At last, a proper walk

Well, a reasonably proper walk, anyway. After delivering Esther and co safely home, I decided it was well past time for me to pay a visit to Belmont Regional Park. I've only lived in the Wellington region for about twenty years, I had never got around to going to this reserve that's so close to where I used to live. Anyway, I went there for the first time, pulled up in the carpark and was pleased to hear the sound of birds - early evening is a good time for them. There were lots of tui, kereru and magpies in residence, and some other birds, the sounds of which I didn't recognise. I had a lovely time, pottering around, looking at things, taking photos. The track that I explored had a gentle uphill gradient, barely noticeable - except at this part, where it appeared part of the original track had been washed away due to flooding, and a new track had been laid around the uphill side of the washout. That theory was confirmed when I found where the new track rejoined the old one, and I followed the old track back along the stream to the washout. Time flies when you're enjoying yourself, and I spent half an hour ambling along the start of the track, and another half-hour ambling back. At one point I caught sight of a small native bird fluttering around in a tree right beside me. I think it might have been a stitchbird, but we'll never know because this is the best photo I managed to get. I took a few other photos as well, but this will have to do for now, as it's late and I need to go to bed! No pedometer reading for this walk, I haven't got a new battery for it yet.