Ημερολόγιο της/του katrina_muir

Some weeds from my garden today. I found an Acacia melanoxylon seedling and a four leaf clover.

From Akaroa, take the Akaroa Lighthouse Road. This is 11 km of steep, narrow rough road, suitable for four wheel drive vehicles.

From the carpark follow the road down past the foundations of the lighthouse keeper’s house and other buildings, to the site of the old lighthouse. Here there are fantastic views of towering cliffs along the coastline and towards the mouth of the Akaroa Harbour.

From the lighthouse view point, follow the old supply road down. It then passes a horse water trough and an original stone culvert. The road ends at a vertical iron ladder descending to a rock shelf in Little Haylocks Bay. The bay is within the Akaroa Marine Reserve and is home to a variety of wildlife including fur seals/kekeno seals which haul out on the rock platforms, white-flippered penguins/kororā and a number of seabirds.

This reserve overlooks the Akaroa Marine Reserve in the Akaroa Harbour.

The headland is very exposed to the weather. Be prepared for extremes of heat, wind and cold. Precipitous cliffs, steep unfenced drops and access to deep water means that children should be closely supervised at all times. It is recommended that children do not descend the ladder.

The original Akaroa lighthouse was replaced in 1977 by an automated light, and in 1980 the lighthouse was relocated to Akaroa.

• From the DOC website

I went with Peter in his 4 wheel drive vehicle. After we parked at the top car park we were passed by an electric vehicle that carried on down the hill. The electric vehicle got stuck further down the track and Peter and another walker spent the next hour helping him out. Peter had to use his four wheel drive and tow him back up the hill. The tow hook for the electric car was under the bonnet, it took some time to find it!

While we were in Haylocks Bay a tourist boat cruised in slowly to look at the seals and birds.

Some notes about my inaturalist observations

-Leptinella dioica alongside the path in partly shady and wet places next to the rocks. There was a large lovely green patch near the top of the iron ladder that goes down to Little Haylocks Bay.

• Interesting white lichen covering the rocks. Making the rocks look white, grey and cream from a distance away.
  -It was good to see New Zealand's native iceplant Disphyma australe growing in abundance over and inbetween the rocks.
  -Samolus repens, sea primrose, I have not seen this before.
  -Salicornia quinqueflora, I have only seen it growing in estuaries not high up on rocks. It was very green and healthy.
  -Goodenia radicans, remuremu, found in New Zealand, Australia and Chile. Another plant I have only seen in estuaries.
  Apium prostratum filiforme, Peter did not like the smell of this. But on the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network it says it is pleasant tasting and edible it could be more widely used as a substitute for celery.
  -Asplenium obtusatum, Paranako. A fern that is new to me. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/asplenium-obtusatum/
  -Chenopodium allanii, something else I haven't seen before and did not know what it was. On the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network it's conservation status is At Risk - Naturally Uncommon.
  -Possibly a slime mold, Phylum Mycetozoa growing on the wet rock in the shade. It was very orange I wonder it is orange because of the iron content from the rock. Very curious
  I know next to nothing about these things only that it is one of the earliest forms of life.
  -Crassula moschata, shore stonecrop. There was a nice grouping of this plus Goodenia radicans and Samolus repens that looked better than any human landscaping planting.

• Fur seals resting on the rocks in Little Haylocks Bay.
• Coprosma repens, Taupata
• Aciphylla aurea, Golden Spaniard on the roadside.

https://flic.kr/p/2qdC6wD

The Rakaia river was formerly known as Ō Rakaia meaning the place where people were ranged in rank. It was a traditional mahinga kai of the Ngai Tūāhuriri people of Kaiapoi.

The Rakaia river mouth is the site of many earth ovens that were used for cooking moa. Up to 1000 oven sites have been recorded in this area, indicating that large scale specialised moa-hunting for food supply was carried out here.

From Tī Kōuka Whenua, Christchurch City Libraries website

https://www.coastalsociety.org.nz/assets/Uploads/files/CN-53-2013-07.pdf

Jasper and I went for a walk with the Canterbury Botanical Society around the north side of the Rakaia River mouth.

Some notes-
Myoporum insulare from Australia and Tasmania planted instead of Myoporum laetum/Ngaio
Olearia albida a North Island Olearia
A large number of Lycium ferocissimum/African boxthorn alongside the path
Acacia melanoxylon/blackwood I think this is interesting because of the odd leaves that are not leaves but modified leaf stems called phyllodes. This is another Australian plant.
Apodasmia similis/Oioi one of my favourites because of the way it moves in the breeze and I see it nearly every day when crossing the South Brighton Bridge.
Senecio glomeratus a food for Magpie Moth caterpillars.
Iris foetidissima - saw many under the willows.
Fatsia japonica growing in a field of ivy
Selaginella kraussiana Alice’s adversary. A weedy African clubmoss that is difficult to eradicate. It is listed on the New Zealand National Plant Pest Accord.
Coriaria arborea/Tutu, Tom explained that this is poisonous and spread from further inland by floating down the river. Māori used to make a drink from the berries but had to remove the small seeds because the seeds are poisonous.
Senecio minimus- I am looking out for these plants because I am looking for Magpie Moth caterpillars that eat them.

A sunny day out at Birdlings Flat walking on the beach and looking for agate with the family. A few observations.

We went to the rock museum as well https://www.geotrips.org.nz/trip.html?id=512

Te Wahapū – Avon/Heathcote Rivers’ Estuary
People have lived and gathered food in the estuary area for over 600 years.

The estuary provided vital access to a network of waterways stretching from Waihora (Lake Ellesmere) to the Kowai River and the estuary channel provided an opening to the fishing grounds of Te Kaikai a Waro (Pegasus Bay).

Opawaho / Ōtākaro estuary at low tideThe first settlers were the Waitaha iwi who lived in two main kāika around the estuary: Raekura and Te Kai o Te Karoro. They built whare from local harakeke, raupō and trees.

Later in the 1500s, the Ngāti Māmoe iwi had a settlement near the estuary on Tauhinu Korokio, today’s Mt Pleasant. About one hundred years after this, Ngāi Tahu under chief Tūrākautahi, established a pā north of the Waimakariri, called Kaiapoi Pā. While Ngāi Tahu did not live alongside the estuary itself, they visited and used the area as a mahinga kai in a similar way to their predecessors.

The estuary was rich with tuna (eels), kanakana (lamprey), inaka (adult whitebait), pātiki (flounder) and pipi. Kōmara and aruhe (edible fern root) were grown in the sandy soils at the mouth of the Ōtākaro. Mānuka weirs were built around the mouth of the river during the eel migrations and pātiki were abundant in the mudflats across the middle of the estuary, an area called Waipātiki (flounder water).

The estuary was part of a large network of food resources and trading between families. Such trading helped maintain tribal connections throughout the South Island.

Te Karoro Karoro — Brighton Spit
Te Karoro KaroroThe original Waitaha name for the Brighton Spit area was Te Karoro Karoro (the seagulls chatter).

Later it was known as Kaiaua, which literally means to eat yellow-eyed mullet or herring.

Brighton Spit was formed from sand carried to the coast by the Rakahuri (Ashley) and Waimakariri rivers building up along the shore.

SculptureThe sand formed spits enclosing both Brooklands Lagoon and the Avon-Heathcote Estuary.

Throughout the pines of South New Brighton Park a number of middens (dumps of domestic waste) have been discovered.

From the Christchurch City Libraries website Tī Kōuka Whenua

I will add my observations to this journal post as time goes on

We parked at Worsleys Road cark park and walked down Faulkners Track then along the South Boundary Track then up Watlings Track then along the Trig V path and back to the Worsleys Road car park.

Jasper came with me today so I could not stop too long to take pictures. The path was very zigzag, rocky and muddy in places. Beautiful views over Governors Bay.

New finds

Asplenium flabellifolium

Veronica lavaudiana
I was very happy to see this but my companion was unimpressed and wanted to get back to the car.

Polystichum oculatum

Macrostidia reducta
https://www.rnz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018788244
I have been looking out for the fishy pouch fungus since being shown it at the Tupari reserve by members of the Canterbury Botanical Society. Thanks Jerry Cooper for adding the correct id.

https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/ti-kouka-whenua/ohinetahi/
https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/350288745/fire-resilient-planting-initiative-launched-summit-road-society-protect-port

An early morning walk to see the sunrise and moonset.

We walked from the sign of the bellbird along the crater rim walkway and then up to Mt Ada. After walking to the top of Mt Ada and taking in the view we walked back down and around the top of Ōhinetahi bush reserve and back to the sign of the bellbird.

New plants I haven’t seen or noticed before -

Pelargonium inodorum growing underneath burnt gorse. Thank you joknight_nz for the id.
Genus Wahlenbergia growing in a sunny spot below Bivvy rock. I had no idea what this was, even the INaturalist suggestions was not helpful. Thanks david_lyttle for the help.
Azorella hookeri which is in the family Apiaceae.

I’m starting to take more notice of lichens. I’ve learned that they are a fungi but they need an algae and/Cyanobacteria to form a symbiotic relationship with to provide sugars for the fungi. The photosynthetic partners are called photobionts.

Cass Peak is historically known to local Māori as Ō-Rongo-Mai, the place where voices are heard.

The name is illustrative of the bloody pre-European history of the hills that ensued with the North Island Ngāi Tahu invasion of the area 300 years ago.

According to legend, Ngāi Tahu warriors led by Te Rakiwhakaputa slaughtered a hunting party from the Ngāti Māmoe Pā of Mānuka (situated on the plains side of the range), after detecting their presence in the area by the sound of their voices.

This area is now a reserve covered in native bush. This information is from the Christchurch City Libraries website.

There is a radar and communications dome on top of Ōrongomai that is used for tracking aircraft and radio communications.

I parked at the car park for Sign of the Bellbird then wandered off around Ōrongomai/Cass Peak. It is very peaceful there with a lot of diversity of plant life. I could hear people talking occasionally I think they were cycling or walking/running on the Summit Road. There are some rocky and slippery places along the path.

There are some statuesque Tōtara and I am fond of the Fuchsia excorticata/Kōtukutuku.

The rock faces are well worth a close look and are covered in a myriad of plant life.

I found a small patch of Ranunculus reflexus, Maruru. I have never seen before.

I am not sure if I identified the Biddy-bid correctly, I think it is Acaena novae-zealandiae because of the dark green, shiny top of the leaf (adaxial).

After walking around Cass Peak I reached the Summit Road then walked up the road to look at the radio and communications dome.

As I was walking back to the car park there was a mature Pennantia corymbosa, kaikōmako. I was glad to see this because I have mostly seen only the juvenile plants with the different foliage, and as I was taking a picture I saw a Kererū sitting high in the tree.

I went for a walk today at the Adventure park while my husband rode his bike. If you walk to the top you can get the chairlift down for free. It takes about one and a half hours. I did not take many observations because I could not take all day. It was not a good feeling to realise that I am occasionally scared of heights while halfway down the chairlift by myself. From the chairlift I saw large patches of banana passionfruit and old man's beard that did distract me from the fear of falling to my death. I met up with my husband at the Adventure park cafe, he was easy to find in the crowd because of his green hair. The chips were good. I do hope the Adventure park has a plan to remove the invasive plants.