Enjoyed the view

As I am having a two week break from work we avoided the traffic and stayed another night at Fidelis. I spent the morning trimming the tops of the Five finger shrubs, which were reducing the expansiveness of the views. Got rather tired by the end of that and other work on the overgrown garden, and forgot to post my one photo of the day last night.

Known by Maori as Whauwhaupaku, and classified as Pseudopanax arboreus, this shrub is one of the most common small trees in New Zealand. It grows very fast, and the top of one can be seen through the glass balustrade. The top had been above the top of the balustrade before  I returned it to how I left it a few months ago.

The common name of Five finger is due to the palmate arrangement of five leaves around a single stalk. Although common in regenerating forest (as in the Waitakere Range), we don't seem to have any on our land. There is one less than a metre high in the 'wrong place' at Fidelis, and should be able to be transplanted. Next time.