Arthur’s Pass

 January 26

We had a busy day today. We started with a pre-breakfast walk with the lodge owner, then after breakfast went kayaking on a local lake. After some other rambling, it was back to the lodge for lunch. The afternoon was spent hiking up to a waterfall, searching for alpine parrots, and learning about the sheep raising side of the property.

On the pre-breakfast walk we learned about the beech forest that surrounds the lodge, and the sequence of shrubs and trees that precede the beeches. An important first species (after a fire or other ground disturbance) is Manukah, a relative of eucalyptus. Honey made from its flowers is highly prized for antiseptic properties as well as taste, and the shrubby trees provide protection for the beech seedlings that follow. Historically the small beech and manukah were eaten by browsing sheep in the winter, but the farm has moved to growing winter feed for the sheep to protect the forest, an interesting example of cooperation and compromise between conservation and agriculture. The beech woodland was much more open and airy that the temperate rain forest of our previous locations. A risk to these forests comes from the plantations of Douglas Fir, Lodgepole Pine and other (non-native) conifers that were planted for lumber in the past. These trees are so acidic that nothing else will grow in their vicinity, no birds or insects are nourished by them, and their seed can travel six miles on the wind. It is a daunting task to remove these plantations but there is an ongoing effort to do so across New Zealand.

The predicted rain moved in from the west today, so Lake Moeraki and the west coast are happy. We got a little wet on our climb up 300 steps to the bottom of the Devil’s Punchbowl Falls, where we had excellent viewing of Riflemen, New Zealand’s smallest bird. We got even wetter as we tramped around the town of Arthur’s Pass looking for Kea. Kea are the world’s only alpine parrot. They are loud, mischievous and have learned that humans are messy eaters (the Kea tend to hang out near cafes). Eventually we were rewarded with seeing four of them, one at quite close range.

The rain did not proceed east of the mountains and the lodge area was dry for a sheep herding and shearing demonstration. Although we had seen this sort of demonstration before, the farmer taught us a lot of new things, particularly about merino wool and the wool business. Dinner tonight featured the farm’s own lamb and honeycomb ice cream. 

Pictured: Kea, Riflemen, Devil’s Punchbowl, kayaks on Lake Pearson