2015 New Zealand
 

Day 8 - 15/09/2015 Christchurch

2015 New Zealand
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Punting on the Avon Our first adventure today is a punt ride on the Avon. We're booked in for the 9:45 ride and we're a wee bit early so we have coffee and a scone at the boatshed. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Punting on the Avon We don't know it at the time, but the other person in the cafe, a woman from Indiana, joins us on the punt ride. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Punting on the Avon After breakfast, we have to hang around for a bit. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Punting on the Avon The Avon is a real river with continuously flowing fresh water. It emerges from its source in the outer western suburb of Avonhead (funny name that). It's real source is probably from the Southern Alps via underground aquifers.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Punting on the Avon After a short wait, they slide the punt out of the boat shed. A punt is a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow, designed for use in shallow water. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Punting on the Avon A punt is not like a gondola. A gondola is a shallow draft vessel that is structurally different and is propelled by an oar rather than a pole. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Punting on the Avon The punter propels the punt by pushing against the river bed with a pole. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Punting on the Avon The ride was a good experience and we enjoyed it a lot. There was only one other passenger – the lady from Indiana.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Punting on the Avon The commentary was good and with only three of us on board, it was more like a chat. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Punting on the Avon The ride is on the River Avon and the river forms the part of the Botanical Gardens. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Punting on the Avon From its source, the Avon winds around the Botanic Gardens, then through the eastern suburbs to empty into the Avon-Heathcote Estuary near the water treatment plant Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Punting on the Avon This is a male Paradise shelduck and it is endemic to NZ. It is NZ's most abundant native duck and is widely distributed throughout the country.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Punting on the Avon J.R. Forster, the biologist in Cook's second expedition, first documented the existence of the Paradise Shelduck in 1773 in Dusky Sound, Fiordland. Here a male and female swim together. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Punting on the Avon This is the NZ Scaup and it is endemic to New Zealand. Scaup were first identified at Dusky Sound in Fiordland by J.R. Forster Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Punting on the Avon They are thinly spread over the North and South Islands. According to Birdlife International, there are an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 birds in the wild. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Punting on the Avon Sadly, seven species of duck, 2 geese, and 7 rails are extinct because of predation and loss of habitat. Of the remaining 5 native ducks, only blue duck and scaup are protected - the other 3 are still hunted.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Punting on the Avon These flowers are in the Daffodil Woodland section of the Botanical Gardens. We are fortunate to be here at a time in which it is flowering. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Punting on the Avon The ride costs $NZ28 and lasts about ½ hour. It's not the sort of thing that I'd rush to do again, but it was fun. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Punting on the Avon We punt down to just beyond the bridge . . . Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Punting on the Avon . . . and then turn around and come back.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Punting on the Avon At the end of the ride, we're induced to buy the pictures that they took of us. This is a bit drippy in this age of camera phones. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area I want to explore the Botanical Gardens and Jenni wants to explore the city and go on the tram tour. She leaves me at Punting on the Avon and heads east with the Re:Start Mall as her first stop. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area The Bridge of Remembrance is closed today. The Triumphal Arch is dedicated to those who died in WWI and is a memorial to all those who died in subsequent conflicts. Footnote: The Bridge of Remembrance was repaired and strengthened, and reopened with a rededication ceremony held on Anzac Day in 2016. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area Jenni walks along the side of the Avon on her way to the Tram stop. These buildings are on the eastern shore in Oxford Terrace. The tram in the picture is about to turn into Cashel Street and go past the Re:Start Mall.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area The Gallipoli Pine planted here has a fascinating story: A solitary Turkish red pine stood on a hill above Anzac Cove on April 25, 1915 as soldiers from NZ and Australia landed on the beaches. One hundred years later, the descendants of this tree were planted around NZ to commemorate the Anzac centenary as a special living tribute. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area The NZ Forest Research Institute reared seedlings descended from the original tree at its Rotorua headquarters and distributed them around the country to be planted at commemorative events on Anzac Day 2015. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area "We take your safety seriously." Good Lord, they actually mean it. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area This waterwheel is located on a small island in the Avon at the corner of Oxford Terrace and Hereford Street. in the early days of Christchurch, the island was the site of a water powered flour mill.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area The mill was built in 1859 and operated until 1888. At its peak, horses and drays laden with wheat queued back 750 metres to the Christchurch Hospital. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area She walks up Oxford Terrace and catches the tram at Stop 3. The tram then heads in a southerly direction and turns into Cashel Street where the Re:Start shopping centre is located. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area This is a temporary mall in the Central City area built from shipping containers in a program called Re:Start. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area The February 2011 earthquake destroyed most buildings in City Mall (Cashel and High Streets), and resulted in the central city being cordoned off from public access while buildings were demolished.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area Re:Start was initially considered a short-term response to the lack of permanent buildings but it is popular with locals and tourists alike and remains open for business. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area The Town Cryer welcomes people to the mall Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area Ballantynes on Cashel Street is relatively unscathed. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area The tram, still in Cashel Street, crosses Columbo Street into an area still being repaired.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area "The Crossing" is on the next corner at Cashel and Columbo. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area Plans are in place to redevelop the site into huge retail complex connected to Ballantynes by the aerobridge. Cashel Street past this point will be a pedestrian mall with the tram line running through its centre. Really nice. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area The tram continues east for one more block, turns right, and then heads down High Street in a SE direction. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area The buildings in High Street are in an area particularly badly hit by the quakes.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area The tram goes down past Lichfield where it goes through a switch over and finishes on the other side of the road facing back up High Street. The driver has to get out and go to the other end of the tram to continue the journey. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area The tram travels back up High Street to Manchester Street, now heading in the opposite direction. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area At High Street and Manchester. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area The tram continues NW and crosses Hereford. Looking down Hereford St, Jenni sees more ruined buildings. The tram continues into Cathedral Square, the centre of the city.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area This is the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, partially demolished in the 2011 earthquake. The Cathedral was closed after the 4 September 2010 Canterbury earthquake. The February 2011 Christchurch earthquake collapsed the two bell towers at the front of the building and destabilised the dome. The dome was removed and the rear of the Cathedral was demolished. It is now called the Heritage Building. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area From the tram, Jenni spies this Mural in Worcester St. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area The tram continues around the Christchurch Cathedral to its northern side. The earthquake destroyed the cathedral's spire, part of its tower, and severely damaged the structure of the remaining building. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area The remainder of the tower was demolished in March 2012. The Anglican Church decided to demolish the building and replace it with a new structure - a controversial decision in post quake Christchurch.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area As of January 2015 court judgements have mostly been in favour of the Church but no demolition has occurred since the removal of the tower in early 2012. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area The west wall suffered collapses in the June 2011 earthquake and again in the December 2011 quake. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area Since 15/08/2013 the cathedral's congregation has worshipped at the Cardboard Cathedral. The Cardboard Cathedral is the transitional pro-cathedral and it opened in August 2013. It was designed by architect Shigeru Ban (pro bono) and seats around 700 people. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area The site, on the corner of Hereford and Madras Streets in Latimer Square, is several blocks from the permanent location of Christchurch Cathedral.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area This is the Christchurch Central Post Office building located in Cathedral Square. The building was initially a post office with other government services. Until the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, it was a Visitor Information Centre but has since been inaccessible. It was the site of the first telephone exchange in NZ and is registered with the NZ Historic Places Trust as a Category I heritage building. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area Jenni continues in the tram west on Worcester. This is a massive support structure to prevent the wall from falling over on the western side of the historic Worcester Bridge. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area " What we are doing: The historic bridge on Worcester Street, between Cambridge Terrace and Oxford Terrace, was damaged in the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. Repair and reinstatement work on the bridge will commence in the week beginning Monday 5 August 2013 and we anticipate this work to take approximately six weeks. " Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area " Repair work will be carried out on three pillars that have moved and rotated during the earthquakes. The pillars will be moved back to their original position and strengthened by drilling vertical steel rods through them. This will ensure the pillars stay in place and prevent further damage in future earthquakes. Stonework repairs will also be carried out to reinstate the bridge to its pre-earthquake condition."
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area The Christchurch Art Gallery. As for E STE PEOPLE the official explanation on the City Council website is that the letters spell "Steeple people - encouraging residents and visitors to talk about the future of the city and its Cathedral." Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area The front of the Christchurch Art Gallery on Montreal St and Worcester Blvd. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area The front of the Christchurch Art Gallery on Montreal St and Worcester Blvd. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area The tram then travels north alongside the botanic gardens and then turns east on Amargh back into the destruction zone.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area This time the tram approaches on the northern side of the Cathedral Square area. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area Private dwellings on Amargh and Durham St North. Jenni travels back to the disaster zone in an easterly direction. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area A new convention centre is being built in Amargh to the north of Cathedral Square. That's the cathedral in the background. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area To the north of Cathedral Square in Amargh looking down Colombo St. Look at the massive structure supporting the western side of the cathedral.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area This was Christchurch's tallest office tower - the 18 storey Pricewaterhouse Coopers building. It is now a forest of concrete stumps with dozens of stumps like these. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area Beautiful art work adorns the Isaac Theatre Royal In Amargh Street. Lady Diana Isaac ONZM QSM was a New Zealand conservationist, businesswoman, philanthropist and arts patron who supported a wide range of projects within Canterbury. She was best known for cofounding and running Isaac Construction with her husband Sir Neil Isaac. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area In front of the Isaac Theatre Royal, The Piano Centre for Music and the Arts is being constructed. It opened in August 2016 and cost $NZ16.8 million Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area Jenni's tram turns into New Regent Street
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area New Regent Street is a pedestrian mall built as a private development in the early 1930s with 40 shops in Spanish Mission architectural style. The buildings in the streets are listed as Category I heritage items by Heritage NZ, and the street has a historic area listing. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area The street was pedestrianised in 1994 in preparation for the introduction of the Christchurch heritage tram, which began operation in February 1995. The street and buildings were damaged in the February 2011 earthquake and reopened in April 2013. The tram returned from November 2013 onwards. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area New Regent Street is also the terminus for the historic tram - Stop number 1. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area Jenni stays on the tram . . .
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area . . . back past the northern side of the Cathedral . . . Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area . . . and the new construction in Cashel . . . Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area . . . up and down High Street again and along Cashel to Stop 4 on Cashel and Oxford Terrace . . . Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area . . . where she alights and takes this picture of her ride for the past hour or so.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area She walks back past the Bridge of Remembrance . . . Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area . . . past the "Regatta on Avon Cafe and Bar" on the southern side of the Avon . . . Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area . . . crosses over and walks along the northern side of the Avon . . . Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area . . . to the Peacock Fountain.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area I connect my iPhone to the local network carrier and call her. I learn that she is waiting at the Peacock fountain. Then I disconnect my phone again - bloody roaming call rip-offs. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jenni explores the city area And here I am, all smiles, and happy to see my best friend again. Christchurch, or all of NZ really, gives you a wonderful safe feeling and neither of us were the least bit concerned about the other. After all, it's not as though we were in Madrid or anything. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens I separate from Jenni at the boatshed. While she heads for the city, I enter the Botanical Gardens via the Curator's House entrance. The Tudor style Curator’s House was built in 1920 and is now a Spanish restaurant. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens I am welcomed by a bed of flowers that stretches to Christs College in the distance. It is a private school where posh students wear funny clothes like they did in England in the 1800's. The college occupies land that is within the boundaries of the Avon River and it is a shame to see the public excluded from such a beautiful place.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens Enoch Barker, the first Government gardener for the Domain, planted an English oak on 9 July 1863. Gums and willows had been planted earlier but this oak is regarded as the foundation tree of the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. It commemorates the marriage of England’s Prince Albert Edward to Princess Alexandra of Denmark, and stands on what is now known as First Tree Lawn. That tree still exists but this tree, also an oak, was planted in 1893 to commemorate the marriage of King George V. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens There is a range of North American west coast trees here that are well established. This is a douglas fir; also called oregon pine belonging to the psuedotsuga genus. It is a pine and part of the Pinales (Conifers) order. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens This is a European purple beech. Early explorers mistook this species as being the same as one of NZ's native species and named them so. Only problem is that the native tree is an evergreen. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens This is a real NZ article - a rimu. The rimu is a member of the podocarp family and is a dioecious conifer. Dioecious means there are ‘male’ and ‘female’ trees. This is different to most conifers, which tend to have both male (pollen) and female (seed) cones on the same tree.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens This is the rimu's foliage. Unfortunately, their rich soils have largely led to the demise of these forests when the land is used for farming. Podocarp forests can still be found in some parts of the central North Island, Taranaki, Coromandel, Northland and in Southland. The largest podocarp forests are on the west coast of the South Island. NZ Dept of Conservation. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens This is the inside of the sequoiadendron giganteum or giant sequoia. It was planted by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1869 and is therefore nearly 150 years old. Some trees in California are 2000 years old and are the world's oldest living things. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens The name "sequoia" generally refers to sequoiadendron giganteum, which occurs naturally only in groves on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. It is named after sequoyah, the inventor of the Cherokee syllabary that made reading and writing in Cherokee possible. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens Older giant sequoia fossil specimens have been found in Cretaceous era sediments from a number of sites in North America and Europe, and even as far afield as New Zealand and Australia.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens A beautiful walk. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens Cedrus atlantica, the atlas cedar, is native to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and the Tell Atlas in Algeria. The atlas cedar is a large coniferous evergreen tree that can grow to 30–35 m tall. It is very similar in all characteristics to the other varieties of Lebanon cedar and differences are hard to discern. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens These are the leaves of the atlas cedar, a conifer. Most conifers have needlelike leaves such as the fir, pine, spruce and larch. Some, like cedar, cypress and juniper trees, have scalelike leaves and do not shed individual leaves, but shed short branches bearing one or more years growth. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens This is another popular tree planted across the world for timber, the douglas fir belonging to the pseudotsugo genus. It is among the world's tallest living thing and only the coast redwood (USA) and eucalyptus regnans (Australia) reach greater heights.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens Conifers reproduce by dropping cones. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens Quercus suber, the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring. It is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens And this is the tsuga, the western hemlock. The common name hemlock is derived from a perceived similarity in the smell of its crushed foliage to that of the unrelated plant poison hemlock. However tsuga species are not poisonous. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens The needlelike foliage of the western hemlock.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens There are eight to ten species within the tsuga genus (depending on the authority), with four species occurring in North America and four to six in eastern Asia. Jenni and I saw lots of these when we visited the Treetop Adventure in Vancouver BC. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens This magnificent tree is the coast redwood, an evergreen, long-lived, monoecious tree. This species includes the tallest living trees on Earth, reaching up to 115 m in height. (Monoecious: having both the male and female reproductive organs in the same plant). Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens These are the coast redwood's leaves. These trees are among the oldest living things on Earth living 1,200–1,800 years or more. This tree that I'm looking at will still be alive when Samuel Reeves' grandchildren's grandchildren have died. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens These are maples, dead ugly in winter but they become a blaze of red in autumn.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens Monterey cypress or cupressus macrocarpa is a species of cypress native to the Central Coast of California. The native range of the species is confined to two small relict populations, at Cypress Point in Pebble Beach and at Point Lobos near Carmel, California. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens The conservatories contain large populations of tropical or indoor plants. Cuningham House above is listed by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a significant building and it hosts a collection of tropical plants. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens Finally, I start to see what I came here to see - NZ's native species. This is a cordyline australis, commonly known as the cabbage tree, cabbage palm or tī kōuka. It is a widely branched monocot tree endemic to New Zealand.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens Monocots are flowering plants whose seeds contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one of the major groups into which the flowering plants are divided, the rest of the flowering plants have two cotyledons and are classified as dicotyledons, or dicots Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens We saw the cabbage tree across the whole of the south island. It's Darwinian advantage is that, unlike podocarp etc., it grows in areas that farmers do not want. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens We didn't know it at the time, but the Botanical Gardens include land on both sides of the Avon and this land includes a car park. Instead, we fed a parking meter on the street. I'm on the northern edge of the gardens. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens This is the Dutch Elm, famous for the Dutch Elm disease which is caused by a member of the sac fungi, spread by the elm bark beetle. The disease was accidentally introduced into America and Europe, where it devastated native populations of elms. It also reached New Zealand.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens These ducks are male and female mallards. The NZ mallard population is derived from 17 small importations from England between 1870 and 1930, and two later imports from the USA. Acclimatisation Societies subsequently bred and released over 30,000 mallards throughout NZ until 1974. By this time the mallard had become the most common waterfowl in the country. Fish & Game NZ estimate that approximately 500,000 mallards are shot each year (thus ensuring the survival of the species. Weird eh?). Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens I have now walked the length of the gardens in a roughly NW direction and have not seen many of NZ's native trees, mostly foreign stuff. It occurs to me, "Of course. New Zealanders want to see other countries' flora when they come to a Botanical Gardens." Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens This lovely lake is near a park entrance and the conservatories. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens I loop around the western edge of the park past the Azelea Gardens.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens Actually, azaleas are botanically classified as rhododenrons. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens This lake is part of the Azelea and Magnolia Gardens. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens At this sign I turn right. I completely miss the rose garden to my left which is an icon of the botanical gardens. The original Rose Garden was established in 1909 and at that time was considered the largest and finest in Australasia. It was originally rectangular in shape but it now is circular. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens This is the Water Garden on the western edge of the Botanical Gardens. That stone bridge is a favourite photo spot for newly married couples.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens The Water Garden is situated with a backdrop of mature trees and shrubs. These plantings provide the necessary shelter from wind, but are distant enough to prevent excessive shading and root competition. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens Near the water gardens is this tulip tree from the USA. It looks like a monster tree that comes to life on dark windy nights and scares little children in their beds. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens At the western edge is a small area of NZ's endemic botanical species. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens The first thing I see is a Eucalypt, a NZ Blue Gum. NZ? Yes. It is a cross with other Eucalypt species developed in NZ in the 1920’s. The original stock is Australian.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens Finally, I see the magnificent kauri. Agathis australis is a coniferous tree found north of 38°S in the northern districts of New Zealand's North Island. Kauri are among the world's mightiest trees, growing to over 50 m tall, with trunk girths up to 16 m and living for over 2,000 years. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens The Kauri is one of the most magnificent timber trees known, but unfortunately resources are now seriously depleted. It grows naturally from North Cape to Kawhia and the Bay of Plenty. In the Kauri forests clean, erect trunks rise up to 20 metres without a branch and the tree may grow to between 30-60 metres. In cultivation, trees retain their branches to ground level. The timber is excellent, being durable, long, light and straight grained, it is easily worked and with a smooth silky finish. Kauri is one of the best boat building timbers known and was much prized for spar making in early sailing days. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens Before people settled in NZ, forest containing kauri covered much of the Coromandel Peninsula and northern areas. Today, the remaining 7,455 hectares* of mature kauri forest is scattered in remnant patches. Fossil evidence shows that it once grew as far south as Invercargill. Over the last few million years, kauri retreated to its present limits as a result of geological-scale disturbances such as sea level changes, mountain building, volcanic eruptions and glaciations, and the associated loss of suitable soils. Teara Encyclopedia of NZ. *7455 hectares is 75 square kms or 11 average size NZ sheep/dairy farms. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens Nothofagus - not fagus. New Zealand's beech forests are made up of five species of southern beech. This is the silver beech which is the most widespread tall tree in Fiordland.
Beech trees flower in spring and are wind pollinated. After fertilisation, beech flowers produce seeds in the form of small winged nuts which fall in autumn. The seeds rarely blow more than a few metres before falling to the forest floor where they germinate the following spring. The half light of the forest floor stunts the growth of seedlings until a mature tree falls and light floods in. Once established, a beech tree can grow over 30 metres tall and can live for more than 300 years. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens Podocarpus or totara. Totara timber can be legally harvested from native forests on private land, but is subject to strict controls. Where timber is milled from natural forests, it must be produced sustainably as defined by the Forests Act (1949). Wonderful. The early settlers would have simply wiped out the lot Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens Podocarp trees boast a lineage that stretches back to the time when NZ was part of the super continent of Gondwana. NZ has 15 podocarp tree species belonging to the coniferous families Podocarpaceae (13 species), Phyllocladaceae (3 species). The best known are rimu, kahikatea, miro, matai and totara. NZ Dept of conservation Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens In its natural state, a podocarp forest can be lush with a dense undergrowth of shrubs, ferns and tree ferns. The few precious remnants of forest which survive often contain the highest diversity of plants and animals in the region. They are a left-over from an ancient forested time. NZ Dept of Conservation.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens Beech forests are the largest remaining indigenous forest type in New Zealand, mainly because beech forests are found on mountainous land not generally regarded as the best for agriculture. NZ Dept of Conservation Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens The native flora of NZ is unique as it evolved in isolation for millions of years. 80% of our trees, ferns and flowering plants are endemic (found only in New Zealand). About 10–15% of the total land area of NZ is covered with native flora, from tall kauri and kohekohe forests to rainforest dominated by rimu, beech, tawa, matai and rata; ferns and flax; dunelands with their spinifex and pingao; alpine and subalpine herb fields; and scrub and tussock. NZ Dept of Conservation Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens The Nothofagus genus is distributed on parts of the old supercontinent Gondwana: Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Argentina and Chile. Fossils show that the genus originated on the supercontinent. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens I was really pleased to see such a good collection of NZ'z three main timber trees: beech, podocarp and kauri. They are beautiful trees and I cannot understand why these were mown down and introduced species planted in their place. In the Southern Alps, much of the podocarp has been destroyed right up to the slopes of the mountains. I could see many times where the line of farmland joined the line of trees. The native species are beautiful and I am bewildered by their destruction
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens It is a wonderful morning for me. I'm in this area when I reconnect my iPhone to the network and learn that Jenni is waiting for me at the Peacock Fountain. More wonderfulness awaits. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens So I rush back along the border of the archery garden to greet her. I actually took 155 pictures during my visit to the gardens but 100 did not make the cut. My overall impression: beautiful but a couple of hours wondering around without a plan or a map does not do justice to the place. It needs a full day at least because I missed so many beautiful things. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens The Peacock Fountain was imported from England and first installed in the Gardens in the early 1900s, thanks to a bequest from the Honorable John Peacock. The Fountain is where me meet and continue our adventures together. The next stop is Makkas for a bite to eat and then on to the Willowbank Nature Reserve. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Jeff visits the Botanical Gardens This is a Walking Guide to the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. It is an excellent publication and were I ever to visit these gardens again, I would seek information from here first.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Boys in their nineteenth century English uniforms enter Christ's College. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve We're on our way to Makka's for lunch and this sign bemuses us. I look it up and the following came into effect on 1/12/2014 Cruising means driving repeatedly in the same direction over the same section of a road in a motor vehicle in a manner that - (a) Draws attention to the power or sound of the engine of the motor vehicle being driven; or (b) Creates a convoy that -    (i) Is formed otherwise than in trade; and    (ii) Impedes traffic flow. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve After lunch we go to the Willowbank Wildife Reserve within the suburbs of Christchurch. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Willowbank is a small zoo that has animals from other countries but mostly from NZ. It has a good display of NZ's top five: Kiwi, Kea, Takahe, Kaka, Tuatara. Willowbank is very much "conservationist" in outlook and attitude. I didn't think it was overly didactic (moralising) but I'm a bit sympathetic to conservationists' views anyway.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve "Share our hope for the future." Nice. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve The reserve has many lakes running through it with bridges running across most of them. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve A black swan on its nest. Black Swans were present in NZ at the time of first Maori settlement but were no longer extant at the time of European settlement. They were reintroduced, initially from Melbourne, in the 1860s. Their distribution and abundance within a few years of those small reintroductions suggests that, coincidentally, natural recolonisation may have occurred. Periodic immigration from Australia may still occur but has yet to be confirmed. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve "The result often being an environmental disaster".
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Jenni feeds a tame eel. Tame eel? I never knew there were such things. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Some Bambies, an introduced species. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve This is the Australasian swamp hen which occurs in eastern Indonesia, the Moluccas, Aru and Kai Islands, PNG, Australia and NZ where it is known as the pūkeko. It is not endangered and numbers in NZ are plentiful. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Emu - native of Australia with no NZ kin.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve This Cape Barren Goose wanders freely in this section of the park. The species is named for Cape Barren Island, where European explorers first sighted it; they are one of the rarest of the world's geese. Their ability to drink salt or brackish water allows numbers of geese to remain on offshore islands all year round. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Kawau Island in NZ is home to large numbers of tammar, Parma, swamp and brush tailed rock wallaby from introductions made around 1870 and they are considered a pest on the island. The Lake Tarawera area has a large tammar population (tammars are about the size of a rabbit). The South Canterbury district has a large population of Bennett's wallaby. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve I can't find anything about this duck. It does not appear to be a NZ native bird. Maybe one day? Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve This is a male North American wood duck. Its US population was in serious decline in the late 19th century as a result of habitat loss and hunting. By the beginning of the 20th century, wood ducks had almost disappeared from much of their former range. In response to legislative protection introduced in 1918, wood duck populations began slowly to recover. NZ does not have a significant wild population of these ducks.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Surely the world's ugliest mammal? It ensures its survival as a species by being good to eat. Curious. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve This is a section devoted to farms and their animals. We quickly pass through. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Not a single one of these animals is a NZ native. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Me. Having a good time here.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve This is the Kakariki which means ‘small green parrot’ in Māori. They are beautiful forest birds that feed on berries, seeds, fruit and insects and generally nest in holes in trees. Red and yellow-crowned kakariki are the only native bird species able to be held and bred in captivity. Captive breeding has contributed to the preservation of kakariki, and captive reared birds have been successfully liberated on Cuvier, Tiritiri, Matangi and Whale Islands. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve During the 1800s, kakariki were common and at times flocks would emerge from forests to feed on grain and fruit crops. Farmers and orchardists considered them pests and shot thousands of the birds in an attempt to protect their harvests. Culling and destruction of their old-growth forest habitat were primary reasons for the birds’ near demise. Today, attacks by introduced predators such as mustelids (weasel family) and rats are the main threat to kakariki. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve The New Zealand kea is an endemic parrot found in the South Island's alpine environments. It is the world's only alpine parrot, and is one of the most intelligent of birds. Population: 1,000–5,000; conservation status: Nationally Endangered. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Keas, like many other native birds, have suffered from introduced predators. Keas are particularly vulnerable because they nest in holes in the ground that are easy to find and easy to get in to.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve The kea was once killed for bounty because of sheep farmers' concerns that it attacked livestock. The Kea received full protection in 1986. Kea can solve logical puzzles, such as pushing and pulling things in a certain sequence to get to food. They will work together to achieve an objective and have been filmed preparing and using tools. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve This was fun. These birds are noisy and there was a bunch of them making a racket. We even saw this tin shed and noisy Kea on TV back in Oz. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve The NZ pigeon (or kereru) is widespread throughout the country being present in extensive tracts of native forest and rural and urban habitats, including most cities. Its abundance is severely compromised by introduced mammals. Its conservation status is Not Threatened. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Kereru are widespread through the country from Northland to Stewart Island, and on some offshore islands that have suitable habitats. Kereru inhabit a wide variety of forest types: podocarp-broadleaf forest, beech forest, second growth native forest regenerating after logging, small forest remnants, and exotic plantations. They also occur in farmland shelterbelts, urban parks, and rural and suburban gardens. Kereru voted NZ Bird of the year - 2018 .
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve NZ pigeons are frugivorous, primarily eating fruits from native trees. They play an important ecological role, as they are the only birds capable of eating the largest native fruits and drupes and thus spreading the seeds intact. While fruit comprises the major part of their diets, the Kereru also browses on leaves and buds, especially nitrogen rich foliage during breeding. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve The weka is one of NZ's iconic large, flightless bird species and is a member of the rail family. Weka are sturdy brown birds, about the size of a chicken, that feed mainly on invertebrates and fruit. Its conservation status is Vulnerable. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Weka are charismatic birds that are often attracted to human activity. This makes an encounter with a weka a wildlife highlight for many people as the curious bird searches for any food item that the intruder might bring. It is a different story for people who live alongside weka; they need to be on guard as the weka may raid vegetable gardens, pilfer poultry food and eggs and even steal a dog's food from its bowl. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Tuatara are rare, medium-sized reptiles found only in New Zealand. They are the only surviving members of the order Sphenodontia that was well represented by many species during the age of the dinosaurs some 200 million years ago. All species, exept for the tuatara, declined and eventually became extinct about 60 million years ago.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Tuatara once lived throughout the mainland of New Zealand but have survived in the wild only on 32 offshore islands. These islands are characteristically free of introduced predators which are known to prey on eggs and young and compete for invertebrate food. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Tuatara have a spiny crest along their back which is especially pronounced in males. Their teeth have two rows in the upper jaw that overlap with one row on the lower jaw; this is unique among living species. They are even more unusual in having a pronounced photoreceptive eye, the "third eye", which is thought to be involved in setting circadian and seasonal cycles. They are able to hear, although no external ear is present. They have a number of unique features in their skeleton, some of them apparently evolutionarily retained from fish. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve We follow the signs to the Kiwi enclosure and one of NZ's rarest birds, the Takahe. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve One of the big five: the Takahe. Unfortunately, this is as close as we get as these birds are extremely rare. The South Island takahē is a flightless bird belonging to the rail family. It was thought to be extinct after the last four known specimens were taken in 1898. However . . .
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve . . . after an extensive search the bird was rediscovered in the Murchison Mountains near Lake Te Anau on 20 November 1948 and the species still lives there. Small numbers have also been successfully translocated to five predator-free offshore islands. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Before we enter the Kiwi enclosure, we gain a little information about the Kiwi. Briefly: NZ part of Gondwana 200 Ma. 80 Ma broke away. 50 Ma completely separated. NZ separated from all continents longer time than any other. 85% flowering plants endemic, 100% bats, 100% amphibians (frogs), 100% reptiles, 90% freshwater fish, 70% land and freshwater birds. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve The Kiwi: Flightless, tiny wings with long claws at end, feathers more like hair, Giant eggs (25% of body weight), Average egg weight 450g, two functioning ovaries like a mammal Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Enemies: Dogs, Rats, Cats.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve More enemies: Pigs, possums. And now . . . (since human arrival 700 ya) 32% native birds extinct, 18% sea birds, 3 of 7 frog species extinct. Kiwi: 200 Ya, millions of kiwi, 50,000 left, numbers dropping 5.8% each year. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve " The little Spotted Kiwi. There are no longer any naturally occurring populations of the Little Spotted Kiwi. Originally widespread throughout NZ, they are now extinct in their natural habitat. This map shows the remaining populations of Brown Kiwi (North Island), Great spotted Kiwi, Okarito Kiwi, Haast Tokoeka Kiwi, Southern Tokoeka Kiwi (All South Island). What jumps out at you is that surviving populations on the South Island are all in National Parks and the sanctuary of Stewart Island. This is so sad. I feel so sad. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve We are about to enter the darkened enclosure in which six beautiful Brown Kiwi are on display. Yes, I can guess - the bigger ones are the girls. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve The enclosure is darkened as the Kiwi are nocturnal and forage at night. Flash photography is not allowed, a policy with which we comply.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve After about five minutes, when our eyes adjust to the dark, we see the six of them. They are beautiful, shy little animals. They are the Brown Kiwi which is merely endangered. For me, actually to see some Kiwis (the birds) is the highlight of today’s adventures. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve The NZ kākā has greatly declined across its traditional range as a result of the usual and competition from wasps and bees for the honeydew excreted by scale insects in Beech forests. A closely related species the Norfolk kaka, became extinct in 1851 for similar reasons. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Kaka are obligate (restricted to a particular function or mode of life) forest birds that obtain all their food from trees. There are probably fewer than 10,000 birds extant in the wild. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve The NZ falcon or kārearea is NZ's only falcon and the only remaining diurnal bird of prey endemic to NZ. It is capable of flying at speeds over 100 km/h and catching prey larger than itself. Conservation status for Bush and Southern forms: threatened; Eastern form: At Risk – Recovering. The species population is uncertain but likely to be between 5,000–8,000.
Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Thus ends a greatly enlightening, somewhat saddening, day. Like other countries where white migrants have settled (particularly in Australia and the USA) NZ's environmental damage is extensive: there is no balance between the needs of humans and the needs of NZ's endemic flora and fauna. In a way, because of its small size, the damage in NZ is more apparent to the visitor. The west coast of the South Island is rugged and beautiful beyond belief. It became so, and remains so, because of its unsuitability for farming. The remainder of the South Island has been destroyed by man. Ask any of NZ's remaining fauna what they think of it. Day 8 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ - Willowbank Wildlife Reserve Our last picture of the day: Jenni Reeves (nee Kidd) must have Scottish relatives here. Later that evening we decide to drive into town to the Returned Serviceman’s Association (NZ's RSL) for our final meal in NZ which is genuine NZ roast lamb and vegs. Very nice too! Now we’re back in our room waiting for the time to pass before we board our flight back to Oz. Our plane leaves at 7:00 AM tomorrow which means we need to leave here at 04:00 to return the car and to join the check-in queues.   
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