In the Awakino Gorge it is cold in the shade, and there are pockets and corners where it is still winter. This time of the year, you start a huge clothing collection in the truck, as you gradually peel layers of clothing off as the day warms up. Soon it begins to look like an Op Shop in the cab. At Midday there is now quite a bit of heat in the sun, the road is beginning to dry out, and we are starting to catch up on the potholes, which is a joy in itself.
Soon we should hear the first shining cuckoo, back from it's winter holiday, and looking for this years unknowing foster parents, the poor Grey Warbler which hatches the egg the Cuckoo sneaks into the nest.
"The grey warbler is the host of the shining cuckoo on mainland New Zealand. This brood-parasite slips an egg into the warbler's nest, and the warblers rear the baby cuckoo alone after it has evicted the warblers' own eggs and young"

Bloody Charming behaviour, Try that at Play Centre and see how you get on ....
Rest Area 300m