12 September 2007

Huia Ridge Track

page 4

Over to the left a punga hosts a bunch of kidney fern. My impression of the kidney fern along this track is that it's somewhat bigger and coarser, morfe leathery, than those I'm used to on the Fairy Falls Track and elsewhere. Some of these fronds are getting on for 75mm across.

Suddenly we're back in touch with the world outside.

At my feet is another Blechnum the species name of which I am uncertain.

Sure is a lovely day out there.

A punga has fallen diagonally across part of the track, and hosts a rich colony of filmy fern on a tousled carpet of fallen rimu leaves.

Filmy fern are notoriously difficult to photograph. There's something about the nature of the foliage, as there is about Alice's coat, which throws confusion into the focussing mechanism, especially in low light conditions. Typically, I get round this by focussing on an object slightly to the side and then adjust the framing to what I want. Even so, results are inconsistent.

Over to one side kiekie fattens the trunk of what might be a maire or might be a lancewood, giving it a slightly ridiculous-looking hairstyle.

Down below, a heketara catches the light beside a larger tree. Reminds me, I haven't seen any at all of its close relation, the rangiora, on this trip.

The pond is still shallow enough to make walking an option, but the tree root bridge seems more sensible.

I think this is a rimu, shedding its bark almost violently as if some vast fungus or other disease had severed the bark from its life support. Its that kind of track.....

From a punga sprawls a healthy specimen of Asplenium

The path continues its boggy way towards lunchtime.

Let's face it, it's just an unattractive track. Or maybe it's just I'm hungry. And grumpy.

Well, soon enough be lunch. In the meantime, there's a lovely pair of vines making their way up a huge trunk in front of me. Perhaps it's kiekie roots? Maybe I'd need some food before I got into all this decision making.

But to soothe the spirit, a delightful arrangement of vine, tree bark and filmy fern.

while up above a maverick punga, no, this time it's got to be a mamaku, grabs a spot in the sunlight and lords it above a rising nikau.