Misty Morning

Another weekend at the house and it's even colder than last weekend. I expect that this winter will be the first winter since I was at school in which I will experience the pain of chillblains.

At least the cold snap produces lovely blue skies though...

Mount Taranaki

I might not have seen much of Wellington yesterday, but I did have a fantastic view of Mount Taranaki on the outward flight.



We flew just to the east of this active but quiet volcano and I was amazed to see what a long shadow it cast as the sun came up.



You can see more of my photos from this and other New Zealand flights here.

Flying Visit

Here's how Wellington airport looked when we were here in 2004. Since then Gollum has disappeared to look for his precious.


A return trip to Wellington today and I didn't see much beyond the airport...

Learning the Lingo

Alongside all the acronyms and jargon, I've had to learn all sorts of kiwi phrases which have come up in the office. Here's a sample of the slang:

• Box of fluffy ducks - this means that everything is good - not full of sh*t and feathers
  
• Bigger than Ben Hur - a description of an issue or challenge which is on the large and intimidating side
• Turn to custard - now the issue which was bigger than Ben Hur has blown up as predicted
• She'll be right - a dose of optimism
  
• Chocolate fish - this is the opposite of custard - a prize for doing a good job
• Good on ya mate! - a phrase to accompany the chocolate fish

Vintage Vehicles

There are all sorts of old cars around Auckland but this has to be one of the more unusual vintage vehicles. An old trailer, towed by a tractor, which parks up on Commerce Street most nights to serve burgers to dirty stop-outs. Remarkably the White Lady has been running since the 1940s but I haven't yet checked out their ethical options.

Missing Millions

It was announced today that a service station owner from Rotorua had been lucky enough to receive a credit of $10 million when expecting nothing more than an overdraft of $10,000. Not surprisingly, he opted to send most of the money overseas and swiftly followed it.

Does that explain why Westpac bank employees were collecting on Queen Street this morning? Or was it the rescue helicopter which was going to benefit from donations?

Like the Back End of a Bus

Auckland has some pretty cool buses. This is a Waka Pacific Bus which serves Counties Manukau in South Auckland. "Waka" is Maori for canoe and I'm embarassed to say that this is the only brand of bus that we've actually used.


Here's a North Shore bus representing the bright blue skies and yellow sands of the East Coast Bay. You can see the volcanic peak of Rangitoto, lots of pohutukawa


And finally, this bus goes west. It features a pink tui (not seen in the wild - these wattled birds tend to be black) and the appropriately yellow bloom of the kowhai.


For comparison purposes, here are some buses from the old days, found at MOTAT, the Museum of Transport and Technology...

Wellington Writers' Walk

I enjoyed some brisk walks around Oriental Parade this week, in howling winds. The harbourside in Wellington is a bit different to that in Auckland with much more public access and lots of art dotted around, just like the rest of the capital city.

Here's one of the slabs of poetry from the waterfront, quoting Denis Glover's poem "Wellington Harbour is a Laundry". The harbour wasn't an ironing board today though - more like a churning tub.

Sky at Night

We'll be leaving the city behind soon and much as I love the high-rise, high-octane lifestyle of Auckland CBD, I don't think I'll miss the bright lights through our bedroom window, the revving at the traffic lights below our balcony, the chlorine in the tap water...

The End of the Rainbow

Lots of rain this week but happily that means lots of rainbows too. Yesterday, it seemed like the pot of gold could be found on Waiheke Island out in the Hauraki Gulf. No chance to photograph that one so here's a rainbow that I found back in 2004 at Dove Myer Robinson Park...

The typical kiwi High Street

Lyttelton Harbour, just outside Christchurch, is a typically quaint New Zealand town. Here's some pictures of the main street, just a few blocks back from the port.



Observant readers will note the following classic features of a New Zealand high street:

• The verandahs - whether it's raining or sunny, you can enjoy a stroll past the shops without the weather interfering.
  
• Wooden pioneer buildings - large parts of New Zealand look like the wild west, minus the cowboys
• The coffee shop - kiwis love their coffee, flat whites, long blacks and frappes, they can't live without them
• A classic car or two - new cars are an expensive proposition in New Zealand and so cars are kept on the road long after their natural life has ended
• Bright colours - not sure yet why the buildings are rainbow-coloured but it's a common occurrence and it certainly brightens up the place with manmade structures competing and clashing with the landscape
  

Shivering at the shore

We really felt like we were on holiday by the time we were on Kairaki Beach in a gale with sleet just around the corner. Still, the mouth of the Waimakiriri River made for some pretty impressive views.



We were definitely ready to warm up with brunch in a deli in Lyttleton Harbour after our brisk walk.

Cantering in Canterbury

Christchurch is more English than England so Mark, James and I turned our back on the town and headed inland towards Arthur's Pass and the Southern Alps. We stopped for lunch in Springfield (population 300) where we found a huge pink doughnut and then took to the back roads of Rubicon Valley to find a farm offering horse trekking.

We were each given a horse (Arrow, Blade and Samson) and we set off with our guides, two dogs and some Arab riders. We crossed paddock after paddock, following the track of the TranzAlpine railway, rounded a ridge and eventually emerged overlooking the Waimakiriri River with its crystal clear, bright blue water.

We were definitely ready by then for the homemade scones and jam which magically appeared from a saddle bag along with some hot chocolate. The afternoon grew colder and we just made it back to base before the icy rain arrived.

Four Seasons in One Week

The weather has flipped again giving us fantastic views on our flight from Wellington to Christchurch.

Here's the capital without clouds -



And here's the South Island approaching with a veil of snow over the Alps -



For more photos from above, click here.

Wet and windy Wellington

A grey day in Wellington, a far contrast from our long weekend.

Plentiful Sunshine in the Bay of Plenty

Our last stop on our mini-road trip round the North Island was Tauranga and Mount Maunganui at the start of the Bay of Plenty. The sun shone once more and we made a circuit of the Mount before lunch by the beach.



For more photos of our weekend away, click here.

Speed and sheep

We awoke to find that the clouds had disappeared to be replaced by bright blue skies.



But it was chilly and so we passed on the canoeing option and took a short stroll by the lake instead to admire the black swans before ascending the gondola for an even better view.



We then made our way down off Mount Ngongotaha rather more quickly by taking the luge along a winding path through the forest.

Afterwards, we had a more leisurely afternoon down the road at the Agrodome sheep show.



We were introduced to a range of meat, milk and wool breeds, shown how to shear and then treated to a strong-eyed dog trial.

Relaxing in Rotorua

Shortly after leaving the Top 10 Holiday Park in Waitomo we were tempted into visiting the local Shearing Shed. But it wasn't sheep on the agenda, rather a great big soft angora rabbit. I invested in some lovely soft wool so that James could crochet me a hat and the ladies running the shop were most impressed with his last creation.

We then took the road to Rotorua and arrived after lunch at Hell's Gate, a geothermal park so named by George Bernard Shaw.



The day had clouded over, making the steaming waterfalls and smoking mud pools even more eerie.



The whole place smelled of rotten eggs with sulphuric steam emerging from the fumeroles but that didn't deter us from making a visit to the Polynesian spa for a soak by the lake.

Waitomo Caves

We have the pleasure this week of showing Mark the highlights of the North Island. We started off heading south to the Waikato region. Mark met kiwis and kea at Otorohanga alongside some other feathered friends.



Next we had our first taste of adventure in Waitomo where we abseiled into a cave, waded up an underground river, rafted down on a rubber ring, squeezed through some pot holes and then inspected the glow worms.



We enjoyed a well-earned drink later at Curly's Bar where all the local patrons had left their trucks and dogs in the car park and their muddy boots at the door.

White Rabbits!

These are Japanese dolls for the spring Hinamatsuri Festival. They represent attendants from the Emperor's court in the Heian period and are supposed to discourage bad spirits.