Searching for sweetness... plus a redo of yesterday

Kia Ora! We were happy today to welcome back the quarantine group. And the quarantine group was excited to rejoin the main adventures. It may have been a rainy morning, but our spirits were high as we set out for Lords Bush Scenic Reserve. 

 

Lords Bush

 

Lords bush may not look like much at first glance, just a stand of bush between two pastures in the foothills of the alps. However, it houses a very unique insect. A scale insect infests the black beeches here. It feeds on the sap then excretes a sugary substance called honeydew. This honeydew is an important food source for native birds, and it can be used by bees to make honey. It is also this sugary substance which causes the black mold (not the harmful kind!) to grow on the beech trunks, turning them the black color which gives them their name. We trekked into the forest to find honeydew to lick off the trees, with moderate success. 

 

A droplet of honeydew on a beech trunk

Ryan licks a tree

 

Unfortunately, as we arrived the gatorwaka sank into the mud on the side of the road and when we attempted to leave it quickly became clear that it was stuck. After a lot of pushing, though, we were on our way again, this time to the Waimakariri Gorge. 

 

Gatorwaka stuck in the mud

Pushing the gatorwaka

The aftermath

Our jeans are mud covered but the van is free

The Waimakariri River is one of the largest rivers in the Canterbury Region and it is a braided river with a wide, stony bed along most of its length. At the Waimakariri Gorge, a canyon confines the river to a much narrower path than usual. We ate lunch beside the river.

 

Waimakariri Gorge

Lunch by the river

 

Since we had a free afternoon and the covid kids were bummed about missing out on the penguins yesterday, we decided to revisit Godley Head and Sumner Beach. The weather cleared for the hike, and we had blue skies and beautiful views. And to everyone’s delight, we were able to see the penguins again! After navigating around a fur seal pup, that is. Yesterday’s blog gave a great overview of the trail and the environment, so I will go into more detail about the penguins. Little blue penguins (kororā) are the smallest species of penguin in the world, standing only about a foot tall. The penguins we saw today are a subspecies called the white-flippered penguin, so called because both the front and back dorsal edges of their flippers are white, whereas on a typical blue penguin only the back edge is white. This subspecies is unique to Canterbury. A mated pair will come to shore to nest in a burrow (or provided nesting box, as is the case for the penguins we saw). They will typically lay two eggs and share parental duties. Their nesting season is just beginning which is why the nesting boxes of Godley Head are occupied.

Ashley happy to be out of quarantine

Blue skies and beautiful views

Hike to the penguins

Penguin! Note the white edges to the flipper

The group at Godley Head

Seal pup yelling at Ryan

Ending the day at Cave Rock at Sumner Beach

 

Today was a great day, and a great reintroduction to society for the quarantine group! Tomorrow we look forward to whale watching, if the good weather holds!

 

Cheers!

Veronica