Wednesday Walkers

Last week we rambled around the Waipahihi Botanical Reserve. This is always a highlight and as always the gardens provided a splendid experience.

We began through the native bush section on the southern edge of the gardens.

It was a cloudy day and this made for a sombre ambience.

The paths were enveloped by the ferns and the light was even so everything was given equal prominence which meant that this section of the reserve took on an almost primeval ambience. Last week was a great time to view the rhododendrons and camellias. The colours were varied and incredibly vivid. It was quite something to hold a bloom, with two fingers either side of the stem, and to marvel at such intricate, delicate perfection.

It was all in such abundance. The camellia trails wind around a large area and the rhododendrons seem to be around every corner.

On the grassed section in the middle of the reserve, where the young kauri are growing, there was a very special magnolia which was a shade that was very hard to describe. It was the palest of yellows and at the same time not yellow. None of us had ever seen a magnolia of this type before. Finally, we travelled around the northern edge of the gardens. The plain fields here reminded us of what this area would have looked like had some wonderful people, nearly 60 years ago, decided not to develop this botanical reserve. What a legacy they have left us and how good it is that today volunteers still work on making these gardens even more special.