Tinakori Hill

We had better weather today than the last time we went on this walk. This is the new track which is a lot easier than the alternative slog up the gully. The vegetation is also regenerating nicely.
Looking down on Thorndon which has many interesting old houses.

From the top of the hill there are views across to the Makara wind turbines,

the lake at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary

and the Kelburn Viaduct.

Here we are resting and enjoying the view before starting the descent.

Jenny wore some flowers in her hair.

This is The Lodge, which we moved by helicopter from our back garden to Andy's previous house when we built the extension in 2000.

Jenny was given this gingerbread house for Christmas

and is showing it off before we devoured it. The table cloth comes from Vanuatu.

Meri Kirihimete

I know some of you in the northern hemisphere are experiencing very wintry conditions but I hope you are all keeping warm and are not having transport difficulties. We are having a spell of reasonably fine weather. This was yesterday afternoon with Jenny, Noreen and Sam relaxing before preparing for Christmas Day.
In the evening we went round to Ali’s to exchange presents. Jenny gave Andy a camping cutlery set.

Noreen, Ali, Sophie and Rosie.

This morning we opened our presents and tried them out. Sam with new clothes and ukulele.

Jenny’s sparkly clothes.

Sam serenading us.

My brother and sister-in-law gave me this great apron

which came in useful when cooking the Christmas meal.

So we will leave you with a Māori saying - ngā mihi o te Kirihimete me te Tau Hou - Seasons greetings for Christmas and the New Year.

Takapu Road

This is a walk in the Belmont Regional Park. We did part of the route back in May 2008.
It starts off in farmland
then winds up the hills to the old airstrip and World War 2 ammunition dump. These bunkers look a bit like Hobbit Holes.
The bank between each one is to contain the explosion if one blew up.
At the airstrip we met the other half of the group who had come in from the Normandale side of the park.
This is a view looking down on the airstrip (the hobbit holes are on the ridge a third down and a third from the left)
taken from the top of Round Knob
from where there is a good view back over Wellington Harbour.
We posed for another group shot by the trig point on Round Knob
with this bull who seemed fairly docile but kept a weather eye on us the whole time.
The return tramp was mainly downhill with a few uphill sections
and gates that some people needed help getting over!

In addition to Dad's latest...

The Mighty Pa north of Wellington









The mythical Stent Road (a sacred spot near Parehaka) and also one of the best surfing spots in NZ. Unfortunately due to the fog you can't actually see how good the wave is. I can assure you that when I paddled out to the tip of the point it was head height and breaking perfectly down the point.









A cheeky little Hihi

Tiritiri Matangi

We tried to get here on my 60th birthday but the weather was too bad. Being in Auckland last week I thought it a good opportunity to try again. The weather was beautiful and so Sam and I together with a boat full of other visitors had no problem getting across to the island.
Tiritiri Matangi means “a place buffeted by the wind”. It was settled by Maori before European arrival. In the 1850s land was cleared for farming sheep and pigs. A lighthouse was built in 1864. In 1971 a decision was made to allow the island to revert to bush and since 1984 over 200,000 trees have been grown from seed and planted by volunteers. Tiritiri is an open sanctuary and accessible to the public by ferry from Auckland.

This is typical coastline, fringed with pohutakawa.

A close up of the flower. You can eat them - Sam tried and pronounced them "very sweet". No wonder the nectar eaters like them!

We stopped for lunch by this rocky cove. Sam was tempted to go swimming.

Wooded Island off North East Bay.

Some natural sea arches which boom with incoming waves.

Sam with his trusty venison tibia round his neck.

Dwarfed by a tree.

Of course the main reason for visiting the island was to see and hear the bird life. Since my previous visit 10 years ago the vegetation has grown noticeably and the bird life is much more prolific. I wish I could have got better pictures of some of the more unusual species but here are

kereru

tieke

pukeko

pateke which may not look very special but is increasingly rare and endangered.

Ones I didn't get good photos of include hihi, kakariki, takahe, popokotea and korimako. I was hoping to see kokako but we had to be content with hearing them.