Pipiwharauroa has arrived

Pipiwharauroa (Shining Cuckoo) has arrived. It is in the trees above the house singing, singing.. "I am here, I have arrived safe after my 1000 mile (2510 Km) non stop flight from Vanuatu or the Soloman Islands. Where are you my mate." They fly back to the same site to lay their egg in a Gray Warblers nets every year. It is nice to know we saw this little fellow last year and probably the year before.

Of course the arrival means more than that to us. It means a change of weather and Spring is really here.
Pipiwharauroa will call until the end of December then go unheard until the next arrival. They depart for the tropics during April.

Seen it all before

We do repeat ourselves, don't we?
This time it is the Kumerahou in flower at our neighbours place. We have never seen such a patch of blooms before. Stunning!

 
The other is our little fantail friends. Every evening, as it cools off or starts to get colder one comes to the bird bath for a dip and a wash. It flits in  and out and flutters and shakes its self dry. For such small birds that are affected by the cold we are surprised that they wash at that time of day.

I also took a walk around my track along the Waiotoi Valley. Beautiful in the afternoon.

The Tutukaka Coast Loop Road

I have sold the first print run of my book, The Tutukaka Coast Loop Road, so now it is being reprinted. Fantastic!
Here is the text from the back cover: -
This 70 kilometre loop road from Whangarei returning via Hikurangi is one of the mostscenic roads in New Zealand. It doesn't have the South Islands mountains, rivers or lakes but what it does to see and do is different and very special.
This book is for you if you like bush, beached, boats and diving. It is all about nature.

 

 ISBN 978-0-473-22401-1

 

The 48 glossy paged book can be purchased from me, The Whangarei Tourist Informattion Centres, SaltAir Cafe at Ngunguru, The Tutukaka General Store and Dive Tutukaka for just $12.00.

Waves

The neat thing about seasons is that you get to see all the changes again and again. All the neat things. The changes are never exactly the same though. Its like watching waves on the ocean. They are all waves but all different to the next.
Kumerahou is in full bloom. It's yellow pompoms lighting up in different places this year but no less spaectacular. The leaf litter in the bush is full of hooded orchids of various kinds. Toropapa has finished but Kowhai and Clematis are colouring the bush. Birds are pairing up and claiming territory. Blackbird scraps are common. Tui is rocketing through the branches like a jet fighter claiming and defending his claim. They are bullys! Three Weta have moved into the weta house.
Warmer days now.

Last sunday, the 2nd September about 180 locals visited our beautiful sandspit  and walked its 2.7 km beach to celebrate one year in public ownership. It was a wonderful communal day out. Gray old day but everyone had fun. It is such a special place. We will be forever thankful to those that took up the battle to prevent it from being turned into yet another disaster of exclusive housing. Unless one has a boat it is difficult to get to.
There was even a dead 9 metre whale on the beach.
Wanganui Collegiate Hockey team enjoying the Sandspit. They were visiting Whangarei for a tournament.

Spring?

It has been wet...wet...wet!
We missed the worst as we went to Rarotonga for two weeks. That will have to be another blog.

This week we have noticed that the Kowhai are atarting to bloom. At Christmas we have the Puhutukawa in the northern part of New Zealand. This time of the year we have the Kowhai. Of course we have lots of flowering trees but these two are stunners. Spring starts to move in when the Kowhai flower. There is always something to count the seasons by. This tree is beside the Waiotoi River a few minutes walk from our house.

On our walk around the river thismorning we also saw several and heard many fern birds. More than ever before. Wonderful. Maybe we are making a difference with our pest control.

In the Hugh Crawford Reserve adjacent to us the fragrant Toropapa is still flowering. Wonderful.

News

Weta has found a new home and moved into the Weta House where she has started chewing holes in the manuka log.

Mingimingi has buds and we can smell its beautiful sweet smell in the warm.
Our little Toropapa is still flowering. Fantastic. It will be nice by our boardwalk.

Beware of Fantails!

They will waste your time, win your heart, and you will talk to them. However they will make you laugh and work with a smile, and brighten up the dullest winter day.
Long live Fantails.

Weta House

A few weeks ago I built a Weta House. I found this large Manuka log, cut about a 500mm length from it then cut it in half lengthways. After that I routered and drilled the interior with tunnels to the outside, added hinges so the front can swing open to view the Weta behind glass. I looked today and one large one was sitting in one of the entrance holes. Fantastic.

Bathing birds
In all my days I have not had the privilege of watching a fantail bath at a bird bath. Now twice I have watched the antics and it certainly is not a frequent occasion. Our bird bath has been used mostly by silver eyes and I reckon there must be a about six birds in there at a time and fantail has been on the edge getting the splashes. Other humans have only seen fantail more or less dipping their tails in the water.
I think the answer to this is that the water is mostly too deep for fantail and I have only seen them when the bath is mostly empty, they are after all quite small birds and a bath to suit bigger birds will not suit them. I only wish I could have got a photo but the camera battery was flat :-(

Collecting food at Rattys Landing is getting a tad nerve wracking. Twice now when collecting rhubarb I have disturbed a large WETA and it gives me quite a fright and this last one also got a fright and jumped out in my direction. Thank goodness I did not react too instantly and it did not come to harm from me. I cannot hold them when they are big and don't  like the idea one bit.

Oh yes this will make one smile, they are a good incentive to stop one drinking, one got into the house and was nicely settled on the neck of a bottle of wine in the downstairs cupboard. It quite stopped me in my reach, for that bottle anyway :-)

Toropapa

It is May again and our most fragrant native plant, the shub Toropapa, is in flower again. While working on the bush track around the Waiotoi River we found Toropapa with our noses from about 10 metres away. Fantastic.

Garden friend

It's certainly cooling down and my friend Piwakawaka(fantail) is back at the compost bin. It knows that large black bin is a source of food and especially when I go there to put food scrapes in and give it a stir. Flitting in my face this charming little bird eats plenty, it is sometimes waiting on one of its perches and cheeping its high pitched cheep. OPEN this bin it could be saying,(Hilton reckons they are sharpening their beaks) more likely its claiming the site for itself as when another Piwakawaka flies in it seems my friend hurries it off. Any way winter may be close by but there won't be any dull days with Piwakawaka in our lives at the compost bin.Its been a fantastic summer with travellers, all types of wonderful people to enlighten us about their countries.

On the other side its been wonderful to have many New Zealanders passing through, great to have them enjoying our lovely area of the country.
We go into Winter enjoying the company of the many birds that have been with us over the summer months, watching Silver eyes bathing at the bird bath, Thrush singing in the morning, Piwakawaka cheeping through the trees, Chaffinch doing his bit on the song scene and probably Tui doing their amazing flying through the Totara trees. Don't let Winter be dull.

The passing of summer

Autumn. That quiet time, that wild time

When Nature, unsure which season belongs

Opens a gay blue parasol

And runs her colours aloft.

A battle flag before a storm she knows she's lost.

Over the past couple of weeks the rain has defeated the cicadas. They have all but gone and the days are becoming quiet. The dawn is now starting with thrush having a warm up, getting his vocals ready for May when he will start singing his heart out from the tree tops. It is cool now too. Fine mornings are about 13 ~ 15 degrees with the day getting up to about 20 max. Some of the trees are changing colour and littering the ground with gold. We still have lots and lots of fantails and fernbirds to cheer us as winter approaches.

Melva continues gardening. Pumpkins are mostly harvested and the tomatoes are all but done. There is always a salad somewhere to be picked. There are a bunch of luffas hanging from a rope fence and more and more. The rhubarb is fantastic and has ben all summer.

Summer, so different to spring

Summer, so different to spring. It is quite hot now and dry. Cuckoo has finished calling. They have mated, laid their eggs in the hosts nests so no need for song. Now they just wait for the weather in April to return to the tropics. Kingfisher dive-bombs us as we walk past its squawking nest in the bank by the road. It shouldn’t be so stressed as we will not harm it. Matata have raised their families and now we have more than ever. The fantails have had a good year and so have most birds. The garden is a little late but going well with tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, egg plant, pumpkins, salad plants, carrots, beet root, rats tail radishes, rhubarb and more. The early blackberries have almost finished and the late ones starting. The big sunflowers are fantastic and light the morning.

Hilton has been busy cutting and clearing the old track around the shore of the Waiotoi River. So far it is a half hour each way and it has about as far to go again. Total length will be about 1.2 km. The aim is to join with the road and track to the old mill and waterfall further up the valley. The green line is the track.

Summer and birds

On Saturday I stood in our wetland and had Matata (Fern bird) all around me. I now have lots of different calls recorded but their quiet clicking chatter is too quiet for my cell phone to pick up. Some were calling only 2m away from me.

Melva saw Tui feeding two large fledged chicks in the Kanuka by the deck. The parent was scraping honey dew from the Kanuka then feeding the chicks.

We now have Sparrows. This spring they moved into the nearby Totara trees nested and now there are a lot. They pick spiders from the eaves of our house. Melva caught one dashing a spiny stick insect to bits before eating it. I like stick insects. Sparrows are interesting but are becoming a bother.

Also a week ago in the damp quiet evening while we were sitting on the deck with friends and having a glass of wine and a chat we were entertained by the tweeting and aerobatics of at least a dozen fantails. We don't feed the birds but have then all about. It is wonderful.

Kingfisher has nested in the bank down by the road. It is full house judging by the squawking emitting from the hole. Soon that family will be flying about.

Mr and Mrs Quail have hatched a nest of seven chicks. On Saturday they were very small, thimble sizes balls with legs. So small in fact that we had to rescue one that had panicked, run for its life, only to get snagged in the head on a blackberry thorn and left hanging unable to free itself. Now the fight for life starts. They are so small that everything from hedgehogs, rats, weasels, stoats and pukeko want to eat them. Even a good prolonged shower of rain will kill them. With the aid of our trapping we are looking forward to seeing seven new adults. We have also just installed three new Sentinel possum traps. We now have seven traps altogether and about 10 rat bait stations.

Australasian Bittern

Tuesday evening while walking down the road through our property listening to Matata calling we disturbed an Australasian Bittern in the wetland by the road. Occasionally we see it in the area and sometimes two of them. Fantastic. They probably see us all the time but are so perfectly camouflaged that we almost never see them.

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The Ngunguru Wader Census and Ratty's Landing Ramble

We had a wonderful day today.

This morning the dedicated local group of birders counted waders and other birds around the north end of the Ngunguru Estuary and Sandspit. We do this on a regular basis. This is always good value and interesting. We were to have a picnic at the beach after the count but it was too windy so te crew came to Ratty's Landing and had the picnic on our deck where we talked of birds, nature, conservation etc over lunch.

This was followed by a ramble about our wetlands and adjoining property led by the very knowlegable Nan Pullman. She has really inspired us to know more about this great place we knew we had. The first stop was to proudly show our Matata (Fernbird) to the group. We discovered that we had a new family when they flew about in a small area immediately in front of the group with everyone getting a good view. Darling untrained performers. It was as if they knew the drill. We do know that we had at least six Matata. Now we must have eight in this small area.

Nan then led us about the wetland and into the bush on a journey of discovery into rushes, plants and trees.
It made our day.

Chris Buckley, Geologist, discovered that we have very interesting, and for this area, unusual clay in our road bank. More on that later when we know more about it.

This is what I like about living in one place for more than 6 months, we are getting to know this piece of land we are caring for and its great. Just last week Hilton found we had a Clematis growing in our bush. It is not far enough up into the canopy to be flowering but its a substantial vine so hopefully in a couple of years we will see the flowers out on the canopy.
Since living here we have been careful about what we remove in the way of vegetation as we are not always sure its a native so we let it flower and thats usually when we can tell if its a keeper or can make way for something that may normally live in or beside the bush. This mind set is proving to be a very good thing as we have some delightful finds. Like the Onion and Leek Orchids, quite insignificant plants and flowers but part of this land and its nice to see them very early spring popping up out of the seemingly inhospitable clay ground.
And  now we know its not just any old clay ground thanks to Chris Buckley.

Fantail chicks

Two weeks ago we noticed the first of the Fantail chicks. I could hear the tiny chatter of young chicks as I came up the walkway. Sure enough there in the Kanuka were four young chicks being fed by two adults. The chicks do not have the markings of the parents so are just dark heads and quite brown chests. Just so sweet.
But they are not able to handle cool weather.This day was cloudy enough for them to be crowding each other out on a branch. I had to smile, they reminded me of piglets trying to keep warm.  There is plenty of food for them but four chicks are a lot to feed. We have read that its usually the male that feeds the fledglings as the female starts to sit on another clutch, so we were interested to see two adults feeding these little guys.
Grey Warbler is also feeding chicks in the Kanuka, its all very busy with young birds around here.
We have noticed Green Finches this year. That is great to see as when we first moved here we did not see any. The trapping and baiting for rats is working. (sorry Ratty)

The last photo was taken on the walk to to the Tutukaka lighthouse. This chick and its siblings were being fed in a sunny spot on a cold day. To warm up they fanned their wiwngs out.

The vegetable garden is taking shape but some things are slow and today I discoverd the runner beans I planted early just rotted. Maybe they had got damp in the packet, but now I am several weeks behind.

Fantail chicks keeping warm





Tucker time



This chick was keeping warm on the lighthouse track



Pipiwharauroa

Shining Cuckoo (Maori name - Pipiwharauroa) arrived after its migratory flight from the tropics on September 17th. We can now hear several calling in the bush. They are a real summer sound for us. They will stop calling after Christmas then depart to the tropics in April. We never know when. Then we count the days until they return about the time that the Kumerahou blooms.

Interesting critters in the compost



This end is the head, pretty small.

Today I needed to open the tube of compost so that this evenings rain can dampen it. After lifting off the wood I spied a different worm. A Land Flatworm, (Geoplana)I have seen them on other occasions but did not bother to photograph the speciman. Today I did. We have many in New Zealand and a more common one is the brownish one we see on Flax. I have read they eat earthworms so I am happy that there are not a lot here at Rattys Landing as earthworms are very precious, we do not have a lot in this clay soil.Another nice find was a lovely brown Skink tucked under a pile of decaying Kikuyu.





One does have to take care when pulling apart vegetation, you never know who is living there.This picture shows the worm stretched out to almost 10cm. When I first saw it, it was quite wide as it was asleep but this picture shows it stretched out as it moves over the container.

Our Kowhai and Spring

Our Kowhai is in full bloom. We have never seen it like this before. We think its success is partly due to the Possum trapping that we are doing. Between them and the Kereru it usually loses most of its leaves over summer. Last summer it was real leafy and now the blooms are fantastic. 

Our Kowhai


 

Dancing Green Hooded Orchids




Our Kowhai by the Waiotoi River



Our different native trees flower at different times all year but Kowhai really signifies spring. There are others. Clematis is beautiful in the bush and Orchids are blooming. The Green Hooded Orchids look like they are performing a Spring Ballet. Toropapa smelt wonderful as we walked in the bush last weekend. Kowhai does it though. They are spectacular. Phillip Island in the Tutukaka harbour is a gold ingot. There is a hillside on the Hoteo River that will be gold al over. There are native floral occurrences for every month of the year. It is easy to love the bush.

I bought a 5m USB extension cord so that I can drive the camera from the laptop and have the camera at the Tui feeding trough near the deck. Looking forward to the photos.

Spring

Spring really has started to show her colours. The little seedling Toropapa I planted has flowered. Kowhai and Clematis are in fulll bloom and the Manuka is rally starting to crank up. It seems that the Tui are now back to being couples as they are arriving at our feeding trough in pairs. We love spring. It has its special flavour.

Leisure by  W. H. Davies

WHAT is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?—

No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Days

A short while ago we had the coldest wintery weather in 50 years. There was snow on the hills around whangarei!!! It's sub tropical here. Well not on those days. Sub being the word. One night anything that was wet froze. Not frost. It just froze. Dramaic for the North. That was followed by stunningly beautiful clear sunny days. Now it is calm, overcast and gray. has been all week.

Winter Holiday 2011

Hilton needs a holiday. Where to go, what to do? Doesn’t take much brain storming from us two to get something thought of.

The bottom of the North Island.  Cape Palliser to be precise and the Wairarapa area to see our friend Errol who is quite close to finishing a sailing vessel he has been building just out of Carterton.

Castle Point seems like a good idea also as it’s not far from Masterton.

Rental vans are very affordable in the winter so after checking out a Back Packer rental, we paid for it and started to pack things needed. Lots as it turned out. Being used to just taking a few warm clothes and some treat food when holidaying on Spindy (boat) I had to remember the salt and other very basic things.

With the car loaded up way more than it really cared for we headed off to Auckland and the campervan. Stowed the gear and on our way. Had a nice time at Tauranga seeing Peter and Barbara and extended family.

On the very frosty drive from Tauranga to Taupo we stopped for a coffee and had the pleasure of sharing it with two very cold travellers from Montana(USA). What a nice encounter that was, we hope they had warmer nights from that point on, as they had slept some hours in their car on that very cold night.

A very beautiful drive through Taupo and across the

Desert Road

with mountains sparkling in the afternoon sun.

Ashurst, time to stop for the day. A nice quiet stop by the river. A very cold morning the next day. Ice on the inside of the windows. A cup of tea and a biscuit and on the road to find sun and stop for breakfast.

Yeah Right.  

Up into the Manawatu Gorge and we met old man Fog. We did not lose his company until somewhere past Ekatahuna. We did stop in Ekatahuna for breakfast, a breakfast that would have fed me for two meals.

Its easy driving in that part of the country, roads are not crowded so the miles ticked off and midday had us at the picturesque Putangirua Pinnacles.





Fossils



It’s a pleasant walk up the river valley, pretty dry river at that time. Amazing fossils in the rocks, some almost looked like line drawings.





 The pinnacles are quite interesting but really one needs to be quite aware that the stones/rocks could fall out of these pinnacles anytime so we kept back from the faces. It really is crumbly material, which is the reason they are there.



Ngawi Bulldozers



Ngawi is the home of the local fishos and the last working place for some bulldozers, it seems.

New Zealand Fur Seal at Cape Palliser



A flattish area just before Cape Palliser lighthouse is where we chose to park the van that night. Seals playing in the pools and sleeping on, and in the rocky shore. We did spend quite some time enjoying their antics. Trying to keep your distance is not easy as they are rock coloured and Hilton almost walked on a youngish one sleeping. It was not that bothered but did let him know it was there and not to walk on it. Hilton nearly died on the spot.



A warmer night by far and next morning the Ngawi crayfish boats were out at the crack of dawn nosing in around the rocks and probably really enjoying the lack of swell making their jobs so much easier.



Cape Palliser Light and steps

We headed for the lighthouse and ran up the 250 steps to a great view. (just kidding about the running bit) There is something about lighthouses, I just like to stand and admire them for the work they do, and I think subconsciously you think of those hardy people who use to man them. Of course, they are mostly in spectacular positions so there is a view to take in also.



Lake Ferry seems like it’s a holiday community, there are some locals year round and a camp ground where we cleaned up and filled up with water, charged the camera battery and other electronics we think we need.



Lake Onoke outlet

Lake Onoke looks to be a very gentle lake but the exit is another thing altogether.

A raging torrent with current running at well over 10 knots  is hurled into the open ocean of Palliser bay and head butts the ocean swell. The result is for seals only. Just one though, was having the time of its life frolicking in the turmoil.



Martinborough is a charmer. A bit of a stroll along the river, a purchase of what turned out to be the biggest meatiest hogget neck chops (from a real Butcher) and a couple of bottles of local Pinot Noir  and off  to Carterton where there is a couple of small but very lovely reserves with quite old trees. Old trees in these farmed areas are not usual so it was with a little bit of awe we gazed at these Kahikatea and Rimu and mentally thanked the people who were the instigators of creating such reserves.



Our van at Errols.



We enjoyed an extravagant,(for us) very superior meat pie at Mirrabells in Carterton, don’t miss it if you are in the  town. It is quite a lovely café.

Castle Point Light

By this time the weather had turned pretty sulky but Castle Point and Tinui were on the visit list.



Tinui is where the first Anzac service was held in New Zealand and we had a stop over with Keith and Boo just 6ks from there. It’s really nice to have human contact when travelling as it can be quite insular in a Campervan.

Castle Point on arrival was, well, not conducive to walking to the lighthouse so we ate lunch in the van watching two surfers enjoying the waves and then headed for the campground. Plugged in so we could run the heater and keep warm we watched the scrappy day go by, waves showing their heads over the rocks out by the lighthouse and reading our books.

Sunday morning dawn was windless and just right for a jaunt out to the lighthouse.

Snowy hills between Taihape and Ohakune

The sea had calmed down somewhat but it was not safe to go walking those rocks south of the lighthouse where there was a plaque in memory of those who had in the past. We did get to the lighthouse as that area was quite safe but on looking South we could see our morning was about to deteriorate and headed back to the van and as we drove out the black squall rolled over us and the snow covered hills. Driving through snow flurries, it was quite magic.

 The hills had snow capping them and that was pretty much the scene to Taihape.

From Taihape to Ohakune snow covered the farmland to the road. Driving though falling snow we go into the Ohakune Top Ten campground and plugged in. I have a feeling the roads were closing behind us.



Monday was a tight blue sky and the place was white. We walked a bush walk just on the outskirts of Ohakune on the way up to the ski fields great old Rimu trees another very good example of old growth, with snow right to the forest floor.

Ohakune bush walk in a snowy winter wonderland

A stop over in Otorohanga to check out the Kiwi House and other birds. We were not disappointed with the residents especially the Great Spotted Kiwi. What a feisty bird she is. Feeding time at 1.30pm is not to be missed. A display of aggression towards the keeper who was doing the feeding had the kids and adults laughing and probably having a change of attitude towards our national bird. With the beak holding onto the keepers trousers and kicking the gumboot, she was certainly telling that keeper not to hang around. It was quite a perfect end to our sojourn south.



Is it really spring?

Clematis

Borage and bee

It seems that we have had winter. Before and during our holiday in July it was cold and wet. Could happen again before spring really sets in. Today was warm and sunny.

I reckon spring is here now. The Mingimingi in flower smells wonderful. Hangehange and Coprosma are starting to flower.

Borage, Herb Robert and Heather are all blooming. The Arum lilies are in full bloom. Manuka has started its bloom early. It never really stopped this year. Next, it will be Kowhai and Clematis. They should be flowering already. It will take a trip too Tutukaka to find out. Green Hooded Orchids have nearly finished but Onion and Leek Orchids are still coming on. The Kauri seeds I planted are now 50mm high.

Fantail on the compost bin

Toropapa

Coprosma

Manuka

  There is always something happening. Amongst all this Tui has taken over the bird feeding trough. Fantail, when he sees us, demands the opening of the compost bin lid for an easy meal. Chaffinch likes the open compost bin too. Bees are putting in a full day that begins with Thrush and Matata doing their song and ends with dusk.