Spring at Te Puna Quarry Park

This morning in an effort to getting rid of that cabin fever feeling we drove out to Te Puna Quarry Park, somewhere I haven't visited in over a year.  Near the entrance this part was chained off but naughty me sneaked in and got this quick shot of one of the pink Magnolia trees starting to bloom.

 

In the Rhododendron garden these pinks and reds caught my eye, looks like the insects were enjoying the flowers too.

Near the end of the path was this garden floor covered in a sea of red and white flowers due to the Magnolia and Rhododendron trees towering above.

This white Magnolia was only just starting to bloom so there were more buds than flowers - we think the rain from the previous night has washed many off their branches.

Linking up with Our World Tuesday :-)

Redwood Forest (Whakarewarewa) - Rotorua

While out at Rotorua last week one place we visited was the Redwood Forest (Whakarewarewa). 6 ha of Redwood trees scattered in close proximity to each other that grow so tall and leafy.

Apparently 170 trees were planted in the early 1900s and only a handful are still there today. This one is one of New Zealand's Ponga tree ferns.

We could't believe how cold it was while walking along this track. The temperature for the day was around 8 deg celsius. I should've taken a jacket.

Sad to see quite a few mushrooms and toadstools had been squashed and stood on, this was the only one I could find.

This track we walked took about half an hour but there were various other tracks there too.

One of the main attractions there was the treetop walk which costs around $25 NZD which we weren't going to pay, we were just as happy on the ground - besides I'm scared of heights so that left me out.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)