Several times my daughter-in-law had telephoned to say, "You must come to see the daffodils before the flowers are finished." I wanted to go but it was a good one-hour drive from Dunedin to Lawrence, an old gold-mining town in the South Island of New Zealand.

"I'll come next Tuesday," I promised a little reluctantly.

The next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still I had promised, so I drove over to their place. When I finally walked into Mandy & John's house on the Otago Peninsula and hugged and greeted my tinies, I said, "Forget the daffodils today Mandy. The road is invisible in the clouds and fog. There is nothing in the world, except you and these children I want to see. I would not drive another inch."

Mandy simply smiled at me and said calmly, "We drive in this sort of weather all the time."

"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears and then I'm heading for home," I said. "Although, I was hoping you'd take me into town, to the main library, to pick up a couple of books first. Would it be much trouble for you?"

"'It's no problem at all', Mandy said. 'I'll happily drive. I'm used to this. We have to drive in all types of weather with our work."

After about half-an-hour I had to ask, "Where are we going, Mandy? This isn't the way to the library."

'"We're going to the library the long way," Mandy smiled, "By way of the daffodils."

"'Mandy," I said grumpily, "Please turn around. It's far too far to drive all that way today."

"It's all right, I promise," she said. "You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience again this year."

After about 45 minutes of driving, through the Otago countryside I love, past Lake Waihola, the little woollen-mill town of Milton, and after turning inland, climbing steeply through the dangerous, winding Manuka Gorge and on through the rich farmlands of Waitahuna, we entered the golden poplar-lined road just outside Lawrence. These were the trees that people had planted last century when Lawrence was a thriving horse and cart town, and a bustling goldmining centre. Lupins of all colours with their strongly smelling scent were scattered in clumps at the base of the trees. We turned off the main road at the first garage on our right, onto a small gravel road running alongside the old railway embankment, travelling on until I saw a small wooden church.

There, on the far side of the church, was a hand-lettered sign that read 'Daffodil Garden'. We climbed out of the car and each took a child's hand as I followed Mandy down the path. I love this small town. When I was a child, I stayed here and went to the local school, and again later when I was teaching. I would watch the silver poplars, high on the hills, as they would sway and show shimmers of silver-grey as the wind rustled through their leaves. In spring, people from Dunedin would travel in the train and come to pick buckets of the golden-yellow daffodils smothering the railway embankment, for sale in Dunedin on Plunket Day.

Then we turned a corner of the path and I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the peaks and slopes of the Maungatuas. The flowers were planted in majestic swirling patterns. Great ribbons and swathes of deep orange, white, lemon-yellow, salmon-pink, saffron and butter-yellow streamed over the hills. Each different color variety was planted as a group so that it swirled and flowed like a golden river, each with it's own unique hue. There were acres of daffodil flowers. Little Sarah-Jane and Alex clapped their hands in delight.

"Who has done this?" I asked Mandy.

"Just one woman," Mandy answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home," she said pointing to a well-kept A-frame house that looked fairly small, sitting on the hillside.

"It makes me a little sad," I admitted to Mandy, "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal when I was young, 40-odd years ago, and had worked away at it, one bulb at a time. Throughout all those years, just think what I might have been able to achieve."