TRIP REPORT : Christmas Trip – Bay of Plenty

 2 – 12 January 2003 :   Christmas Trip – Bay of Plenty

What a wonderful summer trip this was!   We had two base camps: five days at Rocky Valley Christian Camp, Rea Rd, near Katikati, then six days at Murphy’s Holiday Camp, near Matata.   Like last year’s summer trip, having two base camps reduced the amount of driving we had to do.   We thank Tauranga-based Graeme Jane and Gael Donaghy for booking our accommodation, arranging a most varied programme of field trips, producing supplies of copies of the plant list for most trips, and vegetation descriptions, botanical highlights, and maps of the areas to be botanised.   We thank Joyce Wilson for ordering the food supplies for both locations, and for preparing the menu for each meal.   We thank all those who came on the trip, for their company, and for their support of that great BotSoc tradition, the New Year’s field trip.

We had the first camp to ourselves, after a youth group left giving us access to the full range of facilities at this spacious site, near a stream flowing off the Kaimai Range.   The second site, next to a beach, was quite different, yet worked well for us, once we had settled in.   The many others in the motor camp proved to be thoughtful people, so there were no late-night parties or noisy music.   An outstanding feature of it was the rubbish disposal system.   The platform near the kitchen had 44-gallon drums for aluminium or tin cans, compostables, glass, paper or cardboard, and recyclable plastics (nos.1 and 2); nearby was a drum for wastes which could not be recycled.   The result of this scheme is that 86 percent of the wastes produced by campers are recycled, and only 14 percent goes to a landfill.   How many city dwellers can beat that achievement?

If there was a disappointing aspect to the field trip, it was the storm which prevented our trip to Mayor Island / Tuhua.   This was more than offset by its three-day duration, which meant that if we had reached Tuhua, we would have been marooned there, and missed some of the trips planned for us by Graeme and Gael!

Chris Horne

2 Jan: Tuahu Track–Te Rereatukahia Hut from Springs Road

Just as we were gearing up to start our first day’s botanising, Chris Hopkins appeared at the road end, having just arrived from Wellington.   In fine, humid weather we sweated buckets scrambling up on to the Kaimai tops, briefly enjoying a view over the Waikato.   The species list prepared by Graeme Jane was very useful and we made a number of additions including a seedling Beilschmiedia tarairi, the only taraire seen over the whole 10-day trip.   We Wellingtonians were surprised to see the sedge Morelotia affinis looking so much more robust than we are accustomed to.   The climbing fern Lygodium articulatum, mangemange, and Asplenium lamprophyllum were new to some, as was Blechnum fraseri, swaying like a tiny palm on its slender, metre-high trunk.   Another surprise was finding trackside, Blechnum nigrum which in Wellington we find only in darkest, dampest places.   At higher altitude the beautiful Ixerba brexioides made its appearance and one Raukaua edgerleyi was spotted at lunch.   Among northern tree species was Litsea calicaris, and to our amazement the shrub Brachyglottis kirkii, kohurangi, was common, trackside, unbrowsed – so where were the possums??   The last part of our descent took us through a cathedral-like kauri grove, with all stages of growth represented.

NOTE:   In case readers of the September issue of the Newsletter think I hate pohutukawa, I hasten to say that throughout the 10 day trip, it was a pleasure to be able to appreciate naturally-occurring pohutukawa flourishing as a forest component or as a cliff-hanger on steep, coastal escarpments.

Barbara Mitcalfe

3 Jan: Mt Te Aroha slopes – trip 1

“The Lower Third” – no, it is not about pranks in the girls’ dorm, but about “Five on a plant hunt”, the five not being madly enthusiastic about seeing the view from the summit.

We listed the native plants we saw – there were 29 species of trees, representing 28 genera.   This seemed a particularly rich assortment in an altitudinal range of 300 m.   We saw 8 shrub species, but only a quarter of the fern species Graeme Jane had on his list, but then none of us were experts at identifying the many filmy ferns.

We were disturbed to see the fringe of the reserve invaded by so many weed species.   One in particular, eleagnus, is a rampant, smothering climber.   Pines are beginning to block the view of Te Aroha town and beyond, from the viewing platform.

From our lunch spot at Bald Spur, we had a wide view over the flat Hauraki Plains.   We all enjoyed the first excursion into the bush this summer trip, especially because we were looking at many plants which do not grow in our home areas.   For two of us, this is Dunedin.

Audrey Eagle

3 Jan: Mt Te Aroha summit – trip 2

The 900 m climb from the hot pools at Te Aroha to the trig (952 m) was a great day’s botanising.   We passed through puriri-kohekohe forest, manukabracken shrublands, mahoe-kanuka forest, tawa-tawari forest, and silver and red beech forest, both beeches at their northern limit.

Additions to the plant list included mountain cabbage tree, wharangi, Pseudopanax laetus, tawherowhero / Qunitinia serrata, rasp fern / Doodia australis, the filmy ferns, Hymenophyllum ferrugineum, H. pulcherrimum, and H. revolutum, and the sundew, Drosera peltata.

Chris Horne

4 Jan: Aongatete Loop track and side trips – trip 1

We eight keen, but not too energetic, botanically interested “specimens” first botanised the 15 minute loop, taking 2 hours!   We were impressed by a 35 m emergent pukatea with wide-spreading buttresses, and huge kohekohe and puriri trees.   Our enthusiasm was infectious.   We shared knowledge, and mistakes in identification were graciously corrected, as we learnt many new aspects of our flora and fauna.

At last we began the real loop track, where we ticked the plant list provided by Graeme and Gael, and made some additions: Coprosma arborea / tree coprosma / mamangi, Trichomanes reniforme / kidney fern / raurenga, Earina mucronata / spring orchid / peka a waka.   The orchid was in flower on windfalls.

After our second lunch, while returning to the lodge, we saw a tall nikau in flower, with last year’s fruiting stalk still present, visible through binoculars.   Corybas trilobus spider orchid was an abundant groundcover at one site.   At the lodge, four returned to camp, while the rest, en route to swim in the river, saw Thelymitra sp. / sun orchid / maikaika with swelling seed capsules, Pterostylis banksii greenhood / tutukiwi producing seed, and a patch of Corybas sp. with tiny leaves, some fresh green, some mauve, possibly C. oblongus ¹, a few having remnants of a flower with swelling ovaries well elevated above the leaf.

What was the highlight of the day?   For me it was the great people around me, the good humour pervading, and the laughter of familiar voices.

PS:   A certain fern was said to blush when a few brave bathers exposed themselves to it.   Dare I reveal its name?   It was Lindsaea viridis.

 ¹ The Nature Guide To NZ Native Orchids.   Ian St George.   1999.   Page 70.

Emil Schmieg

4 Jan: Puketutu – Te Hunga from Upland Road – trip 2

We 13 set off intending to get to the forest proper, and not botanising for the first 1.5 hours.   However, we did note Schizaea bifida / forked comb fern in the manuka, and very tall Cyathea medullaris / mamaku regenerating in an area of senescent podocarps and numerous rimu seedlings, with almost 2 m tall Blechnum fraseri, like minitree ferns.   On the return, we finally recognised the differences between Coprosma arborea / mamangi and C. spathulata, when we found them growing side by side.

The goal for the day was the fog forest on Puketutu (814 m) ridge.   This required a steady clamber up a long spur through tawa and Ixerba brexioides / tawari.   The track came and went, hidden in places by kiekie and Gahnia.

On the flat ridge-crest, the vegetation changes to Libocedrus bidwillii / NZ cedar / pahautea with Gahnia, and enough mud to make travel interesting.   A single kauri, c. 30 cm d.b.h., and a large population of Grammitis pseudociliata, a strap fern, grows in this dwarf forest.   With educated searching we found the filmy ferns, Hymenophyllum malingii and H. lyallii, on the cedars.   Allison was lucky to add H. armstrongii.

The find of the day was Pittosporum kirkii, perched on a tawari track-side as we descended the spur to Upland Road.   Graeme spotted the fruiting capsule opened to reveal shiny black seed.   This is a rare find anywhere, and unusual in the Kaimai Range.

Rodney Lewington

5 Jan: Waihi Beach and Orokawa Bay Scenic Reserve

We reached the 486-ha Orokawa Bay Scenic Reserve from the north end of Waihi beach, where we noted with approval one of Coastal Care BOP’s plantings of pingao, spinifex, ngaio, Euphorbia glauca / shore spurge / waiuatua, and other native sanddwellers.

We did a well-timed rock scramble between waves, and a short walk along a narrow strip of sand, to the start of a 2-hour track around the headland, shared with walkers, joggers and anglers.

A large coastal sedge, Cyperus ustulatus / giant umbrella sedge / upoko tangata, growing just above high tide, immediately caught our attention, as did the herb, Peperomia urvilleana.   Then we saw several plants of the locally rare Pimelea tomentosa.   Towering pohutukawa dominate this part of the reserve, which being close to an urban area, is infested with introduced pasture weeds and garden escapes.   The middens with remains of shellfish are evidence of pre-European occupation.   After lunch at the bay, we went up a valley towards William Wright Falls, 45 minutes away.   The change in the bush was dramatic, with huge puriri replacing pohutukawa as the dominant tree, nikau abundant in the moister conditions, ferns galore – and very few weeds!

Val Smith

6 Jan: Wairoa Dams Track – trip 1

This day we moved from Rocky Valley Christian Camp, Katikati to Murphy’s Holiday Camp, Matata.   We woke to rain, and a doubtful forecast, so Gael and Graeme kindly suggested that we eat lunch at their home.

A hardy group spent 2 hours on the track to Wairoa dam, from the end of Lindemann Road, and were rewarded by clearing skies.   The highlights were vigorous, young Brachyglottis kirkii (no possums?), a dense understorey of Lycopodium deuterodensum / a club moss / puakarimu, masses of an orchid, Drymoanthus adversus epiphytic on kamahi, and our first sighting of the fern, Lindsaea linearis.

Darea Sherratt

6 Jan: Waikareao Walkway, Tauranga – trip 2

Route: Maxwells Road – Daisy Hardwick Walkway – McCardles Bush – Don Stewart Walkway – Waihi Road.

This route around an estuary of Tauranga Harbour, is partly on land, and partly on boardwalks among mangroves, Avicennia marina / manawa, here near their southern limit.   Graeme and Gael’s plant list included some pest plants and many other adventives, spilling over from people’s gardens nearby.   The interpretation panel describing the mangrove community was of great interest, particularly to those of us from areas beyond the southern limit of mangroves.   We learnt that mangroves produce more leaf litter than any other plant of similar size.   Of the numerous trees we added to the list, no doubt some were planted, as part of the revegetation work around the extensive shoreline of Tauranga Harbour.

Chris Horne

7 Jan: Matata Scenic Reserve

This reserve contains 491 ha of coastal forest.   The landscape has been shaped by erosion cutting through thick deposits of volcanic ash, leaving sharply defined ridges and spurs, and occasional lines of bluffs of consolidated material.

Pre-European Maori occupied the reserve.   We saw two fosses, 30 m apart.   These trenches, dug at right angles to a ridge, were used by Maori for defence.   Much of the reserve was burnt during Maori occupation.   The regenerating forest is estimated to be 80 years old.

We botanised two ridges and the lower part of a dry gully.   The interior of the forest was well lit, and enhanced by flowering pohutukawa.   Other canopy trees among the pohutukawa were kamahi, rewarewa, kanuka (20–22 m high), and at higher elevation, hard beech.

The reserve has the largest stands of black and hard beech in the district.   Plants of interest were: Lycopodium deuterodensum, which in places formed extensive patches near the track; Gaultheria oppositifolia / a snowberry / niniwa, which, with its large leaves, could at first glance be mistaken for tutu; Tmesipteris lanceolata / a fork fern, with its leaves in one plane; the erect Toronia toru, Lycopodiella cernua, and Doodia australis / rasp fern / pukupuku.

Adventive plants which the Department of Conservation should remove include: Pinus radiata – mature trees, and the smaller ones spreading on bare ground and on bluffs; Cotoneaster glaucophyllus along tracks close to the reserve margins; and tradescantia, Japanese honeysuckle and blackberry at the entrance to the reserve.

Chris Hopkins

8 Jan: Waimangu Thermal Area

This trip was well worth the long drive to south of Rotorua, and the entrance fee, for which we got a group discount.

We botanised the specialised flora of the thermal area, while marvelling at the hot springs, fumeroles, geysers, volcanic craters and silica terraces.   Across Lake Tarawera rose Mt Tarawera, which erupted violently in 1886, in the process forming Waimangu Thermal Area.   Since then, plants have recolonised much of the land, inluding numerous pest plants and other adventive species which should be removed.   All six gymnosperm trees and 13 of the dicot trees and shrubs on the plant list are alien species, an indication of the amount of work which needs doing!

Among the ferns we saw were: Cyclosurus interruptus, Dicranopteris (Gleichenia) linearis, Hypolepis dicksonioides and Nephrolepis “thermal”.

Chris Horne

Marattia salicina.   Photo: Jeremy Rolfe.

9 Jan: Raparapahoe Track, Te Puke

Route: SH2 near Te Puke – No. 4 Road – No.3 Road

We decided that on this very wet day we would visit a small forest remnant near Te Puke, mainly to see the giant ground fern, Marattia salicina / king fern / para.   Some were growing on a cliff face, out of reach of pigs; others were on the gorge floor, the juveniles looking rather like angelica, under the predominantly tawa forest.   The tawa are 30–40 m, apparently drawn up by the light to get to the level of the top of the cliffs.   The downpour, and dense canopy, foiled attempts to find Trichomanes sp. / bristle ferns, despite the use of torches in the middle of the day!

The entrance to this forest is unprepossesing, with garden wastes, and Pinus radiata.   In the gorge itself, montbretia and tradescantia are widespread.   It would be a shame if this hidden gem were overrun by pest plants and other adventves from the surrounding orchards and farmland.   This forest warrants more attention from botanists, and from its managers.

We dashed through the rain to the wonderful salt-water hot pools at Mt Maunganui, before going to eat lunch at Gael and Graeme’s, then see their photographs of West Australian flowers.

Rodney Lewington and Penny Currier

10 Jan: Whirinaki Forest

This was another long drive that was well worth it.   To see Whirinaki is to see one of our most awe-inspiring podocarp forests.

We botanised from the River Road parking area to Te Whaiti Nui a Toi Canyon, hearing kaka and kakariki, and photographing the water rushing between ignimbrite rock walls.   Our last sortie was around he circular track in the Fort Road Recreation Area in the advancing dusk.

Our thanks to the native forest campaigners who saved what remains of these ecological and visual gems in the 1970s and 1980s.

Chris Horne

11 Jan: Ohope Scenic Reserve, Ohope

Between the entrance to Whakatane Harbour, and Ohope Beach, on prominent headlands, are Kohi Point Scenic Reserve and Ohope Scenic Reserve.   From the parking area above Kohi Point we could see Whale Island in the Bay of Plenty, and as we walked north, we looked down on the narrow entrance to the harbour.   Between the headlands is the beautiful beach at Otarawairere Bay where we had lunch, admiring the pohutukawa trees clinging to the cliffs.

The Kohi Point is an historic site called Kapu te Rangi, the site of Toi’s pa.   The occupation was in two phases, pre-1350, and post-1350.   We saw earthen ramparts and midden remaining from the distant past.

The botanical highlights included the ring-stemmed dwarf mistletoe, Korthalsella salicornioides, growing on manuka, Pimelea cf.urvilleana, P tomentosa, Pittosporum colensoi, the maidenhair fern, Adiantum hispidulum, and broad-leaved sedge, Machaerina sinclarii .   Pest plants and other adventives were common, including radiata pine, barberry, hawthorn, willowleaved hakea, two species of privet, brush wattle, gorse, moth plant, snakefeather / climbing asparagus, etc.

The Department of Conservation’s workload in pest plant control is enormous, and from our experience this summer, much more money and time must be devoted by Government to prevent our precious reserves from being overwhelmed by alien plants and animals.

Chris Horne

Participants: Ted Abraham, Beth Andrews, Barbara Clark, Rae Collins, Penny Currier, Roger Currier, Gael Donaghy, Harold Dutton, Audrey Eagle, Chris Hopkins, Chris Horne, Graeme Jane, Allison Knight, John Knight, Rodney Lewington, Barbara Mitcalfe, Moira Parker, Eml Schmieg, Darea Sherratt, Barbara Simpson, Neill Simpson, Val Smith, Harry Stimpson, Beryl Tuppen, Joyce Wilson.