Alexandra Park with Mount Eden to the left and the Auckland CBD to the right.
A Night at the Races
Classic Otago Terrain
I love Otago, and the one thing that differentiates Otago from the rest of New Zealand for me is the sight of golden-brown hills like these ones. This sort of hill is almost always within sight throughout Otago.
Double Zero Equals Zero
One Tree Hill hasn’t had a tree at its top for almost 10 years, hence its nick-name – None Tree Hill. In the next few years after consultation with local iwi has been completed, it is hoped that several native trees will be planted at the top of the volcano, and the tree which best shows survival skills will become the “One Tree” while the others are removed.
The DNA of Movement
On the Auckland wharves is an area of reclaimed land which houses a
large number of huge tanks containing oil. It is known as Tank Farm.
Currently, this area is in the process of having these tanks
dismantled and the area turned into apartment living and hopefully a
public area for viewing the Auckland waterfront easily.
a few more days or weeks, as I noticed when I took the photo that
workmen are clearing the area around it. The rate of change in
Auckland is astonishing. If I see something to photograph, it is best
to do it immediately, because by the time I return with ideas on how
to take my planned photograph, the whole scene has changed.
A Brief Moment of Quiet Reflection
I was driving between Roxburgh and Alexandra, crested a hill and saw
this scene and kind of slid the car to the side of the road in my
haste to take the photo. I was lucky that the police car behind me was
still ascending the hill, and didn’t see my slightly dangerous
manoeuvre or I may have been ticketed.
regarded as one of the world’s great drives. Lonely Planet’s Bluelist
names it in their top 10 best road trips. I agree that it is one of
the most scenic roads that I have ever driven, but scenes like this
would have me adding State Highway 8 from Dunedin to Geraldine to that
list.
One Last Fling
The silver fern (kaponga or ponga) is one of the main emblems (along
with the kiwi and the colour black) associated with New Zealand and
New Zealanders. This one was extraordinarily adept at trapping leaves
from an overhead deciduous tree. It was actually quite difficult to
frame a photograph that only had one leaf in it.
Orchard Autumn
An orchard in Roxburgh, Central Otago. It seemed like the colours were firing everywhere I drove in Otago.
Misting
The shore of Lake Taupo. I got up early yesterday to take some early morning photos of the mountains (Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro), but there was so much fog that I almost didn’t bother going out. Closer to Taupo than where we were staying was a bit clearer, but still no sign of the mountains. Maybe next time.
Lake Taupo was formed by various volcanic eruptions. The eruption in 180, was one of the largest in the world for the last 5000 years, and the ash produced by it turned skies red as far away as China and Italy. Fortunately, NZ was uninhabited at the time.Less Evidence of Autumn
I love the cold, clear, crisp days of early winter. No wind today. Love it.
Booking Time
I love books and libraries. Ever since I learnt to read, I've spent much more time than I should reading books. Since I started using the internet, I read fewer books and I'd like to change that. I have a huge shelf of books waiting to be read, but when I find time to read, I'll often feel too tired to start something new. Instead, I will pick up a favourite book (I have a huge shelf of those too), and read that.
Spaghetti Junction Part 2
The northern part of Spaghetti Junction. Auckland's Sky Tower can be seen to the right. Auckland's Harbour Bridge is to the far left linking Auckland with the North Shore.
Spaghetti Junction Part 1
Officially, the name of this part of motorway is the Auckland Central Motorway Junction. I had to look that up as I have never heard it referred to in that way. Locals call it Spaghetti Junction. If you take a look at this link, you will see why.
