret gardens. There are many little narrow paths off the main walkway. Each one will lead you to very private-feeling enclosed garden, each with it's own special little seating area. Each one is each quite different, some feel quite tropical, like the one filled with small lemon and lime trees, others are more like an English Herb Garden with the herbs grown in walls to provide privacy.  One of the gardens I found was a Tea Garden. It had all the herbs to make a cup of tea.

Some have tables, others benches, some have 2 arm chairs set side by side, one even has a checker board. Some are quite whimsical and others more refined. There's certainly a spot for everyone's taste. At one point, we discovered a door. One of the girls tried to turn the handle and the door opened, so everyone agreed they just had to go through.

Someone stepped on a millipede by accident and the crunch set everyone to screaming. I tried to tell the girls they're only poisonous if you eat them, but no one cared for my logic.

I think our most interesting find was a Hornbill that flew into the trees near us. This guy was really quiet, flying almost silently in. It's first time I've seen a Hornbill without him loudly going "Clack! Clack!" with its beak.

We've been to Hort Park lots of time. In someways it stays the same, because there are no changing of the seasons, so the plants stay very much the same. But, on the other hand Hort Park has so many little areas that we always discover something new. This trip I also discovered a tile mural I hadn't seen before and took my first peak into the Garden Shop.