To Jaine and Alex's

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We drove out on state highway 2 past Upper Hutt to Jaine and Alex’s lovely little bungalow with a lovely garden bordered by a mountain stream. After settling in Jane took us for a walk (Alex on night shift therefore sleeping) with their lovely liile foxhound cross dog called Nellie. She a very affectionate little dog. Lovely countryside is a very short distance from their house. In the late afternoon we headed into Wellington for a twilight walk around the local Nature Reserve. It’s a unique setup. A valley which used to house Wellington’s reservoirs has been completely surrounded by a predator proof fence. The predators inside were removed (including three ton of possum in the initial trawl). Some native species such as emu and kaka have been reintroduced and are thriving. The whole scheme will not mature and be self supporting for 500 years. The young very enthusiastic guide equipped us with red shielded torches and we set off as the light faded. At one point a Tui performed its repetoire in a branch just above our heads. The Kaka were noisy. We saw the weka insects in a special ‘weka hotel’. The highlight was a brief view of a kiwi as it scuttled in deep undergrowth. We also saw many glow-worms.

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