TukiTuki Valley

During this winter Rob has had most weekends as his days off, which, through his nursing career, hasn't happened very often so we have been heading out to visit favourite spots and explore new places in our landscape as often as we can. It's just the best combination- heading to the wild for a walk, a picnic & to gather, observe and learn. All that it takes is a little preparation and for us to show up. Having decided to take a drive up the TukiTuki valley back in June, we explored a few side roads while we were about it, just to see what was up "there". A number of these roads lead down to the river. Moore road delivered us to the end of the walkway from Back Bridge & Haumoana.

A great piece of rusty orchard memorabilia parked a little long.

As we walked, a rural patchwork of many textures unfolded before us. 

The spentness of apples and their delicious cidery aroma.

The landscape unclothed.

A Kotari - Sacred Kingfisher.

Wild grasses and fennel.

At first a swathe of cherry trees and then sheep and then plum trees, further along we found cattle amidst the riverscape. Soon there were more apples and grapevines and horses- all woven in to a textural blanket of winter beauty.

At the end of the path we discovered a huge hedge of Sagewood. Beloved of Monarch butterflies, bees and bumbles too.

Such a distinctive scent- I always just thought of this bush as Buddleia but I've discovered that there are various kinds of Buddleia and this one is indigenous to Southern and Eastern Africa; known as Sagewood or Buddlleja Salvifolia.

In the lee of the hedge we set up our little picnic.

The scent of the flowers, light, heady and a little spicy.

The last of the sweet persimmons. 

This particular hedge is a good 4 metres high and a mass of blooms in the coldest months of the year.

I have learnt the Sagewood also has some useful medicinal properties and it is the dried flower buds and fresh or dried leaves that are used as a tea.

What a variety of other visitors appeared at the end of Moore road: some to shoot ducks, others to walk the dog, families, odd bods and those that drove way again in their monster, mud splattered off-road vehicles- evidently a little startled to see a picnic in progress.

Sweet tea towels have so many purposes. 

Caretaking our cups and saucers is a most useful one.

So nice to see the land so verdant green again after a sustained period of draught. 

It won't be long before the willows will be preciously dressing for spring.

Remarkable how the seasons pass so swiftly.

I loved this beautiful house in passing. Rob kindly pulled over for me to sneak a wee pic and we almost got stuck in the rain soaked soft verge on leaving- imagine if we'd had to go and ask for a hand to sort ourselves out, whatever would I have told them.