Well, it may have been a damp start to summer here in Wellington but it turned into a very dry season, not just here but all over the country. For a lot of the North Island drought has been declared. So the arrival of rain this weekend was a great relief. I was in New Plymouth and the walk to the lovely site where wonderful WOMAD was taking place took me through Pukekura Park, where the treeferns by the Main Lake looked lush and the resident ducks in their element...
And the scarlet rata was bedecked by gleaming raindrops...
Scarlet rata, Metrosideros fulgens, is a New Zealand native climbing plant or liane which flowers in autumn and winter - the bright flowers stand out in our predominantly green on green bush. It is found in lowland and coastal forest in the North Island and on the west coast of the South Island, growing up trees - in this case a treefern. It thrives in warm moist conditions. So it was good weather for ducks and scarlet rata - not to mention lots of other living things.