tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235749018918182184.post904031674484424986..comments2023-03-22T20:41:48.197+13:00Comments on Head of the Harbour: Reading the landscape #1Jane Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03420485615132391496noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235749018918182184.post-71856393050209958812009-08-08T12:15:16.086+12:002009-08-08T12:15:16.086+12:00Eek! I don't put stuff up thinking it'll b...Eek! I don't put stuff up thinking it'll be read- more bunging stuff in the attic for storage. A dumb approach, I know. <br />It's been good to find a local voice, though ;)robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235749018918182184.post-44244163185201863472009-08-07T10:38:25.286+12:002009-08-07T10:38:25.286+12:00This is really helpful and pretty much aligns with...This is really helpful and pretty much aligns with my thinking. I know Quail Is is in a rain-shadow so have wondered about the long-term viability of the plantings there (which I support and have contributed to). Even on my section I have noticed that the clay gets more and more pan-like the closer you get to the cliff-edge/sea.<br /><br />Have just discovered your web spaces Rob, so will do some reading!Jane Robertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03420485615132391496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235749018918182184.post-70144397675335866652009-08-07T09:45:37.905+12:002009-08-07T09:45:37.905+12:00Sally Tripp in GB put out a "vegetation map&q...Sally Tripp in GB put out a "vegetation map" of the harbour with what she thought was originally there. It's interesting, but I think a little over-forested.<br />The first Europeans found there was something of a divide, running through Port Levy and across- with less dense, more scattered bush on the Lyttelton/Te Whaka Raupo side; denser podocarps to the east. <br />This does seem to match a minor local variation in rainfall: the Akaroa side is wetter.<br />But it could have been exagerated by large-scale pre-European burn-off.<br />The vegetation map puts our place in podocarp/totara forest. But I have searched in vain for any remnants. Totara roots don't rot away quickly. Even after two hundred years, I think some would remain, and I've found nothing.<br />I suspect it was a scrubby harbour- with micro-climates dotted about, denser bush in gullies, and some major pockets of podocarps nestled in valleys, and spilling out here and there. <br />The headlands are drier- not just Godley and Adderley heads, but the peninsulas extending towards Quail island get drier as you walk out. Quail Island is drier again, and I think would have been relatively sparsely treed: kanuka (a margin-dweller) and some broadwoods, but not dense.<br />This is speculation, of course. (I have thought about it a lot, because we've planted a lot of trees, including many natives. When you're out there with a spade, wondering about the future of your little tree-lings, you tend to ponder such things ;)robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11518548366478775367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235749018918182184.post-46318710625869615742009-08-07T05:21:54.320+12:002009-08-07T05:21:54.320+12:00I have recently found myself bemoaning the loss of...I have recently found myself bemoaning the loss of the Canterbury 'sheep' landscape. Because (I heard myself say) sheep 'belong' in Canterbury. Rubbish. But we elevate and iconise (?) the familiar. And I do miss the sheep and resent the artificial green diary giants!Jane Robertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03420485615132391496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235749018918182184.post-46213306246588282142009-08-06T18:40:59.429+12:002009-08-06T18:40:59.429+12:00I have often wondered the same about Central Otago...I have often wondered the same about Central Otago, particularly when people talk about its pristine or wild landscape. Surely it was one of the most transformed parts of Te Wai Pounamu, prior to Pakeha arrival?Megan Claytonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03584562106579704547noreply@blogger.com