The Dead Forest

I went on a little walk today. Actually it was qute a long walk and involved a steep hill. I started at Wainuiomata and ascended the Whakanui Track and joined the track to the summit of Mount McKerrow. The summit was fairly flat, covered in trees and had no views. The only way I knew I was at the summit is because someone has hidden a geocache up there. There's also a metal pole which may have had a sign inserted in it at some point. I found some broken pieces of painted wood. Despite the summit being a bit of a non event the journey up was fantastic and had views across Wainuiomata, Wellington Harbour and right out to the South Island. This is my favourite photo of the day. The trees are all dead but are covered in moss and lichen. There is a lot of living forest along the track, much of it beech but strangely I heard and saw very few birds. There are signs saying that there are approximately 80 kiwi in the area. I would love to see one in the wild!