I'm excited. Tomorrow I head back out to Hackfalls for another session of photographing the wonderful trees out there. I had thought I would be able to hit most of it in the first visit, as I had planned for 12 hours on that trip. After I finished uploading the observations, it quickly became apparent that I had barely even come close to 10% of what they have there. But what a 10% it was! I would be so bold as to say, no matter how much you know your trees, there will be surprises.
It is an entirely different experience from Eastwoodhill. This is a working station, and as such it has a very kiwi, very country feel about it. As you come over each hill, it grows from a rather well planted homestead garden into a stunning collection that has been built over a lifetime. There is no visitor centre, rather a small table setup under the carport. The trails are scantily posted and other visitors seem few and far between, so you get the feeling that it is "All Yours". The sounds ...more ↓
I'm excited. Tomorrow I head back out to Hackfalls for another session of photographing the wonderful trees out there. I had thought I would be able to hit most of it in the first visit, as I had planned for 12 hours on that trip. After I finished uploading the observations, it quickly became apparent that I had barely even come close to 10% of what they have there. But what a 10% it was! I would be so bold as to say, no matter how much you know your trees, there will be surprises.
It is an entirely different experience from Eastwoodhill. This is a working station, and as such it has a very kiwi, very country feel about it. As you come over each hill, it grows from a rather well planted homestead garden into a stunning collection that has been built over a lifetime. There is no visitor centre, rather a small table setup under the carport. The trails are scantily posted and other visitors seem few and far between, so you get the feeling that it is "All Yours". The sounds are the those of a farm... stock, quad bike, dogs and the terse instructions they receive mingle beautifully with the whomp whomp of the kereru flying through the trees, the tuis and bellbirds competing to be the most melodious, and many other birds sounds that I have never before heard, but just can't seem to find the owners of as I work my way through the trees.
This time I have allowed a two day trip with an overnight stay, and although I will be getting out further from the homestead, I envisage hitting even more diversity, as I will be starting through the Mexican Oaks for which Hackfalls is world renown. With an overnight stay, I will have the opportunity to see what the moth trap brings, and spiders will be on my radar too. I'm far too excited. I'm going to forget to take the battery, or something stupid like that!
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Hackfalls Arboretum
