Trip Report – 5 February 2011:   Warren's Saddle, Kaitoke Regional Park

Map: Topo50-BP33 Featherston

We met near the Hutt River water intake weir, and from the grassy picnic area, botanised up the valley of “Norbert Creek”, using as a guide a plant list provided by Pat Enright covering a nearby part of the southern Tararua Range.   In the valley, we saw Carmichaelia odorata, Metrosideros colensoi, pukatea and swamp maire.   We climbed out of the gorgy section following some markers on the true right, to gain the crest of a broad spur.   Here we had lunch, then sidled round to the true right bank of the creek, past a big rimu to see a 1.6m-diameter kahikatea on the opposite bank.   Other features included three species of grammitis, G. billardierei, G. ciliata, and G. pseudociliata, lace fern / Leptolepia novae-zelandiae, lance fern / Loxogramme dictyopteris (formerly Anarthropteris lanceolata), and a gastrodia orchid.   From the lunch spot, we sidled towards the Hutt River, botanised an area of beech forest which included a probable red beech / hard beech hybrid, then descended a spur, dropping steeply down an old track back into ”Norbert Creek”.   We did not have time to botanise as far as “Warren’s Saddle”.

The plant list we prepared will be sent to Greater Wellington Regional Council and the NZ Plant Conservation Network.

Participants :   Anna Burrows, Chris Hopkins, Chris Horne (scribe), Barbara Mitcalfe, Rodney Lewington, Mick Parsons, Darea Sherratt, Owen Spearpoint (leader).

Leptolepia novae-zelandiae.   Photo: Jeremy Rolfe.