Friday 18 October 2013

Hinewai Reserve

Last weekend a happy group of the tramping club went to Hinewai Reserve.


Long ago, it was all native forest. In the past thousand years, humans turned most of it into farmland, destroying most of the original bush. But one man liked the native bush better, and in 1987 (with help of the Trust) he launched the Hinewai project: turning farmland back into native bush.



The white-bearded manager Hugh Wilson. At the beginning, everyone laughed at him. But now, 26 years of hard labour later, it has become a very beautiful place again! The invasive plants and animals are either eliminated or put under control, and a lot of the original forest and wildlife have come back. 



We slept two nights in the hut which Hugh and his friends had built here for all the visitors, and made some delicious meals there.



We had nice walks in the area, seeing many beautiful big trees, waterfalls, hills and a few birds.



Me on top of Stony Bay Peak. For more pictures, see the album! (Can you spot the other Dutch person?)


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