🌳🌲🌳 B last entered the Whirinaki Forest in the early 1980s, on a high school field trip, counting seedlings and making observations with pencil and paper as a junior member of the school’s ecology club. With the aid of digital technology, we can share the 👁️ sights and 🔊 sounds of this ancient forest with you.
(2/2) Peach Cove & Te Whara Tck. Once below the summit enveloped in ☁️ we had hazy views from Bream Head | Te Whara towards Hen & Chickens Is (📷1). After a rough & slippery descent the remains of a wartime radar station can be seen before continuing on towards Ocean Beach (📷2). Lifeguards are on duty here during the summer months (📷3). The 9.3km loop took us 4.5h (📷4).
Back on the road after 🎄 with family/ T-out for life admin & a bout of 🦠 Covid.
Whangārei Heads owes much of its distinctiveness to the extinct volcanoes that shape its skyline. Mt Aubrey at 216m, seen from McLeod Bay (📷1). Mt Manaia at 420m, seen from Urquharts Bay (📷2). WWII gun emplacement at Home Pt on Busby Head (📷3), w/ mural inside battery observation post (📷4).
A view into Mātiatia Bay from the 3km/ 90min Mātiatia Headland Path (📷1); #Auckland’s Sky Tower is 21km as the crow flies from Waiheke’s Mahuehue Point. On that path we came across this orange #fungus—a spectacular rustgill/ Gymnopilus junonius (📷2). From Little Oneroa Bch another short path to the point affords views back into the secluded cove below Ocean View Rd (📷3); a lookout peers into Sandy Bay (📷4).
Waiheke’s Stony Batter fort was built in WWII to defend #Auckland against feared Japanese invasion (a sub did launch aerial recon & a German raider mined the Gulf). Excavated by hand, the base housed ~200 soldiers & labourers under strict secrecy. A DOC concession allows $ entry into restored tunnels & chambers; free to walk around 8M yr old basalt boulders above. The 9.2” naval guns had a range of 34km.
#Nelson Market offers street foods, produce & displays of artistic flare, such as the steampunk-inspired creations from the workshop of an “Old Coot” (📷1) & upcycled metal sculptures that Bruce has been forging for 12 years (📷2). In #Māpua, Russel bends spoons into a stunning kōtare form (📷3) & the “Nut Job” ice cream donut at Hamish’s is a work of art in its own way (📷4).
Ward Beach on the eastern #Marlborough coast hosts one of our favourite NZMCA park-over properties; there’s no ⛺️ camping in the adjacent reserve (📷1). The sway of NZ bull kelp/ Durvillaea antarctica with the sea swell is mesmerising (📷2). Spring beach & shore decorations include yellow-horned poppies/ Glaucium flavum (📷3) & naturalised bunnytail grass/ Lagurus ovatus (📷4).
🚴♂️ Cycled a mix of Te Araroa, Alps 2 Ocean & local cycle trails around Lake Tekapo; see www.tekapotrails.nz. Willow Bay (📷1). 🌲 Pine cones on Takapō Regional Park trails were hard to ride over! Tekapo River & Control Structure/ SH8 bridge (📷2), seen from Cowans Hill Trail. Further up the hill are many tarns (📷3) & good views over the Mackenzie Basin & adjacent ranges (📷4).
(2/2) Bannockburn Sluicings, Cromwell #Otago. The loop walk overlooks several vineyards nestled along the flats beside the flooded Kawarau River—part of Lake Dunstan & seen here with purple thyme (📷1) & red sorrel in foreground (📷2). The original ground level of the Carrick (alluvial) Fan indicates just how much gravel was shifted (📷3). An example exploratory dig (📷4).
After a last look at (fully exposed) Mitre Peak (📷1) in Milford Sound, back to DOC’s Cascade Creek Campsite. A pleasant evening (📷2) was followed by a pleasant morning (📷3); these views from pitch are hard to top. We made a third attempt to find the elusive mohua that lives in the beech forest here; only the NZ robin/ Petroica australis was breakfasting in public (📷4).
Milford Sound | Piopiotahi cruise (6/6), #Fiordland. Perhaps the most enduring memory of a Milford Sound cruise won’t be of specific features, nor anecdotes told to tourists, but of the sheer cliffs. Looking upwards from the foot of a 2,000m wall of rock that disappears into the clouds can’t help but rescale your world. Amazing plants manage to cling to smallest footholds.
Milford Sound | Piopiotahi cruise (5/6), #Fiordland. Harrison Cove is a safe harbour, flanked by dark shape of 1,302m The Lion (📷1). Some tours call at the underwater observatory here, while others have an overnight option. Mt Pembroke at 2,015m & it’s glacier sit behind (📷2). The steep Mitre Peak at 1,683m is iconic (📷3); we got only a fleeting look at the summit (📷4).
Taieri River Track is 4.5km to picnic area, or 3km/ 1h to a seat with views (📷1). Initially only few glimpses of the river (📷2). As it was slippery we stopped at the seat, before a steep descent. View upriver to Māori Leap w/ Pseudopanax ferox in foreground (📷3) & downriver toward sea (📷4). Met 5 large 🐕 (none allowed); must terrify wildlife—when not maiming or killing it.
More images from Pūrākaunui Inlet, Ōtepoti/ #Dunedin. A still evening as the tide returns (📷1). Elevated view from green fields of a muted sunset (📷2). Telephoto view of boat sheds reflecting in fading light, Mapoutahi Pā beyond (📷3). Sacred kingfisher/ kōtare/ Todiramphus sanctus, looking for estuarine edibles on the morning tide (📷4); earlier observed dispatching 🦀 crab!
Lake Rotoroa (“long lake”) is largest lake in Nelson Lakes NP; water taxi runs from jetty (📷1). View south down lake to Maniniaro/ Angelus Peak 2,075m in the Travers Range to E; Mt Misery 1,601m to R (📷2). On western shore, Braeburn Walk 5km/ 1.5h thru beech/ podocarp forest (📷3) leads to waterfall. Source of Te Kauparenui/ Gowan River (📷), draining lake into Buller River.
🎵 “If it weren’t for your gumboots where would you be?”* The devil apparently left theirs either side of road nr. Rockville in Golden Bay. The Devil’s Boots are made from 34–24M yr old limestone that has eroded into upside down gumboots. Here’s our vanship “Curiosity” between them for scale. Rd to Aorere Goldfields hell.
(4/4) Abel Tasman NP, Torrent Bay/ Rākauroa to Onetahuti. A stunning introduction to Onetahuti beach (📷1). Off the beach’s south end, Tonga Island contributes to the Tonga Roadstead/ sheltered anchorage (📷3). Views north (📷3) before our taxi pick-up (📷4). A 46km journey over 6h 20m, of which 14km/ 4.5h hiking—but felt under time pressure, meeting taxi with only 3min left!
#Marlborough’s Whites Bay (📷1) is named for a black whaler, Black Jack White, who arrived in 1826 to live with Māori. In 1886 the first telegraph cable linked South Island here to North Island’s #Wellington; the cable station was restored in 1977 (📷3). Black Jack Track is a 4km loop that begins climbing from the E end of the bay (📷3); it has views into Port Underwood (📷4).
Uplifting of Ward Beach during the 2016 Kaikōura quake changed the course of the Flaxbourne River (📷1), exposing bedrock. Crossed it & walked 4km south to Needles Point (📷2), which features limestone pillars (~1.5h walk thru loose gravel). Banded dotterel (Charadrius bicinctus) owned the beach (📷3), swallow (Hirundo neoxena) the sky & seals were threading the needles (📷4).
(2/2) The 2km/ 40min walk from Waikari to the rock art in Weka Pass Historic Reserve is a little steep & muddy in winter; being enveloped by low cloud (📷1) merely added drama to an already dramatic limestone landscape (📷2). By the time we reached the rock art shelter (📷3) it had brightened up, so the Southern Alps we’d not seen at all on the hill ascent were revealed (📷4).
#Christchurch Transitional Cathedral is an interim place of worship while work to reinstate the Cathedral in the Square is underway (damaged during 2011 quakes). Also known as the Cardboard Cathedral for it’s construction using locally-made cardboard tubes (with pine beam reinforcement inside). Features shipping container alcoves & polycarbonate cladding to keep water out!
Even on a chilly winter day Le Bons Bay on Banks Peninsula gave off good vibes, offering a nice beach, sandy creek & pine forest walk (📷1). Okains Bay is not dissimilar, with a cave near the beach & mussel-encrusted remains of a jetty (📷2). On the southern side, a view to Akaroa Harbour entrance from Wainui Main Rd (📷3) & view across the harbour to Akaroa from Wainui (📷4).
Attended the 2023 Let’s Go #Queensland Caravan & Camping Supershow at #Brisbane Showgrounds; the largest caravanning event in the state. Something for everyone from expedition vehicles (📷1), hybrid trailers that transform into larger accommodations (📷2), compact 2-person 4WD motorhomes (📷3), to retro-style caravans (📷4). Quite different from European shows: here the off-road capable caravans dominate—the terrain is much tougher.
Lyttelton “hoons” (typically young male drivers) did wheelies in car park nr. freedom camping spot in the wee hours. Shopkeeper told us it’s a frequent problem, as is car theft. Still, some heritage architecture (📷1–3) to admire. Pie lovers will appreciate Hope River Pies (📷4); the hallmark of a good pie isn’t just the filling; it must use a different base & top pastry! 🥧