19 October 2007

Panto Track

page 5

We're back in tunnel mode for a bit

There are some areas where the nikaus are especially lush and the light has trouble getting through.

Another windfall

More mud.

Miranda is still doing double distance, but her latest strideout is much shorter: "We're there"

We pull out the thermos and sandwiches, and some treats for Alice. It's a pleasant spot. To the left is a tall mapau, beautifully shaped and reflecting gold, bronze and red off the sunlight coming through it. Sorry, no pic. Total failure of camera to adjust for photographer's incompetence. To the right is a medium rewarewa, in bud.

We pack up and head back, the difference being that on the way back with the sun behind us, the lighting is much easier to work with. This one I call "Nikau and friends".

This photo behaves most bizarrely if you scroll up or down.

I'm not sure of very many fern ids, so we'll let this one pass on appearance alone.

The dapple light under the trees is easier on the eyes when the sun is behind you.

A small colony of tmesipteris occupies a punga trunk.

and here's a rainbow display from a clump of kiokio, palm leaf fern.

One of the plants that thrives under pine trees in Woodhill forest is Parsonsia, so I am not altogether surprised to find it here, just that this is the only example I see.

I suppose I must admit that this is a weed. It grows thickly on roadside clay banks around Helensville, is found somewhere along most tracks in the Waitakeres, and a carpet of it fills the Kaipara College grounds just over the fence from my place. I am careful not to allow it entry.

But it is still one of the most beautiful weeds around.

Back past the Farley Track junction and just a few hundred metres to go. A walk I am well-pleased with, and I shall return later when it's drier to check out the Farley/Parau/Kakamatua Ridge loop.

We debate the possibility of a walk along the Kakamatua Inlet and that would be lovely, but it's Labour Day and we want to be home before the traffic becomes intolerable. There's a lot of excellent walking along the Huia-Whatipu Rd.