Bluebell Adventures, Kumerahou in Kapiti and Bolton Street Cemetery

Beginning of October 2023

After discovering the magic of the Stables in Otaki last year, when I was looking for an interesting place for us to stay in celebration of Rob's birthday, we determined to return as often as we possibly could all the while it was available. When we realised that in spring this wonderful old brick building is encircled with bluebells we booked a return visit in early October. And having taken back roads wherever possible we discovered lilac growing on the roadside on the golf course fence line at Takapau.

And on this corner a fabulous swathe of onion weed. There's quite a thicket of of trees here.

All under-carpeted with this pungent wild treasure. 

There are always interesting & unusual things to spot in the country.

Pear blossom really is spectacular. This tree must be very old. They were quite often planted in paddocks for some reason.

Eventually we arrived at Woodville. 

Quite different seeing The Stables in the setting of early spring.

If you'd like to know more about the history of this unique building just pop in here.

Oh thank goodness we're not too late. The bluebells are still blooming! 

They are just so magical & so gently fragrant.

Since these are probably an English Spanish cross, they are quite vigorous & have spread widely all under the mature trees over time.

We are delighted about that.

The Stables is happily tucked away down the driveway.

Out the kitchen window.

Set in a now mature arboretum- a mix of exotics & native trees. With meandering paths to wander.

Kohwai sunshine.

Under planted hellebores (winter roses).

I adore these patches of all three colours.

Finding bluebells always makes me feel joyful!

Being in their midst, such a jpleasure.

Magic.

Almost a little subtropical in this microcosm.

 The neighbours have grown huge quantities of bananas.

Red Kakabeak- native

Such a romantic setting.

Lovely to bring a little beauty inside too.

The great little fire keeps the place toasty warm, including upstairs.

A lovely book from the library to bring with us.

A fan to keep that hot air moving.

A hot plate does the trick. 

A one pot risotto was easy to make & delicious.

The next morning we headed in to Wellington. One of our destinations- a wander around Moore Wilson. These Italian coffee makers a are truly fabulous!

We bought a couple of salads for our next dinner, from Queen Sally's food truck- parked right outside the door.

Isn't it glorious. I wonder where they found it?

Looking down on a little sushi place.

So from Moore Wilson we were able to wander down Cuba street.

We loved this sewing corner in the Mary Potter Hospice shop.

Fabulous building.

On our way to find Olive in Cuba street.

Which was as quirky as we imagined.

Lots of spaces, nooks & crannies. And great coffee.

Sadly, Olive seems to have closed since our visit.

Wellington School of....

Quintessential Wellington.

So our next plan was to find our way to Bolton street cemetery. Fortunately we managed to get there without taking the wrong exit & ending up on the motorway north.

Bolton street cemetery is New Zealand's oldest cemetery. There's quite a team of volunteers that caretake/kaitiaki this unique & special space. You can find the friends of Bolton street cemetery on facebook just here.

The juxtaposition of early history set alongside modernity in the capital city is fascinating.

Goodness the spring bulbs have certainly made themselves at home here.

A swathe of plain cream sparaxis.

Rosa laevigata (cherokee rose), I would think.

It's not often that you see grave "stones" made of metal in our cemeteries.

Red sparaxis.

A bridge to....?

The other side of the cemetery, of course! 

A grand old sheltering Pohutukawa.

A private tucked away corner.

And up you go in to the city to join the throngs.

So good to have a quiet & sacred space within a city.

Some of the trees are (another Pohutukawa) hold history in their very roots.

The Bolton street cemetery museum. You can read more about this here.

So many interesting houses & buildings in Wellington.

So in reality the Bolton street cemetery is tucked down at the end of the Wellington Botanical Gardens.

We loved finding the walled Herb Garden.

View from the Herb Garden out to the harbour

Rose gardens below.

And then back out to Otaki again- about an hours journey.

I was stumped when I came across this tree in the garden around The Stables. The leaves look much like a Puriri, but it's not. In fact this tree is a Kohekohe (native). Until meeting her here I had never heard of Kohekohe. But as it turns out there's a good deal of Kohekohe (Didymocheton spectabilis) in the district & it's a fascinating tree indeed. You can learn more about her here. 

The Stables are set in the middle of a native plant nursery so it's not surprising to find a large array of native plants tucked in all over the place. A white Kakabeak.

Having met Kumarahou (Kumerahou pomederris) when we were in the Coromandel a few years ago we were ecstatic to find her in bloom in early October in the garden.

I adore her scent.

Stephen has a good collection of Kumarahou. I'm not sure what this one is but the flowers are cream. It's certainly not commonly available.

Then there is Kumerahou Golden Tainui.

Quite a different leaf and grows much larger than pomederris.

Then this tree also caught my eye. Looking much like Karaka, but not.

It is in fact an Elingamita johnsonii.

We stayed for three days on this particular visit so we had the chance to head to Raumati & take a coastal walk at Queen Elizabeth Park.

Just follow the road...

Interesting vibrant plants in the sand dunes.

Bold & bright & delightfully weedy.

Treacle Lane is a favourite shop to visit. 

Easily found in Raumati Village.

And of course, a visit to Otaki means a return to the most magical forest near the sea.

Magically marvellous because we found it quite by accident & only later discovered that it had been the playground for the children at the Health Camp over many decades.

The forest is vast & wild & filled with old macrocarpa trees & sand dunes, pines & well worn paths.

I think it's taken on a life of it's own 

& some strange things have occured like this asparagus fern that in one whole area has made itself at home draped over trees. It felt so cosy & friendly, like being hugged by the forest.

There is much of the unexpected in this place.

Onion weed lines the paths the closer you get to the sea.

And there is an astonishing abundance of New Zealand spinach of the beach kind. 

I never realised that baby pine cones start out purple, did you?

More meandering paths- just follow your nose, or the sound of children playing echoing through the trees.

This description from Wild Botanica is very helpful: "There are 2 types of wild spinach commonly found in New Zealand. They are both often confused but can be used interchangeably. Often known as NZ Spinach (Tetragonia Tetragonioides) & Beach Spinach (Tetragonia Trigyna & Tetragonia Implexicoma). The Maori name is kōkihi. One has rounder shaped leaves, the other is much pointier and triangle shaped. Both grow in a spreading mass close to the ground (not upright & erect like garden spinach). It has spreading stalks with small leaves that scramble over the ground. Pick off the tender young tips (which are softest but also encourages new growth). The dark pinky red fruits can also be eaten when ripe, but be careful as they have large seeds you’ll want to spit out."

The paths lead you on a merry dance right around, there & back. 

Sweet.

Some of the old Macs are a bit worse for wear, but have created natural huts & shelters. Certainly not the place to linger in a storm.

Lots of spleen wort in various patches. The new tender leaves are edible as a salad green.

Returning through Otaki township beachside, this garden with wild flowers caught our eye- delightful.

And then it was time to leave again. We are so grateful to have found this place & for all that has opened out to us in Otaki through our various stays.

A walk before we left- Otaki river just near Brown Sugar cafe walking towards the sea & back.

Wide open spaces here.

And so lovely on a fine spring day in early October.

Wild carrot flowers.

A patchwork of newly planted vegetables at Levin.

On the back road heading back to the Ballance bridge I spotted lots of native clematis in bloom- paniculata. So pretty.

And there's a surprising amount of Tataramoa along that road too. A helpful rongoa/medicinal plant. A tea may help with sleep & anxiety issues. Rubus family with pretty white flowers in spring & teeny raspberry-like fruits later on. 

The post about our return trip in October 2024 can be found just here.