We start, however, with a rather delicious "Breakfast Pie" after the usual fruit and muesli entree. Brad's pie is a bit like a deep puff pastry quiche, with either bacon or cheese depending on your state of vegetarianism.
Suitably set up for the day we head out for the small holding that we had visited on our Kiwi night walk on day 1 in Russell. This time it is led by Lisette and our first sighting is this Silvereye.
We are going to use the same paths as before but it's so much easier walking with the lights on. Before we get very far we spot a Weka which, whilst more easily spotted then the nocturnal Kiwi is in fact far less abundant than the Brown North Island Kiwi by a factor of about 10:1. The birds here are more used to humans so though shy they are very inquisitive and will come out to investigate. They seem a bit like small children who are shy when being watched then suddenly change if they think they are being ignored, seeming to say "hey we are over here - look at us".
Along with lots of explanations of the plant life, what it is and it's uses, we also get to see the Weta in daylight. Now you can see how long those antennae are!
As we walk along the path we are continually accompanied by a Fantail that comes remarkably close. It seems to be guiding us along the path, though in truth it is just catching the various small insects we are disturbing as we walk.
Further along the walk we hear a sound like a drum - it's a Weka call. Just through the bush we can see two adult Weka and a chick. The birds are making the drum like sound as a form of communication.
Can you guess what this bird's called?
We have to walk very quietly past the Kiwi nest area so that we do not disturb the male sitting on the eggs. They are setting up a nest box camera, which will hopefully give live pictures to complement the outside surveillance camera they have. The pictures are live on their Facebook page and should make for interesting watching. We pass on the Kawa tea on this morning's walk (it is offered) and return to the car.
After lunch, of not very wonderful sandwiches from the local bakery (the cake was nice though), eaten on the beach, we head out for Flagstaff Hill.
We start at the beach and have some good views of the waterfront as we climb upwards through the bush.
We reach the top after some climbing along paths that we had only walked through in the dark last time.
Eric read all about the history of the flagstaff.
You can check last years blog for detail of the history surrounding the flagpole if you really want to know more.
Once at the top we have to decide on the next part our route. We decide to head for Tapeka Point, which is only about a kilometre away. Unfortunately the walk now is on a road, the sun has come out and it's pretty hot, and there's no pavement. We are soon beginning to regret our clothing choice as this morning had started with the merest sprinkle of rain prompting a decision to carry waterproof gear. As it turned out, this was a poor decision - the sun came out around midday and for the rest of the day the sky is a clear blue. Suddenly a car pulls up alongside and two elderly ladies ask if we'd like a lift to the beach at Tapeke. We jump in gratefully, they have a Bach (small holiday home) here, and after asking where we are from, tell us they have Welsh heritage, though a pretty long way back - a Williams. They have just come from Russell cemetery where they have been cleaning the grave of a great, great, great grandfather - he must have been here with Captain Cook!
The beach is pretty special but amazingly empty
'There's no-one to play with'
so we have a nice relaxing sit in the shade at the back of the beach for an hour or so. We are under three Norfolk Pine trees that were planted in the early 1800s and were used as the site of a school class for girls. Lessons under the trees behind the beach - sounds idyllic (but probably wasn't!).
Tapeka sits around a steep headland with a sandy beach one side and a rocky cove on the other. The headland is a famous historical site and there was a Pa situated here - that is, a good defensive position.
However, nowadays it is jammed with pretty amazing looking real-estate that probably cost a fortune and is only in use for small periods of the year, hence the empty beaches.
We also spot The Phantom sailing past with today's customers on board.
This is the rocky beach. There were two New Zealand Dotterell hunkered down on the beach. We didn't want to get too close in case they were nesting, but managed to get some shots with the zoom lens.
It's time to head back along the hot tarmac road and we are rather unimpressed with the thought, but heyho about 50 meters along the way we spot a rather amateur sign saying "Jim's Walkway to Russell"
With a little trepidation we decide to folow it as it is a narrow opening, away from the road and into the bush. At least it should be cooler in here.
What a good choice it turned out to be. A twisting path with lots of interesting views including Grey Warbler (too illusive to photograph), and some ducks with accompanying ducklings together with water lilies at a small pond. They were so cute.
And this swallow sitting on a post in the middle of the pond.
The path winds around and zig-zags up the hill gradually (which is much better than a steep ascent anytime). We still have to negotiate a short section of road before dropping down back into the bush and to the beach.
We decide to dine early rather than walking back to the B&B and then returning to town later. We have been told that the meals at the RSA Club (Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association - the equivalent of the British Legion Clubs in the UK we think) are good and reasonably priced, so we give it a go. The meat eater has a good steak but on the vegetarian side it is nothing to write home about (although we are, so perhaps it is!)
Return to our accommodation is followed by a cup of tea and a relax in the communal lounge before bed.