In two of the parks through which I have been walking during my stay in Auckland, there are herds of cows. In Churchill Park (in the photo above) there is a small herd of dry stock, which migrates from one paddock to another. One or two lift their heads as I walk by, look at me unconcernedly and then go back to their grazing. Cornwall Park is a working farm and has a larger herd of cows and a flock of sheep. I’m not sure why but seeing these animals in the middle of New Zealand’s biggest city always makes me smile. I guess it may be because farming is so central to New Zealand’s identity, even in Auckland, which is denigrated in rural areas as “the big smoke”.