“We’re Going On A Bug Hunt and We’re Not Scared...”

"Uh Oh....A Weta Hole!" 

Alfie and I went on a bug hunt today!

Thanks to the help of a very lovely gardener at Otari Wilton Bush we learnt all about how to recognise Mahoe (Whitey Wood) trees and how to spot weta holes in them.

Alfie of course thought this was a fantastic activity and spent the best part of two hours searching for weta holes, all the while hoping very hard that he’d find a real weta. 

Thankfully we saw none. Alfie was gutted but I was secretly relieved as wetas actually scare me more than the Redback spiders we used to find in Alice Springs!

However, we did forage around in the mulch and mud a lot, looking for fungi and little bugs and worms, and we managed to collect a number of fallen fern leaves and a dead caterpillar (all of which were returned to the bush when we left). We had endless games of Pooh Sticks on the bridges across the stream and managed to complete one of the walking tracks with almost no complaining from Alfie. 

It's a bit of a secret little corner of Wellington, but Wilton Bush is starting to become one of our favourite places in Wellington: it has amazing plants and trees, heaps of native birds, barbeque areas, good walking tracks - and lots of bugs!