A Busman's Holiday at Bushy Park

Last weekend, Linton and I finally went venturing up to Whanganui to visit the fenced sanctuary at Bushy Park - yes a busman's holiday! We stayed at the old homestead and walked all the trails, admiring the incredible forest with ancient rimu and rata,  dripping with lichens and epiphytes. Although the Zealandia bush (our regular haunt) is filling in, it's got centuries to go to look like Bushy Park.

Toutouwai

And of course the birdlife was amazing too, with baby birds abounding. The toutouwai were everywhere, and usually too close to focus on with the big lens. The korimako kids were begging incessantly while gorging on muhlenbekia berries. And the highlight was seeing a wee ruru trying to snooze on the side of the track, despite the protestations from the tīeke and hihi.

A korimako fledgling gorging on muhlenbekia berries.

A korimako feeds an incessently begging fledgling. The fledgling looks like it might have jumped out of the nest early as it's feather shafts are still unravelling into feathers.

Muhlenbekia berries were the favoured mid-February food source. This male hihi was also feasting.

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A ruru roosting on the side of the track ignoring the protests from the local hihi and tīeke

We were also fascinated to see flocks of cockatoos and eastern rosellas (perhaps attracted by the nearby walnut farm!), making us feel that perhaps we had crossed the ditch and were having a long-overdue Aussie adventure with Sydney-based Aunty Helen.

One of many sulphur-crested cockatoos

And the flocks of kererū - I lost count at 30! The abiding sound of the bush was the womp-womp-womp of those big wings crashing around through the bush. 

Three kererū in a kōwhai, perhaps plotting their next aerial circuit around the sanctuary.

We would have spent more time exploring the park and Whanganui itself, but Level 2 came down unexpectedly so we decided to head home early, consoling ourselves with an evil steak and cheese pie in Foxton while charging the car.

​Where do you recommend we head on our next outing? There's so much of New Zealand we have yet to explore.