27 May 2007

Puriri Ridge Track

page 2

We carry on up hill. It's a little rough underfoot at times, but given the rain we've been having and the condition of some of the tracks I've walked recently, this is magnificently dry.

A bright green putaputaweta (Carpodetus serratus) shines against a patch of shadow. The leaves of this plant are often bronze or even red, but here, it is the green that stands out. When you see this tree in bloom, around Christmas, at first you simply register the standard NZ bush small white flower, but this one repays a close up look. It's quite beautiful.

A flourish of filmy fern covers this fallen tree. These ferns have an amazing capacity to shrivel right up in dry weather, and bounce right back again as soon as rain arrives.

The track is getting markedly steeper.

The ridge is getting noticeably narrower. I get a shot south to the Manukau Heads

and north to the other side of the valley.

Miranda looks in towards the harbour. It's a misty cool day. Even after the climb so far we are a long way from getting a sweat up.

photo by miranda woodward

Yes, well....

photo by miranda woodward

There's a fair wind blowing and nothing much to hang on to. I carefully judge the route that will keep me furthest from a steep drop off, and make my way up,

but with all that bush, I'm not going to fall far. Do I believe this? Not bloody likely. Is this a bad hair day?

We must get back up here when it's clear - though my experience of the west coast suggests that there will always be a sea mist of some kind to take out the sharpness from a picture.

Nevertheless, the softness of the mist casts its own particular spell, and we stand for a while to enjoy its subtle gradations of shade and colour - in the sky too, for that matter.

photo by miranda woodward

A young rimu stands out a little further along, signalling a change in the character of the vegetation. This track has actually been a totara track so far, if it comes to a plant that is more commonly reprresented than usual, but I haven't taken any usable pics..

We're also starting to see a bit more tawa in the more open conditions along the upper part of the ridge.

At ground level there are other treasures that reward the more flexible among us.

photo by miranda woodward

Young nikau begin to feature more commonly, too, where the lower track contained many more older trees..

I always enjoy a good cascade of mangemange. It's a bit like a waterfall, if you ask me, with an endless capacity for providing pleasure just watching it.