22 July 2007

Upper Huia Dam Track
(Partial)

page 2

We pick our way along

More roots. Almost Amazonian. No brightly coloured birds or butterflies, though. Not birdsong either come to that. It's a very quiet day indeed.

More boggy and rootridden track.

Several young quintinia sprout from a punga stump

and this fallen punga hosts an Asplenium flaccidum

Good job I re-waterproofed my boots last week. The leaks were just about to the point where I was wondering whether there was a Selley's "No More Gaps" sealant which might be more appropriate than beeswax and oil.

The canopy here is for the most part tall slender rewarewa.

Punga stumps are a nursery for just about everything.

More roots. More moss and ferns...

and again....

and again.......

Here's a small creeper I spotted a week or two back on Ridge Road Track. Still no closer to identifying it.

Down and down and down.

Here's the first stream crossing. Main difficulty with these for the less agile is that the last metre or so is often quite steep and slippery.