We moved to Wattle Downs when I was about 4 years old. Our house before that had been robbed so we moved here to be safer, because it's a really nice little suburban area. Wattle Downs is a peninsula, the Pahurehure Inlet is the river and, depending on traffic, we're super, super close to the Takanini on-ramp, close to the airport and to get on the [Southern] motorway.
Wattle Downs used to be really small and has only recently started to grow. Our house, which was one of the first homesteads to be built here, is right next to a big golf course, the Wattle Downs Golf Course. The trees have grown a lot while we've been here so we don't get hit by golf balls anymore. My brother's room used to have its window smashed a few times a year, and the golf course would send someone to fix it.
There was one time we were bouncing on the trampoline and a golf ball came whizzing past my head, but not anymore. We used to go round with a bucket and collect the balls, then sell them back to the golfers for about five or 10 cents each; it wasn't a get rich scheme but we had fun. We used to use the golf course as a playground, and at night time we'd let off fireworks and play spotlight.
When I was younger, we used to go swimming at the reserve round the corner from us - the Saint Annes Foreshore Reserve Playground on Carnoustie Drive, across the water from the Southern Motorway heading to Papakura. People go out with jet skis and boats. We tried fishing there once, but it didn't really work, but we still go for family walks on that reserve.
