Adventure Magazine #242

Travel Broadly, Pack Wisely
COBBLE-CRUISING WHEELED LUGGAGE. ADVENTURE-READY PACKS. TRAVEL-READY DUFFELS.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Pretty or pest?
We walked across so many streams to reach the spot where this
shot was taken, it was the lupins that drew us in, not the birds or the
mountains nor the braided river, but the lupins.
We stayed for ages, taking numerous photos to try to capture the
beauty of the lupins in this incredible environment, only to return to
civilisation and find out they are considered a weed!
Even when we put an image on our Instagram page
@adventuermagazine someone commented on the need for the
‘eradiation of lupins’.
‘Someone needs to spray those weeds! Every time I see a photo
of them, I cringe. As bad as influencers doing boho decorating with
pampas flowers.’
According to DoC a determined bid has been launched to rid the
Arthur's Pass area of wild lupins, which fill the Waimakariri River
Valley with a colourful display every year but are also choking the
nesting habitat of several bird species.
The Department of Conservation has previously mounted attempts to
spray the Russell lupins, obviously unsuccessfully.
It raises the question of ‘when does a weed become part of the
landscape?'
A lot of people stop at the end of the Waimakariri bridge to take photos
of the vista before them of the Waimakariri valley of the valley, the
mountains and the lupins, they have become somewhat iconic.
We appreciate that the lupins may impact biodiversity, but when does
an invasive species become part of the natural landscape?
Aren’t we all immigrants to New Zealand at some stage?
Steve Dickinson
Editor
Environmental groups say the invasive lupins are smothering the
braided riverbeds in the area and taking over the nesting habitat of
the wrybill, banded dotterel and black-fronted tern, making it difficult
for them to find suitable sites that also provide cover from predators.
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