New Zealand Walk: Wanaka Lavender Farm walk 18 Walking New Zealand Monthly Photo Contest

Wanaka Lavender Farm walk

If you have an hour or so to spare while in Wanaka, then a trip to the Wanaka Lavender Farm is a great option!

Located only a couple of minutes outside of Wanaka town centre, the 20 acres of lavender farm lets visitors enjoy a breathtaking walk amongst the purple lavender fields. ■

You can also play a garden game, relax over a cup of herbal tea and interact with the friendly resident farm animals or sample some of the many fragrant products produced on site.

The best time to visit the lavender farm depends on what you want to see. Most likely you’re after the lavender in full-bloom, which means you should visit in summer from December to February.

From late October you can expect to see the first lavender plants flowering, as well as some spring flowers like tulips and daffodils, and blossoms.

There is quite a bit to explore at Wanaka Lavender Farm. There are various sections and there are lots of places to sit scattered around. It’s kind of like a botanic garden in some ways.

An unique spot is the lavender door. It’s a door in the middle of rows of lavender and makes for a striking photo shot.

The farm is open all year round and there is a charge to walk in the fields. Above and below: Lavender in full bloom in January.

Walking New Zealand

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We are looking for the best digital photos each month depicting walking

Now the time to get your digital camera out or look through your digital images and enter the Walking New

Zealand Digital Photo

Contest

The image could be a scenic scene, a walk on the beach with the dog, a bush walk, a street walk or anything walking that takes your fancy. The rules are simply: there must be a person or persons walking in the picture either front, side or back on, and can be in the distance. We require an emailed image in high resolution mode, in jpeg format as an attachment, and NOT embedded in Word or in the email, and NOT a

link to a website to be downloaded.

The subject line must have the words “Walking New Zealand Photo Contest” and the email must include the NAME, POSTAL ADDRESS and phone number of the person who took the photo and a small caption. In this contest ONLY ONE emailed photo accepted per month. Entry in the contest automatically allows us to print the image. The person who has their photo published will receive a six month subscription or a renewal to Walking New Zealand magazine of six months. If a picture is chosen for the cover page the person will receive a 12 month subscription or renewal.

Email your entries to: walkingnz@xtra.co.nz with

subject line “Walking New Zealand Photo Contest” Only EMAILED entries will be accepted.

PHOTO CONTEST

PHOTO CONTEST

Above: 60th birthday hike on Mou Waho Island, Lake Wanaka. From the lookout we could see ‘an island, in a lake, in an island, in a lake, in an island in the ocean’. Photo by April Anstis, Paeroa.

Below right: The Hollyford track , a place of serenity. Photo shows Jan Towers between Martins Bay and Hokuri Hut. Photo by Niki Donnelly, Te Puke.

Above: My sister Jean from Tauranga stopping for a break while hiking along the Fairlight/Garston cycling/walking trail. Photo by Heather Winter, Lumsden. Below left: My Friend Richard on a beautiful day walking to Silica Rapids Tongariro National Park between Christmas and New Year last year. Photo by Sharon Harris,

Below left: In the majestic Whirinaki Forest. A giant of yesteryear nearing it’s end when it will fall and enrich the forest floor for further generations. Meanwhile, Deborah is giving it moral support. Photo by Vicky Ross Red Beach.

By Phillip Donnell

From the Capital to Kapiti and on to Castlecliff

Awhale-backed, oblongshaped landmark lies about 6km offshore from the mouth of the Waikanae River. It is 10km long, 2km wide and 521m high. Captain Cook first sighted it on 14 January 1770 as he sailed down the coast of the South Taranaki Bight to conclude his circumnavigation of the North Island. He named it “Entry Isle” because of its position at the gateway to what he later discovered was the strait which now bears his name.

Today we know it as Kapiti Island, a familiar feature to travellers along SH1 and the Main Trunk railway line.

In the early years of the 19th century the warrior Te Rauparaha migrated with his Ngati Toa tribesmen from his ancestral lands at Kawhia, down the west coast to Horowhenua, where he launched several attacks on Kapiti Island, finally conquering

Above left: In the Orongorango Valley. Below left: Great views from the Paekakariki Escarpment. it in 1823.

Once established, he was in an ideal position to trade with passing ships, and thus acquire the muskets and ammunition with which to conduct his bloody forays up and down the country over the next two decades. When he died in 1849, he was buried somewhere on the island “where he longed to be.”

Today, most of Kapiti Island is in Crown ownership but some 20 hectares remains privately owned by the Barrett family. Being predatorfree since 1998, it is now one of New Zealand’s most significant nature reserves, hosting many native species that are either rare or absent from the mainland. To protect them, visitors are limited to no more than 160 per day.

A visit to the island is one option on the forthcoming Capital Kapiti walking tour offered by Footsteps Walking Club of Aotearoa New Zealand, 20-26 November 2022.

For walkers, there is a network of trails ranging in duration from a few minutes to a day. From Rangitira Point, the Loop walk (1.8km,one hour 30 minutes) takes you past whaling trypots, an historic whare, and a board-walked wetland. The more challenging Wilkinson Track (3.8km one way, two hours) and Trig Track (2 km one way, two hours) lead towards the summit.

At the northern end, walking tracks pass through grassland, shrubland, regenerating forest and coastline, providing fantastic views of the freshwater Okupe Lagoon. The Okupe Valley Loop Track (4.8km return, one hour 30 minutes) follows a gentle gradient to a lookout above the western cliffs (198m). Alternatively, chose the Boulder Bank circuit (2km, 45 minutes).

Kapiti is a bird-lover’s Eden, but is not alone in that respect within the region. The Zealandia Eco-Sanctuary in Wellington City is also noted as a featherfest. Nor is there any shortage of spectacular coastline, as visits to the Red Rocks, Turakirae Head, Makara, Colonial Knob, the Paekakariki Escarpment, the Hydrabad wreck at Waitarere Beach, and Castlecliff to Mowhanau will show.

A wealth of wilderness invites exploration, from Whanganui National Park in the north, to Tararua Forest Park in the centre, and Remutaka

Forest Park in the south. Alongside Belmont, Kaitoke and East Harbour Regional Parks, and the beautiful Forest and Bird sanctuary at Bushy Park, a plethora of tremendous trails can be sampled therein. Or if you have an urban urge, opt for Wellington Waterfront, Mount Victoria, or Oriental Bay to Island Bay.

Roam the rivers via the Orongorongo Track from Catchpool Valley, the impressive Hutt River Trails (Petone to Upper Hutt), the Waikanae River Walkway, the three Bridges loop in Whanganui city, the Bridge to Nowhere jetboat experience, the Manawatu Pathway (Palmerston North), and the Manawatu Gorge Track. These are wonderful waterways to wander.

It’s a rich menu overall – with more choices, variety and colour than most of the restaurants in Courtney Place, and much less tension, stress and angst than Parliament Buildings! Imbibing the scenery in this underrated region is not only better for the waistline, but also therapeutic for the soul. And you can enjoy all of it for one unforgettable week without blowing the budget. For details go to www. footstepswalkingclub.com, or contact them 021 172 3244, footstepsanz@ gmail.com. Above right: Wetlands walk at Bushy Park Scantuary. Middle right: On the beach between Castle Cliff and Mowhanau. Below: The lookout on the Manawatu Gorge.

FOOTSTEPS

OFFERING THE BEST DAY WALKS IN 20 REGIONS OF NEW ZEALAND!

Each region has a week-long package (for 6-10 people), including transport and accommodation.

We welcome your enquiry: footstepsanz@gmail.com or phone 021 172 3244