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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
6 Comments
Sam Edmonds
22/2/2021 01:22:29 pm
What a wonderful story Judi, so glad that you both got to see more of our flora and fauna. Great images as usual.
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Eeva
24/2/2021 10:48:23 am
You MUST visit me in Dunners. :) There. You have been summoned. lol!!!
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Judi Lapsley MillerFine art inspired by the stories of birds and the natural world. Starting with photographs, I let my imagination take me on flights of fancy. What is real and what is imagined is blurred. What is physical and what is virtual is disrupted. Bursting with colour and life. Bird lettersArt, birds, photography, wildlife - be the first to find out what's happening...
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