Tekapo: invasion of the landscape snatchers

 

We all love those gorgeous photos of Lake Tekapo during the lupin season. I visited the area while they were flowering but this time, while they look lovely I had mixed emotions about them.

 Tourists go there hoping to see them flowering and when they are they jump in amongst them for the photos but fail to sit and appreciate the natural beauty of the area. Mount Cook wasn't very co-operative through the haze and the lake colour was muted by the overcast sky so that didn't help matters. The lake level was very low.

Yes, it's fun to have a photo amongst the blooms but I stuck to the side of a dusty track worn by tourists for my photo and then sat and ate my sandwiches while reflecting that I wasn't feeling 'uplifted' in spirits by the scene. I think it was the knowledge that the lupins had a dark side to them, and the commercialisation and instagram obcession of the Chinese tourists rather than appreciating nature devalued it all.

On the way to Tekapo you can find the sides of the road edged with lupins. It has been like that for decades and very pretty it is but finding them everywhere on the way from Tekapo to Queenstown was downright alarming. The Mackenzie country has its own special environment. It should be tussock not imported flowers that are now listed as a noxious pest. I saw first-hand how most of the streams and rivers were becoming choked with the plants so that water couldn't flow properly and, at the time, hadn't realised that this was destroying the habitat of our native stream birds.

Wild Russell lupins are Russell lupins that are established by natural means. Russell lupins rapidly invade rocky braided river systems and the thick, bushes provide hiding places for predators of birds that are often endangered and would usually nest safely on these bare islands. The thick infestations also get in the way of water flow along these rivers, changing the ecosystem for the birds and aquatic species that rely on this habitat.

It causes sand and gravel to build up, changing the shape of rivers and contributing to flooding and erosion. Disturbed lowland and sub-alpine shrubland, short tussock-land and wetlands are vulnerable to this plant.

Russell lupin is a quick growing herb that can grow up to 1m tall, with multiple erect, hairy stems with clusters of leaflets that are usually hairless above and silky below. It produces a flowerhead spike that stands up straight, with many slightly scented and multiple coloured flowers from September to February. Russell lupin produces a large amount of seeds with dark brown spots of colour that are spread mainly by water and also by humans scattering them along roadsides. The seeds can last for many years.

Under the Biosecurity Act, the wild Russell Lupin is a declared pest in Canterbury’s regional pest management plan making it illegal to grow the plant within specified distances of waterways and property boundaries, but the Act does not prevent lupin images being used for commercial purposes and this is becoming a problem as this pest plant is romanticised overseas, mostly in China in their marketing of NZ.

Lupins are said to have taken hold here thanks to local resident Connie Scott. As the story goes, back in the 1950s,

Scott scattered lupin seeds along a main highway to add some colour to the barren landscape and the blooms have been spreading ever since. Take a look at the photos of natural MacKenzie Country. It's wild, slightly monotone, windy, rocky and it has its own beauty when it is left alone. 

If staring at the lake isn't enough for you I can recommend a trip up to Mount John Observatory. Great photos, especially if you time it on a clear day as the sun is sinking around 4pm in Spring. The shadows created by small changes in topography are breath-taking. Unfortunately, I've always missed being there at the best time.