June 25th - Slip, Whack, Thump! Adventures in Hinewai

Our first overnight trip to Hinewai Reserve. We woke up to a rainy morning so had a late start from Akaroa. Hinewai Reserve is managed by renown botanist, Hugh Wilson, this 3,000 acre reserve is a wonderful example of nature regenerating itself.  What was once gorse-infested farmland is now beach forest after just 30 or so years.  Much to the dismay of early critics, Hugh’s successful philosophy is that the gorse makes a good planting bed/shelter for natives and protects them from wind and frost.  The natives grow up through the gorse and then shade it out and kill it. We wanted to explore this 30 year old reserve and went out on a 3 hour (turning into a 4 hour) hike. The slick trail made it a slower hike.

To say it was wet was an understatement. It rained (a soft rain though) the first part of the hike and most of us slipped on our rumps multiple times (yours truly included - 3 times! Camila took the cake though with 10 or more). Lots of screams and laughter but no serious injuries. Students were chipper about the ordeal and rolled with the slips (no pun intended). I was impressed with their enthusiasm despite the not-so-great climate conditions. The class learned about many plants and animals in the area. As Hugh would have said, "The natives were itching to establish themselves." We were able to see this first hand as many of the native beech, totara, kanuka, and whauwhaupaku are really taking over. We saw tomtits, brown creepers, and even heard wood pigeons overhead.

Hinewai from the top

A bit of soil came with us back to Lincoln (thanks Savannah)!

Camila brought some too!

At the bottom of the hike, we were able to explore Otanerito Bay and searched for Paua shell. The beach was beautiful!

Otanerito Bay

Otanerito Bay

The class with Paua

We loaded back into the gatorwaka (this is the nickname for the van - waka is boat in Maori), and headed to the Hinewai lodge to dry out. Starting a fire in the wood stove, we cooked dinner and had hot drinks. We draped our soggy clothes acros the lodge to dry out. Hugh joined us and told us the history of Hinewai and his restoration efforts. With 3,000 acres of forest to manage, Hugh and others trap for possums and stoats, which allows native plants and animals to thrive in Hinewai. Hugh is an amazing naturalist and has illustrated and written over 20 books!

Hugh talking about the Maori first arriving

One of his local hand written and illustrated books at the lodge

In the lodge

A map of the trails at Hinewai. We hiked about 9 km that afternoon.

It was Tatiana's birthday!

After a rip roaring (several) card games, a couple of us went out to look at the stars. It is amazing how clear the sky is and we could see the milky way. We put more wood in the stove, zipped up into our sleeping bag, and went to sleep.  Nighty Night! Dr. H