Phormium tenax

For much of the world this is still Friday. This photo was taken on Friday (NZ time) and posted on Saturday, so is a back blip. We returned to Auckland in the early afternoon, visiting with daughter C before heading into the central city.

S had organised a restaurant booking (at the Good Luck Coconut in the Wynyard Quarter), for us, grand-daughter and Mr H. That was followed by going to a play called Effects. 

An interesting and somewhat challenging play. Four actors. The story was of two psychiatrists undertaking a trial (experiment) of a new antidepressant medication, and two participants in the study. The focus was on the relationships and the effects of the medication on the interactions, questioning the thesis that depression is the result of a chemical imbalance. Glad we saw it. 

My blip is a photo of a flax flower stalk. Phormium tenax is an ancient plant unique to New Zealand. The Maori name is Harakeke; the leaves had multiple uses. It grows as a clump of long strap-like leaves (up to 2m long), and the much taller flowering shoot has red flowers which attract Tui. This flower shoot is dried; it is on the boundary line of where we have been staying (and will return after a couple of nights in the A-Frame).