Postcard from the Wetlands

This morning I had appointment at Burwood Hospital to be assessed to see if I could use their hydro pool. I start on Friday and you have to go twice a week for six months to improve your fitness. My specialist referred me because of my trouble with my knees. You also see a dietician at some stage for weight management.

After the appointment I took a walk around the Travis Wetlands and this a collage of what I found on my walk. I also heard and saw lots of Canadian Geese honking away. They made so much noise it was deafening. Once they all landed in a field all went quiet again.

The black swans looked lovely, some were sleeping while others were  just showed off. Most of the Autumn leaves had fallen, but what was left looked so lovely in the morning light.

The Travis Wetland covers 116 hectares of land surrounded by urban subdivision. It is one of the few surviving fragments of the once extensive wetland habitat that covered much of Christchurch prior to European settlement. 

Nearly 80 per cent of pre-European native wetland plant species are present in the wetland, including a number of species now rare on the Canterbury Plains. These include the only substantial stand of manuka, a species of spider orchid and a native sundew, which are regionally vulnerable.