Messing about in boats, and bamboozled by botany

\

The sailors set off across the lake: Tony, Ann and Sally. In contrast, the landlubbers
have to walk all the way around ... but get to see more rainforest.

ˆEach time I visit NZ I am surprised by the resemblances between Tasmanian and NZ plants. This one reminds me of one of the Tasmanian Richea species (Richea dracophylla), but is a different family, although in the same genus.

This one reminded me so much of Tasmania's Tasmannia (Drimys) lanceolata or native pepper, with its red stems that I took a tiny bite of leaf and ate it. Yep, pepper taste. Then I got all confused because some of the other plants I found had leaves that were lighter in colour, and edged with red and seemingly damaged. It's the NZ mountain pepper or horopito (Pseudowintera colorata), although, again, the two different species are of the same genus so not totally unrelated.

More rainforest sensations. I am standing on one side of a gully looking across to Elizabeth on the other side. It's so green, and some of the trees are rather large.

After walking to the end of the lake, you arrive at Sandy Bay, with its narrow sandy beach and gently shelving sand. Actually, when I say "gently shelving" I mean "so close to horizontal that you have to walk out for 100m before it gets to waist deep" ... although I believe it gets very deep out in the middle (not as deep as Lake Waikaremoana, however, which is a staggering 250m deep (that's even more than Lake St Clair, which is Australia's deepest lake (sorry ... comparisons are one of the ways I make sense of things))).

This is Lake Tamaiti, which is a lake on Rahui Island, which is an island in Lake Waikareiti, which is a lake on the north island of New Zealand. I thought it was pretty amazing to have a lake on an island in a lake, which is why I rowed out to it twice: the first time on the first day of our expedition to Lake Waikareiti (which is when this shot was taken) and again on the next day which was the 12th (which is why there's another similar photo in my 12 of 12 collection).

Reflection in Lake Tamaiti.

Peter and Sally rowing us back from Rahui Island. Note their expressions of concentration.

At this point Sally gives up on rowing and decides to jump out and pull us in. That's Sandy Bay hut among the trees, and despite our distance from the shore, Sally is probably only up to her knees.

Late afternoon light on the verandah of the hut. Vicki and Tony — and a collection of lifejackets — are enjoying the sun. Overnight, however, some wild weather blew up and even the shoes that were under the chair where Tony is sitting managed to get wet.

Sunset on day 1

As the sun sinks slowly in the west ...

... the sky gets prettier.