Open-mouthed

Open wide! Whisky Gully, Tapanui. 16 April. West Otago, New Zealand.

Ferns and Fungi

Ferns and fungi, photos taken today when we walked in native bush at Whisky Gully. Tapanui, West Otago. New Zealand.

Beauty and the Beast

These photos are from an exhausting bush walk we did on Friday 31 March from which I'm still in recovery! As we climbed I spotted many small treasures along the way, most often in the way that light was catching ferns, mosses and foliage to good effect.

Cute Little Fella

Yesterday a curious tomtit came to check on us while we were enjoying a short walk in the native bush at Black Gully Reserve near Tapanui, West Otago. New Zealand. The tomtit is native, tiny, and in the case of the male bird.. quite colourful. This was a treat.. we don't often see birds in...

Christmas Mistletoe

I've still got a few photos of the native mistletoe that are perched on trees at our local public reserve at Black Gully. Happily they flower in December and a few of them reside at the edge of the big open grass area so no big hike is needed to access them. I took these...

Renewal

Beautiful ferny forest glade that was once an earth dam holding water to be used in the extensive gold mining activity here. Pollands Dam is high on a bush clad hill at Gabriels Gully near Lawrence. Christmas Day, South Otago. New Zealand. From the information board: "An incredible network of water races was constructed, tapping...

Lift Up Your Heads

Today is Christmas Day in New Zealand. We walked a track new to us, Gabriel's Gully near Lawrence, South Otago. Love these new fern fronds that grow upright but also bow their heads, reminding me of a church song: Lift up your heads to the coming king, bow before him and adore him, sing… Detail...

High Hopping Rates

These freshwater photos are from the historic daffodil property at Weatherstons near Lawrence, the site of the Black Horse Brewery that was in operation from 1866 until 1923 under various owners. Apparently the beer produced was of excellent quality and the water was an important factor - there's a photo with info about the water...

Whisky Gully Creek

This was our first walk into the Whisky Gully entry to the Blue Mountains today, just up the road from home in Tapanui. Delightful! Here's two of my first pics, taken near the start of the track.. Whisky Gully Creek. Good Friday, afternoon, 15 April. West Otago, New Zealand. Click on either photo to enlarge....

Pink Autumn

Pink isn't a colour that I associate with autumn but not long ago I posted photos of showy pink Eucalyptus flowers and now Euonymous have their wonderful pink seedpods.. with orange berries! They're a delight and I often think of them as tiny pink pumpkins 😀 These photos were taken by Nigel when we went...

Summer Red

Pōhutukawa flowers, our New Zealand 'Christmas Tree', are sensational. Here's three different examples we came across yesterday 18 Jan, at Dunedin Botanic Garden. We also saw plenty flowering in gardens along the south coast road to Taieri Mouth, on our way home. Click on any photo to enlarge. Metrosideros excelsa At the main top carpark...

Nature Details

When we take a nature walk there's so much to see although you have to keep your eyes peeled and look around with a sense of anticipation and expectation. Seek and ye shall find! Today's photos all taken by Nigel when we visited Dunsdale Reserve, Southland, New Zealand on 05 Jan 2022. Click on any...