The exotic Phoenix palm was always the plant of choice if you wanted to make a big majestic statement in front of your council chambers, railway station or RSA. Motels near Nikau Palm Reserve, Paraparaumu on Tripadvisor: Find 3,236 traveler reviews, 2,035 candid photos, and prices for motels near Nikau Palm Reserve in Paraparaumu, New Zealand. A bird is said to have laid an egg in the saintâs outstretched hands as he extended them in prayer, and he held the pose until the chick was safely fledged. There it sees very temperate weather. After crossing the Pororari River, the road runs along the foot of a massive bluff, now turning red-gold in the late-afternoon light. With an air of regret he tells me that there arenât as many nikau along the Kohaihai Karamea road as there used to be. The tastiness of the nikau is recognised in the plantâs Latin name: sapida means âsavoury.â. NIKAU FACTS. In his book Nga Uruora: The Groves of Life, Geoff Park says that there are really only two places left on the West Coast where you can walk out of protected sand-plain forest onto a wild beach. It seems harder going than it did on the way in. Unlimited access to every NZGeo story ever written and hundreds of hours of natural history documentaries on all your devices. Floating down the Oparara River on a rubber Lilo in the heat of summer, you could easily fancy yourself to be in the heart of Borneo. Looking back over the forest rolling down to the deserted palm-fringed shore, you may feel a curious reluctance to leave. Sorry, there are no tours or activities available to book online for the date(s) you selected. You're allowed to take dogs as long as they're on a lead. I must climb a tree to see where the sun is setting. My Nikau Palm (native NZ palm) was doing alright during the last months after purchasing. Around the next bend one of the nikau has shucked off its lowest leaf, and from beneath it a rosy inflorescence erupts into the world through a diaphanous sheath made from a pair of boat-shaped inner leaves. In fact, there isnât even a track. The crocs and coconuts didnât survive the ice ages, but nikau palms came through. Its leaves went brown and smaller. Is it possible that I caused this by giving the palm too much water or what can be the issue? Nikau might be perfect for him. This page requires an NZGeo.com account. It has also been found on cultivated Kermadec Island palm, Rhopalostylis baueri, grown outdoors in Auckland. In those that do, the finger-like branches of the spadix bear hundreds of tiny male and female flowers arranged in ménages à trois, with two âboysâ for every âgirl.â The musky, sweet scent attracts thousands of pollinating insects as well as nectar-hungry tui, bellbirds and silvereyes. The Nikau palm gall mite, Nameriophyes sapidae (Acari: Eriophyidae) lives on its primary host plant, nikau palm, Rhopalostylis sapida (Palmae). Not suitable for very small children - you need a certain level of fitness. In severe cases, Confidor is the only cure. They like to rub up against them,â he says. Nice piesâ provides a sensible note of caution given the Coastâs reputation for weather and offers a useful indication of the highlights of local cuisine. Answered by BushDoctor on July 1, 2020 Certified Expert . But I suspect even Chatham Islands nikau would not survive the British winter. Subscribe to our free newsletter for news and prizes, The lava caves hidden beneath suburban Auckland. I notice a football lodged in the crown of one of the palms, as if to remedy the deficiency in the nikau nut department. I stop by Loweâs cottage to ask him about a nikau grove near the âWelcome to Karameaâ sign on the KohaihaiâKaramea road. Nikau are tall, upright palms with spreading fronds. Holiday homes, hostels and retreats are springing up on both sides of the Pororari River, and just south of Dolomite Point is an even more substantial hotel development. âThe old horse got in the habit of passing a bit close to one of âem. The Rhopalstylis is a genus containing just two species of palm including the most southerly palm the Chatham Island Nikau and the other confined to Norfolk Island with a variety on the Kermadec Islands. Compare that with the 150 people a year said to be killed by falling coconuts and you may be glad that nikau only produce a lot of indigestible berries. The deep groove the river has carved in the limestone of north-west Nelson evokes Conan Doyleâs lost world, and itâs not hard to imagine that crocodiles once hunted here. Itâs a big thing over there nowâtropical-looking plants which can survive Britainâs cold, wet, dark winters. Nikau Palm Reserve is right in Paraparaumu. What would the saint have made of the indignities suffered by a nikau outside McDonaldâs, around the corner from Queen Street? I imagine the embarrassment of starving to death in one of the worldâs smallest wilderness areas. R. sapida - R. sapida is a slow-growing, tender palm with a single, unbranched, stout trunk bearing a tuft of pinnate, dark green leaves divided into linear segments. After attempting to capture something of the rather haunted atmosphere of the place on film, I fold away the tripod and start making my way back to the road. • Sago Palm ( Cycas revoluta): a stunner, but very slow-growing. At Scotts Beach, a scatter of driftwood shelters artfully thatched with nikau fronds testify to the many travellers who have lingered here. Tags: Friday Photography. On this tour, set sail from Paraparaumu Beach, explore the island on a guided walk, and enjoy free time to stroll along the sandy beaches or take a swim. Stopping in my tracks, I listen for traffic on the road. The leaf base splits down the middle and leaves a neat circular scar round the trunk as it falls away. But, if we go back about 23 million years ago in the Miocene Era, New Zealand was much warmer and more tropical. The area is lush with native bush, Nikau palms, ferns, caves, rivers, alluvial flats, as well as beautiful long stretches of accessible sandy beaches, that border the Tasman Sea. Palm becomes a feature with light green trunk contrasting with dark green crown. The Nikaus and trees are beautiful. There are around 14 leaves on show at any one time, with their shafts spaced around the crown at regular 135-degree intervals. Dense, natural and beautiful. On my way back to Karamea I stop off for a closer look at Loweâs section. Nothing extraordinary in that, you may say, but Iâve got to know the West Coast road pretty well now, and I think I could draw a map showing where all the best nikau are from a car-window perspective. It seems that it has some problem. 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