Katikati Birds and Two Reserves

We stayed at the Katikati RSA for a few nights, and not far from where we were parked was this tree loaded with berries that attracted the birds. We were lucky enough to enjoy a visit from this keruru.

And then the tuis arrived. There were several of those all feasting on these little plum berries.

Park Road Reserve

There was more birdlife at two of Katikati's reserves that we visited. The first was Park Reserve and just to the right of the reserve was this white-faced heron strolling through the freshly mown grass.

It was a really peaceful place—lots of open spaces and although it was an overcast day, the sun shone through occasionally, and it was a lovely walk along the side of the water.

These pied stilts were resting at the edge of the water, most of them standing on one leg looking cute!

This poor boat had more water in it than under it.

And then I spied a kingfisher. First on this branch not too far from the pied stilts . . .

. . .  and then sitting up in this tree.

Three swans on the water.

"Rub-a-dub-dub, three men in a tub" sculpture.

Some silvereyes (also known as white-eyes and waxeyes) eating nectar from the stunning red-hot pokers (Kniphofia).

Tamawhariua Reserve

Tamawhariua Reserve is right next to MacMillan Reserve at Long Beach. We took a walk along a long grassy area next to the water. Not the same manicured lawns as at the previous reserve, but we enjoyed some great views. There was a fence along the edge of the bank for some of the way. It appeared the sea was washing away the land.

You wouldn't want to go too close to the edge as in places the grassy edge was hanging out over nothing, and if you walked on it, it was likely to break away and fall into the water.

Looking over, I could see these trees had already become victims of the encroaching tide.

Near the end, the view over the water . . .

. . . and closer. I believe that must be Omokoroa.

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Bluff and Stirling Point

It was a chilly day when we drove out to see Bluff. It took us about half an hour from where we were staying on the north side of Invercargill. Up at the Bluff Hill lookout, you walk around the outside of this structure at it spirals to the top.

The view from the top.

Further around the coast, we came to the Stirling Point Pilot Station . . .

. . . and another iconic view—the giant anchor chain sculpture illustrating the mythological link between Maui's canoe (this one) and the anchor stone (a replica of this on Stewart Island).

We started to walk along a track, thinking a short walk would be quite nice and would probably warm us up a bit. A map showed a loop trail and so off we set. Soon we were wondering if we would ever reach the turn off to start the loop back. Then once we found it, it started a steep uphill climb. I wondered if we'd bitten off a bit more than we'd intended to, but there was no turning back now. 

The bird life was wonderful. We saw a number of keruru and several bellbirds.

There were so many tuis as well—not very afraid of us. We managed to get quite close.

The native bush was beautiful. 

Finally, at the top, we arrived at this structure, which was a WWII gun emplacement.

At little further on we came across this observation point. Also a leftover from WWII.

From here we had a great view of the lighthouse on Dog Island. That's Ruapuke Island further out.

Fortunately it was downhill the rest of the way and we could soon see our starting point in the distance. If you're planning on this "short" circuit, allow about 1.5 hours, and be aware there's a bit of uphill tramping. The bush and birds are worth it, though.

Before leaving Bluff, Dave was happy to find himself some raw Bluff oysters. < Ugh! > After we got back to the rig, he bought me half a dozen of the cooked variety, and we both enjoyed a late lunch.

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