The Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 23rd April.

We meet at the Ballpark in Gillies Bay at 10:00am.

Last week we had yet another dampish day for our hike, and while the rain was never very heavy it seemed to be rainy continuously all the the time.  We drove the short distance to the Airport and then started the circular route by heading down to Coxs Lagoon, the sandy beach close to the north end of the runway.  The tide was out a little way as we walked south along the beach hoping we might see some marine mamals of one kind or another, but none were seen although the small Harbour Porpoise are almost always not far offshore.  We stopped for lunch not far from the Sandbanks and then headed up the steep path to join the old logging roadd that would take us through the forest to the Airport Road and the vehicles.

I took the photo of the native flower earlier in the week on a long botanical hike on the western slopes of Surprise Mountain.  This one has several common names such as mission bells, chocolate lily, rice root and checker lily, but just one scientific name, Fritillaria affinis.

JD.

The Chocolate Lily, Fritillaria affinis, in flower on a steep slope where the deer can't quite get to it to snack.