Chelsea Sunset

Sunrise over Rangitoto

Walk on the Wild Side VI

After all the close-ups from the reserve, here's the bigger picture...

Walk on the Wild Side V

Amidst all the tatty tree ferns, battered by the winter gales, these architectural plants caught my eye with their verdant starbursts...

Walk on the Wild Side IV

There was a mix of autumn and spring colour in the reserve with trees coming into flower above and ageing leaves below.

Walk on the Wild Side III

In a typical New Zealand forest, the trees are dripping with lichen and moss and other parasitic plants - a sign of superior air quality. I was intrigued by this tiny, delicate fern-like creeper at the base of one of the trees in the local reserve but have been unable to identify it so far.

Walk on the Wild Side II

A stunning red-hot poker from our walk in the reserve yesterday afternoon...

Walk on the Wild Side I

There was a break in the wet weather this afternoon so we dashed out to a local reserve for a bit of a stroll. We were met in the car park by a tui which was alternating between singing and sipping the nectar from the bright pink flowers in the tree.

Sunset Commute

This was the view as we queued to join the motorway in the centre of Auckland last night. Better than the outlook on the Tube anyway.

Iris Emerging

It's been a little warmer in recent weeks than it has been but even so I was surprised to see this iris flowering in Albert Park.

Wings over Waikato

Here is the eerie view that greeted me as we flew over the Waikato Region on the way back to Auckland at sunset last night. As far as I can tell, this is the harbour at Raglan, a small town to the west of Hamilton which is famous for its surfing.

Flying Visit to Wellington

Many New Zealanders have stories of terrifying landings at Wellington Airport. Here is a bird's eye view of the runway - the apparently undeveloped strip of land over to the right of the picture where the two pieces of land join. Fortunately my flights have been relatively good so far but when the southern wind's a'blowing, pilots just hurl the planes at the ground and hope for the best.

Cruising New Zealand

If it wasn't for the smoke from the funnel, this cruise ship would blend into the city skyline...

Monochrome V

More undergrowth and more brutalism...

Monochrome IV

Classic brutalist university architecture.

Monochrome III

The Clock Tower at the University.

Monochrome II

The undergrowth at the university...

Monochrome I

The Old Gatehouse for Government House, now part of the university campus - looking like a haunted house at dusk.

Lucky Cat

It's my first two exams this morning - Legal System and Contract Law - so here's a picture of our Japanese lucky cat:

Sing a rainbow...

I'm hoping that this is a good omen for my exam tomorrow...

A Change of View

Very pleased to have swapped my view of the Auckland City Hotel, beautiful though it was in the evening sunshine...



...for a pastoral idyll from my new study window.

White Rabbits!

Here's one of our stand-in rabbits taking up Merlin's old position on our new sofa...