Haiku Walkway #1

Yesterday I went for a walk  with the kids around the Haiku Walkway in Katkati. Katikati is about 40 minutes drive from Tauranga and the walkway itself sits just off the main road. The setting is lovely, large open grass areas, a river winding through, tall shade-giving trees, the Kaimai ranges in the distance and a bridge to walk over- just what you would expect from an area dedicated to the appreciation of Haiku. I found out this this walkway has the largest collection of Haiku Stones outside of Japan and it is the largest dedciated Haiku walk  in the Southern Hemisphere. I imagine that this area has become a speacial place of quiet for many walkers, artists, nature lovers and poets alike. If you're interested in the parks origins and the significance of many of it's features please visit this site for more information. I  will be posting my own photos here over a couple of posts. I also recommend a visit to Opennings Connecting if this subject interests you because Neva's done a lovely post on "Zen seeing, Zen Drawing as Haiku."

The Uretara River winds through the walkway and forms the backdrop for the Haiku Stone below.

Shadows

on the river

darker than the birds

Catherine Mair (Haiku walkway founder and poet.)

evensong

one by one

the trees disappear

Ernest Berry (NZ)

Stationary bus

talking we visit places

within each other

Janice.M.Bostok (Australia)

Strangers

they stop and ask me the way

if only I knew

Barry Morrall (NZ)

I hope you've enjoyed the walk! More to come and ICE #9 "Ironic" is also under 'construction' so to speak!