Otari-Wilton's Bush - Native Botanic Garden and Forest Reserve

We took the girls to this lovely nature reserve, about ten mins drive from our house, and we took the short 15 minute nature trail which actually took us around half an hour to walk! It was wonderful to have a bush walk and be surrounded by beautiful old trees (400 - 800 years old!) and to hear all the native birds.

This reserve is the only botanic garden in New Zealand dedicated solely to native plants and consists of 100 hectares of native forest and five hectares of plant collections. Originally, Maori used the forest for hunting hence the name 'Otari' which means 'Place of Snares'. Following European colonisation, some of the large trees were removed for timber and others were burnt off for farmland. One of the early landowners, Job Wilton, preserved seven hectares (17 acres) of the original forest and fenced it off. This became known as Wilton's Bush.

There are many different types of trails and tracks to take depending on your time limit and level of interest. I will definitely be returning without the kids to explore some more!

Nick and Molly on the Nature Trail

Peeking through the pseudo-trunk of the Northern Rata:

Originally an epiphyte, this tree began its life high up on the

branches of another tree and then sent roots down to the ground which then fused

to create a pseudo-trunk, killing off the host tree. The gap in the trunk is a reminder of where the host tree once grew!

New Zealand Tree Fern - Punga Tree

400-year-old Rimu with Rata (epiphyte)
You can see the Rata roots strangling its host and making their way
towards the ground.

The cheesiest grin with Forget-me-nots!

Puff the Magic Dragon...

Disco Diva and Trikes

I know, it's been a while since we last posted but hey we did move house and school and...

Finally found a few essential camera items and have managed to take a few snapshots over the last few days:

Molly had her first school disco on Friday night and the theme was 'Superheros' so Molly was of course - Super Molly - found some material to make an 'M' for her princess dress and her little nurses' cape was perfect for a Superhero. The disco ran from 6pm until 7.15pm when the older kids took over! Molly was so excited about the disco and I was a little worried that it might be too much for her so late in the day but no; she's definitely cut out for parties, a real disco diva, I wonder where she gets that from? Once she got over her fear of the loud music and all the people, she bopped away to YMCA and 'Move it' and others and clearly did not want the party to end. It was quite hard to get her to sleep when we got home as she kept singing the whole evening!

We took a drive the other day to a peaceful beach called 'Makara Beach', about 3o mins drive from here, tucked over the hills, hidden from Wellington. At least we thought it would be quiet but it seemed that other Wellingtonians had the same idea that day. Spot the local children going for the plunge!

This morning we took the girls and their trikes down to Oriental Parade, Wellington's posh waterfront, had coffee, chased the gulls and played in the park all the while trying to avoid any collisions with other pedestrians and cyclists! Molly has a new trike and Madeleine has Molly's old trike; Molly is still learning how to steer and pedal.