Koromiko photos - Te Kopahou Reserve - Wellington New Zealand

I always enjoy the walks through the Te Kopahou Reserve - a hilly reserve above Wellington's South Coast. It has a great variety of scenery, a mix of challenging and easier tracks, and offers spectacular views. On this visit I was taken with the native hebe koromiko (hebe stricta var. atkinsonii). This shrub is known for its colonising role in recovering native forest and it was in full bloom, giving the illusion that the re-emerging forest in the reserve was covered in snow. Cl;early also an important food source, these flowers were being visited by hundreds of native and introduced insects, including the native common copper butterflys - Lycaena salustius - and introduced bumblebees.

 

I always enjoy the walks through the Te Kopahou Reserve - a hilly reserve above Wellington's South Coast. It has a great variety of scenery, a mix of challenging and easier tracks, and offers spectacular views. On this visit I was taken with the native hebe koromiko (hebe stricta var. atkinsonii). This shrub is known for its colonising role in recovering native forest and it was in full bloom, giving the illusion that the re-emerging forest in the reserve was covered in snow. Cl;early also an important food source, these flowers were being visited by hundreds of native and introduced insects, including the native common copper butterflys - Lycaena salustius - and introduced bumblebees. It's great to see the forest recovering in these valleys now this area is a reserve. The birdlife is coming back too.

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