The rest of our walk has a little story. First I must show you the floating fence. Fencing a sand-dune is not an easy proposition. But when the farmer whose land bordered 3/4 of the lake decided to sell and make this a public reserve, the farmer on the right held on to his little corner. This meant that no-one could walk right around the lake. Of course, some tried; hence the fence. Most of it was quickly buried by sand. Some was raised up by the farmer's son, who took over after his dad died.
Shortly before the son died, he came to an arrangement with the Council, to provide access to this beautiful little corner of the lake, in return for a sum of money.
On last week's coastal walk to my friends' place, we sat around and shared local gossip, as we do. That's when I found out that this long-forbidden track was now open, and much improved with board walks and gravel paths.
I thought you might like to explore it with me. But shoes on now, because even though our feet are cool after the swim, they wince at some of the concealed sharp stones.
Here, the native toe toe still grows. In many places it's been displaced by imported pampas, which tends to take over. The toe toe has a delicacy that I love.
The nikau grove reminds me of being in a cathedral. Hush. We are on sacred ground,
with the nikau's arms stretched out to the heavens in worship.
The lake looks different with every turn of the path. The shady part is over, and from now on there will be little protection from the sun which is breaking out from time to time.
Time to pause and look back to where we came from. Time to sit and open a packed lunch.
And now we are on the walk back. You might just be able to glimpse the sea, over on the left between the pine plantation and the slope of the hill. The sand is beginning to burn now as the heat of the day builds,
so we will definitely be walking back along the stream, rather than the sandy path.
Aah, cool again, and the sound of splashing. So soothing. Thank you for coming with me.
14 comments:
And thank you for this beautiful walk.
I discover the New Zealand nature.
I enjoy it.
* Diana, so glad you are enjoying NZ through these posts! You are very welcome, thank you.
Hi Juliet so happy to be back and see your piece of paradise. What a gorgeous walk. Would love to do that one.
that walk looks a real beauty x
* Marja, I'm happy too to have you back here and walking with me.
* Max, it's a beauty indeed. A man was there with his four-year-old daughter, who had no trouble with the walk, because it was all such an adventure.
Thank you, Marja and Max.
A lovely sequence to your walk, Juliet, and one with a bit of history to it. It is amazing to me the stories land tell. The path, the lake are a bit of paradise, reminding all that sometimes it is good to head inland. I've truly enjoyed these walks - and hope to go on more with you.
Love those wonderful nikau palms. Thanks for the photos.
What a beautiful walk. I'm so glad the owner of that little corner is allowing people to enjoy a walk around the lake. It's not like the walk would be inundated with hoards of people anyway, I'd imagine. xx
* Penny, I agree about the land telling stories. I remember your post about going to the prairie. Glad you enjoyed the walks, and it's good to have your company.
* Ruth, the nikaus are spectacular when all grouped together.
* Charlie, it's great to be able to walk through the best part of all.
Thanks for visiting Penny, Ruth and Charlie.
Thank you for a splendid walk. I love walking with others in their own enchanted corners.
Floating fences are quite odd aren't they but it would seem that many exist in an attempt to place boundaries but nature wins!
I particularly enjoyed your "cathedral" of nikaus.
* Friko, you are very welcome. Enchanted corners, what a perfect way to describe this place.
* Lynley, glad you liked the 'cathedral'. Some places are not meant to be fenced!
What a beautiful walk - especially the nikau grove!
* Vicki, the nikau grove is very special. Lovely and shady too, in this hot weather. Thank you.
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