A trip to Mason Bay - part 1

Mason Bay is on the west coast of Rakiura and consists of extensive and nationally-significant dune systems. Unfortunately marram grass was planted in the 1930s to stabilise the dynamic sand dunes which flowed on to the landholders' marginal farmland. Marram is very dense and crowds out other species including the endemic sedge Desmoschoenus spiralis (orange pīngao) which binds the sand in looser, flatter dunes that provide a unique habitat for other species. By the late 1990s marram had completely covered the foredunes, was steadily moving inland and threatening over 30 threatened and uncommon herbs/plants including the native Gunnera hamiltonii, Pimelea lyallii (sand daphne) and Coprosma acerosa (sand coprosma). In 2000, the Department of Conservation started a marram eradication program, the biggest dune protection project in the southern hemisphere - see here for more information.

Getting to Mason Bay is a breeze if you fly in and land on the beach at low tide; tramping is a tad harder but made easier by getting a water taxi from Oban (rhs red cross on above map) up to Freshwater Hut (middle cross) at high tide, then tramping 15km (3-4hrs) on a relatively flat track. A more strenuous option is to tramp from Oban with an easy tramp to North Arm Hut (4-5hrs), then a toughie over Thompson's Ridge to Freshwater Hut (6-7hrs), then on to Mason Bay (3-4hrs).

Jen and I took the water taxi option and stayed at the historic Island Hill Homestead (lhs cross) so didn't have to take pots/stove/gas which meant our packs were a bit lighter. Tramping is still not my 'thing' - I love being in the bush and taking photos along the way but am usually over the heavy pack novelty after 2-3 hours!! The Homestead is 2.5km from the beach - the Mason Bay DOC hut with 20 beds is halfway, sheltered nicely from the prevailing wind and with large windows overlooking a lawn area which kiwi apparently frequent.

Walking over the swing bridge to check out Freshwater Hut - our
water taxi is just departing

The low-lying track is muddy in places but compensated by the
striking greens and browns of the swamps

Scott Burn - the track (a bit more to the right) follows this fast-flowing
stream and is subject to flooding during wet weather

The historic Island Hill Homestead - our home for two nights

Mason Bay DOC hut

The Spring weather served up sunshine and hail, gales and fantastic cloud formations. Sitting on the deck we could watch the ever-changing clouds scud by, highlighting sand dunes and wetlands as the sun tried valiantly to shine through the gaps. The severity of the elements was apparent in the vegetation - this bush was about 30cm wide, less than a metre tall and shaved on both sides as the howling wind prevented any side growth. Tucked safely deep inside the divaricating branches were wee pink flowers.

Over 1600 sheep were farmed here - I know not how! A tough life for the farmer but I reckon an even tougher one for his wife! More in the next blog!

Time to sit back and enjoy...

Yay - the painting is finished, the Community Vision Workshop on Saturday moved us another step closer and I've survived a super-busy couple of months. It was lovely to have Jen visit again although next time she comes I'll make sure I have time to spend with her! My next priority is to get back to blogging on a regular basis - I've missed keeping you up-to-date on my wee corner of Aotearoa and thanks for your patience.

Sunshine is flooding into my whare at present bringing a warm hint of yellow to the walls. I'm surprised that the Double Rice Cake semi-gloss of the kitchen joinery looks white compared to the (single) Rice Cake low sheen walls. Jen helped me put up some artwork and I'll live with the 'look' for a while before deciding if I want more colour for the kitchen joinery.

It sounds like most of Aotearoa has had a wet and wintry Spring; the Oban weather website is having problems, first the usual URL went to a horse supplies website and now the address is right but the date is stuck on 5 October - not particularly helpful for checking temperature and rainfall. I was very lucky to get the exterior painting finished as I think it's been raining every day since! Nice to see the puddles and the very dry rainforest is soggy once more.

Jen and I went on a great trip to Mason Bay - check out the next blog...

Operation Cover-up

My big paint makeover is almost finished - what a mission to cover up all traces of blue! I'll be able to put everything back in the kitchen cupboards today and, when Mark comes back to paint the outside of the kitchen cupboards, I'll be able to put paint/dropcloths/brushes/paint charts away and enjoy my new home. I've gone with the safe option of Resene Double Rice Cake for the joinery but can always slap a colour on later if I feel that it needs it. I'm really pleased with the outside too, it still takes me by surprise as I turn into the drive way and see it blending in with the bush backdrop.

I tried two testpots for the kitchen joinery - the top drawer is in Resene Double Rice Cake and the second drawer down is in Resene Half Tea. Although Half Tea looked good when it first went on, it darkened quite a lot as it dried and wouldn't look right for the dominating expanse (the back of the sink unit) as you walk in the house. The unit is 2380mm long - I could get one of my bush prints printed on to corrugated iron for $250+ per lineal metre!!

Time to get on with the last of the painting - I'm painting the black TV cabinets (2 different types) white - one has the microwave in and the other, which sits beneath, stores my recipe books. Once everything is back in order I can plan my next challenge of designing the space to the right of the stove.

Have a great week...

Is this my house?

The painter has finished his part on the inside and what a transformation! It's up to me now to sand and undercoat the kitchen joinery and decide on a new colour. Choosing a new colour scheme is not my forte - my initial thought was to go for silver to tie in with the stove and curtains but perhaps a 'warm' colour would be better. Colour replication is far from perfect on my notebook screen so would appreciate any suggestions.

I've strung together a few before and after photos for you...

Having light-coloured walls (Resene Rice Cake) has made such a difference - the space feels bigger and I don't need the light on when the sun's not shining. On the downside, the carpet stains and wall imperfections are more noticeable!

I've decided to change the furniture around to see what works best and still have artwork to go back up on the wall but am reluctant to start making holes. I will use my large (1800 x 800) computer table as a dining table for a few weeks and was wondering if I could use one end for a drawer unit that can be used for pantry items - sort of like this idea but not quite as flash...

There are many inspirational websites for decorating/furnishing ideas; it's easy to spend far too many hours looking at them :). My life became quite spartan during the week that the painter was here as the tv, radio, table and chairs were packed away and everything was under drop cloths. I slept in the garage to escape the smell of paint and lived on vegetable soup that could be heated up on the fire. Well worth the disruption though and I'm thrilled with the end result.

The painter made a start on the outside before the weather packed up again and the new colour (Resene Stonewall) is looking promising and should look even better when the second coat goes on. Here's a sneak preview of Stonewall going over the blue...

It certainly blends in better with the bush backdrop and although it doesn't go perfectly with the blue/grey window frames, it doesn't clash either. Will see what it looks like after the first coat is completed and then decide if I stick with Stonewall or go slightly darker with Double Stonewall.

The day is going far too quickly and I need to clear around the outside of the garage before the painter comes back - time to go out and enjoy the sunshine.

Spring is sprung

New seasons bring new beginnings and none more so than the season of Spring. The native kōtukutuku, Fuchsia excorticata, or tree fuchsia is deciduous here and is easily identified by its orange/brown peeling bark. New leaf buds burst through in late winter providing a welcome source of food for the birds, especially tūī and kererū.

I'm pretty sure this next photo is patē, Schefflera digitata, seven-finger but I need to check the plant again as I can't make out the edge clearly in the photo (it should be finely toothed).

Hand-shaped Schefflera digitata leaves with 3-9 fingers. Often confused with
Five-finger, Pseudopanax arboreus, which can have 5-7 leaflets.

Makomako, Aristotelia serrata, wineberry, has well-defined toothed leaves, hence the Latin word for serrated in the botanical name.

Kōwhai ngutu-kākā, Clianthus puniceus, Kaka beak, is a native plant that has been introduced to Stewart Island/Rakiura. It grows well here and provides nectar for the birds.

Kaka beak Sep12 with new bright-green Spring growth

Close-up showing the new leaf growth in the centre

Live life with your head in the clouds

Today's title is from the Cloud Appreciation Society, of which I am Member 1017. If you are bored of 'blue sky thinking' and want to get the most of watching clouds, then please check out their excellent website and consider joining. Another great place for cloud pics is the home page of www.metvuw.com; the best website for weather forecast charts.

Of course this introduction has to lead somewhere!! In the last week, I've been blessed with three weather-related treats and, thanks to my fab Sony Cybershot DSC-TX10 waterproof camera, I can share them with you.

Last Monday I had a meeting at 4.30pm and when I left work at 5:15pm it was raining slightly with this magnificent rainbow stretching over the DOC field centre...

The shower soon eased off and I walked up Main Road and at 5:30pm spotted the setting sun's rays shining upward...

Taken 5:30pm from Main Road by pine plantation - about 100m from
Back Road turnoff

Nice, but shame about the power lines. Three minutes later I turned into Back Road and was thrilled to see this spectacular 'spotlight' shooting out of the cloud. I continued taking photos for a minute during which the spotlight moved to the right. Wow!!

Bottom of Back Road 5:33pm

Taken at 5:34pm

 The following evening's sunset (Tues 28 Aug) had me running for my camera again to capture the scene and this unusual cloud bank to the left of the tall rimu...

6:13pm

6:16pm

I could so easily be a fulltime cloud-watcher - roll on retirement.

Time flies faster down here...

...or am I just getting lazier?? August is just about over and my good intentions of being more productive haven't eventuated. On the other hand, my new job is going well and my social life has been far busier!

I've spent many hours choosing a paint colour for the exterior of the house and garage. Unfortunately the LCD screen on my notebook is miles away from the physical colour and I've wasted a lot of time trying to colour match the screen without success. The garage is looking very spotty with all the test pots I've bought and the colour I've finally picked is Resene Stonewall and fingers crossed that it helps the buildings blend in with the bush behind. I was leaning towards Cobblestone but Stonewall has a touch of yellow in which makes it look warmer.

The birds are getting louder and more active as Spring approaches - as I write the korimako (bellbirds) are singing in unison, kakariki are chattering as they fly overhead and there's the occasional loud fluttering of wings as kereru chase each other. I was privileged to see a kiwi on a bush track as I walked home around 10pm last Tuesday. What a buzz! I skipped the rest of the way home with a huge smile on my face; it's exactly the reason why I moved down here and I am so lucky to experience this unique bird up close.

Sir Paul Callaghan's dream for a predator-free New Zealand would enable future generations to still see and hear our national emblem and it's exciting that Gareth Morgan is keen to attempt this on Stewart Island after completing the Million Dollar Mouse campaign to eradicate mice on the Antipodes - see http://www.ourfarsouth.org/milliondollarmouse/. This is a fantastic opportunity to hone skills and create something very special and it deserves more than, what I see as, a sluggish response; surely our society can still look further ahead than the end of its nose to see the long term benefits? Grab a cuppa and listen to this Talking Heads 1hr discussion on Sir Paul's dream here (opens in a new window). 

Whatever the outcome of these big plans, it would be a huge help if all human Kiwis could start trapping around their homes and businesses now. Chuck in a couple of weta and lizard hotels, be eco-responsible pet owners and you'll be saving Aotearoa's unique fauna for future generations.
http://www.doc.govt.nz/getting-involved/home-and-garden/build-a-weta-motel/
http://tvnz.co.nz/content/1840335/2527449/article.html (great article but it seems to have lost its navigation bars - I can email you a PDF of the article if you want to contact me)

I'll finish up with some pics of kaka; it's lovely to watch them fly around in groups and to hear them call. Ka kite...

Look at those colours!

The rare 'Kaka Tree' :)