We're starting off 2009 with a couple of shots of a smallish pohutukawa tree in full bloom on the Main Road in the centre of Tawa. The photos were taken just two days before Christmas 2008.

It just so happens that we started off 2008 on this site with pohutukawa pics, albeit a few more of them - see here.

The pohutukawa came into bloom earlier this time around. Many had done their dash by the time we returned from our Christmas-New Year break in early January, but that certainly wasn't the case in January 2008. Whether they flower mid-December or early January (or whenever), they add a very attractive spread of colour around the place. Suffice to say that my lack of pohutukawa photos this summer is more than compensated by the number taken in previous years (which you can see by going to the link detailed above).

The last pic below is a different tree. Click on the pics to enlarge.

- Malcolm Sparrow