Te Arai's Night Stinger...

What do you think of this little beauty...
I didn't find one but am told they are there...
Living among the Pingao on the dunes.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Te Arai Point...
So much to explore and look for.
A very good information board helps identify
what to look for.
It is a place I will visit again...

Not a very big spider, its abdomen is about the size of a pea.


It's closely related to the Australian Red Back.
Its bite can be fatal, deaths have occurred in New Zealand.
Have a look at this story... It made me laugh!
It likes to make its home in coastal sand dunes
and beaches and particularly in the Pingao...

A native sand binding sedge. Only found in New Zealand
it has stiff curled leaves ranging from brilliant green to
bright yellow and orange. Once it would have been found on every
New Zealand beach but now only on a few remnant populations
remain. Big replanting  projects are taking place.

 
It's a major dune builder, stabilising sandy areas by trapping
wind blown sand in the leaves and around the base which
encourages sand dunes to form... As seen above.

The Rawiri - Maori Name - Common name Manuka-Rauriki

A small tree with flaky bark bearing masses of small very
narrow erect leaves and clusters of small white flowers.
Endemic to the northern North Island mostly north of Kaitaia
but more sparsely slightly further south.
It's current threat status is 'declining'. In
2004 it was in serious decline so has improved since
then and is another of the endangered and threatened
species found at Te Arai Point.



 Sand Tussock - Another declining plant...

Found at Te Arai Point that grows in the coastal dunes
especially sandy and rocky places near the shore.
The seeds are collected late summer-autumn. They
take 2 months to propagate... Replanted on the dunes
to encourage sand collection.


 
Sand Coprosma...

Another sprawling ground cover type plant that amazingly is declining,
not threatened but becoming scarce in large parts of its range.
Endemic to New Zealand from the north to as far
south as the Chatham Islands.