Dotterel Forum

Excellent presentations at the Dotterel Forum event at the Arts Centre in Orewa this morning.

Always good to catch up with such an interesting group of people helping protect dotterels and their breeding success.

More to follow........

Cambridge Trees & Raglan

The trees of Waikato particularly around Cambridge area are quite stunning including in Cambridge itself. Hall street has some beautiful Plane trees. It's said to be the most attractive street in Cambridge, so I had to take a look. A credit to Cambridge that they are happy to live alongside decent sized trees unlike Auckland city that continues to cut them down at an alarming rate.

Around the hidden  Te Ko Utu Reserve also near the centre of town there are more fine trees which at this time of the year, Autumn, are just beginning to turn beautiful golden shades.

We chanced the rain forecast to visit the Waitakaruru  Sculpture gardens just a little way out of Cambridge town and they were well worth the visit.

 

 A Conker tree above the lake brought back many memories of childhood conker fights at school. These were very often banned as the season progressed as they could be quite aggressive. Conkers are the seeds of the Horse chestnut trees.

Te Awamutu has more fine trees including this one in the Selwyn Reserve in the centre of the town. It's a huge sweet chestnut tree which is not the Horse variety. These produce the chestnuts that can be roasted.

Raglan in the sunshine and the rain with views to Mount Pirongia which I climbed some years back from both sides. Today a market was full on at the Old Raglan School that is now an art studio.

More photos to follow....................