Robert Redford and Brad Pitt were in the Rocky Mountains in the early 1990’s, and now in 2014, we’re in the Tararua mountain range, Reikorangi valley with the Ngatiawa arm of the Waikanae River, to be more precise.
After the heavy rains at the end of April, we went for a short stroll up Ngatiawa Road (west) to see what that part of the valley holds for early autumn.
This arm of the Waikanae is joined lower down by other streams to eventually flow into the Tasman as the Waikanae River proper. The level of water rose relatively for a couple of days after the heavy showers, but has since subsided into its babbling brook nature once more. Here we are standing on the (single-lane) Kents Road traffic bridge.
(Above): Shane’s property borders along the left bank of the river and includes the bridge area. Here Shane’s Billy sports the latest style in goats-wear (in their favourite colour)….
(Above) … while Shane’s Milly walks in the udder… sorry, other, direction. By the way, does this outfit make my bum look big? Billy and Milly are names I use purely for ease of reference – not even sure whether Shane indulges in this naming-thing…
Ngatiawa Road is a “No Exit” country road (called a “Cul-de-sac” in some countries). On this dead-end arm of the road, we encountered this newly fallen tree – quite a large specimen, but causing no damage or harm to traffic or life and limb – just like nature intended in the days of Adam and Eve and their kids… and goats… if they had.
(Above): Compared to a couple of months ago, the verges and adjoining vegetation have very little in the way of floral displays. We spotted quite a few of these which resemble Chinkerichee flowers, but the plant structure is different. Maybe something like “may-bells” – maybe a reader can help? Anyway, pretty and clean.
All along the verge embankment next to the roadside streams, toadstools and mushrooms of various sizes and descriptions can be found…
Whilst I wasn’t too sure about this toadstool/mushroom argument, I did some reading up on the subject. I still haven’t changed my mind and can confirm: Don’t listen to old-wives-tales or family rules: What remains important about toadstools and mushrooms are the following facts:
- They are the same and no scientific distinction exists between them.
- They cannot be defined by shape, color, or appearance, since there is no standard differentiation between them.
- Mushrooms aren’t fungi with caps and stems while toadstools lack caps and stems.
- Fungi are not defined by level of toxicity: anything classed as either may be nontoxic, mildly toxic, hallucinogenic or extremely poisonous.
- People should never consume anything classed as toadstool or mushroom without having it first examined by a professional mushroom hunter.
(Above): Not only does a River Run Through It , but there are many little streams which run all over the shop. This one trickles road-side for hundreds of metres, until it takes a sharp right turn and heads for the river. If you stop to listen, besides the birds here and there, the gentle babbling of the shallow water over the small pebbles is all the breaks the silence of the clear fresh air…
(Above): Although Mayday was cloudless, the air was still quite crisp and a light jumper not out of place. Here, near the end of the road, the girls took time-out to sit in the warm sunshine and to soak up the sounds of the birds and the river in the distance, for a while before setting off back home.
(Above): To their left, Ngatiawa Road with the lush green kaleidoscope of vegetation overhead and all around – a voyage of discovery for a budding botanist, and (Below) rolling green mountains into the distance.
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