While edging my camera lens closer and closer to a nursery web spider, I was thinking “is she going to jump me?” This beautiful, reddish-brown dolomedes minor has a leg span of 60 mm or more. The female builds a nursery web in which she deposits the egg sac. Whilst the young spiders hatch, their mother guards the nursery web from nearby or by sitting on top of it, as shown in my photos.
James Mackay Hut is the hut with the best views on the Heaphy Track, right down to the Heaphy River mouth and Tasman Sea, and across to the Gunner Downs.
Mackay Downs
Quick links
Between James Mackay Hut and Saxon Hut the track skirts the southern rim of the undulating Mackay Downs. Even on a grey day the golden tussocks glow against the green backdrop of stunted bush, and impressive granite boulders add to the magic of this remarkable landscape.
Speaking of magic, as you enter or leave the Mackay Downs, beware of the Heaphy Pixies! If you’re kind to them and respect their habitat, they are friendly and give you a smile as you pass. If you’re not, they may lead you astray and you could be lost in the Mackay Downs forever!
I was lucky—this Heaphy Pixie just blinked at me…