Company for Lunch

My daughter, FirehorseMia, and son, Aliveunwed , and I went to Riccarton Bush for a picnic lunch to celebrate the birthdays of two of us this week. We sat by the river and within moments of our arrival ducks clustered in front of us. Then along came this brute and sent the ducks into the water. It didn’t hiss at us so much as heavy breathing. It was so repulsively ugly I couldn’t take my eyes off it.

Edit: meles suggests it is a Muscovy duck, which looks right to me. This one was a dirty cream colour all over.


After lunch we went into the bush, walking two circuits of the loop track. This is the last remnant of forest from before European settlement. Many of the trees are old. I was surprised to see an old man supplejack that I hadn’t noticed before. Usually the vine is about 30mm thick, but this one was at least 150mm thick in places. See extra shots. The “log” on the ground lower right is part of the vine. Also in extras is a view of part of the path, such a beautiful place to walk. The forest all but blocks out the sound of the city, birdsong is dominant.

This was a hot day, but in the forest was deliciously cool.