Saturday, May 15, 2010

On a Windswept Peninsula

I wonder if it's wise for me to publicly confess that, along with my passion for hedges, I'm rather fond of an unusual tree or three? My 'Tree File' in fact (doesn't everyone have a tree file?) is bulging with photographs of trees that I've taken a shine to over the last few years. These three were all taken on the remote tops of Banks Peninsula three or four years ago, when I joined Tuatara Tours for their Akaroa Walk - a rather energetic stretch from Christchurch to Akaroa, striding along the windswept hilltops that characterise the landscape between the city and Akaroa Harbour. The two above - windswept totara were photographed on the Waipuna Saddle.
And this stark beauty - a stripped-naked, dead totara, one of a whole dead forest still standing in Watarangi Totara Reserve, which is a good walk into the hills near The Hilltop, just before you descend into Akaroa Harbour itself. The complete walk? Stunning - perfect photographic territory but make sure you're fit for hill climbing before you take it on. It's seriously up and down all the way. www.tuataratours.co.nz You'll find many more pictures of this and other Tuatara Walks by clicking on Tuatara Tours or Akaroa Walk in the label line below.

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