Seating at Switzers

When we visited the location of the old 1860s gold mining town of Switzers near Waikaia, I also took photos of the concrete picnic table and seats that are near the church. What a lovely place this is, and I'm so glad to now live near here. To see the church and the detail of...

Red Barn near Tapanui. Out on a country drive we saw this rustic red barn in farmland near Tapanui, Southland, New Zealand. Taken by Liz 20 Oct 2018

Peony or Paeony

I love the waves of different flowers cycling through this spring season. Now peonies are coming in to bloom. We found this beautiful bloom when walking through Gore Gardens on 02 Nov 2018. There were a couple of blooms, heads hanging downwards, and I went over and lifted one to see what it was like,...

Gunnera and Brunnera

Gunnera is like giant rhubarb and grows into a forest of huge leaves and stalks (it dies down in autumn and sprouts up again in spring). Brunnera is much more restrained with lovely sprays of forget-me-not flowers. When we walked through Bannerman Park near where we live on 02 Nov 2018, we found both of...

Think Pink

We came across these bright pink flowers when walking into town the other day, not far from where we live. We really like their profuse blooms, bright colour and grassy foliage but we don't know what they are. Do you? Please tell us via the comments if you recognise the plant. Photos taken by Nigel,...

Hunger is Not a Harbour

"I was leaving Amsterdam and moving back to Paris, having been in London before that, Paris even before that and years before Ireland so there was this questioning of why don’t I stay put, what was the attraction of the next step, had I really carved my footprint into where I was before looking out...

Paua Shell Fence

Paua (abalone) shells are beautifully iridescent on the inside. The shellfish itself is a popular food, often consumed as paua fritters and the gathering of paua is a much enjoyed recreational activity. Just saying, as I don't gather or like to eat paua but I do love the beautiful shells and paua jewellery. When we...

Switzers Church and Cross

About 3km from the little town named Waikaia (in the middle of nowhere) that I've posted about before, there's the location of the older town that dates back to the gold mining days of the 1860s. The old town had to be moved three times because they kept siting it in the middle of gold...

Blending In – or Standing Out?

This ram and sheepdog eye each other warily from the top of their respective pillars, either side of a farm entrance gate on Hillfoot Road near Clinton, South Otago. The sheep and dog blend in, in the sense that real sheep and sheepdogs are common in rural New Zealand. They stand out by being set...

Aronui Dam at Alexandra

Yesterday on our way home to Gore from Queenstown via Central Otago we bypassed Alexandra. Before leaving the area, I asked Nigel to turn part-way toward Alexandra as I wanted to find something I'd read about called Jolendale Park, on a side road. We found the park and had a look around - its a...

Roaring Meg

We were back in Queenstown this morning to pick up the new lenses for my glasses and then we returned home via Central Otago. On our way through the Kawarau Gorge I asked Nigel to stop at the Roaring Meg carpark. From here you get good views of the Kawarau River rushing through the gorge....

Queenstown Cream

All of these photos were taken by me in Queenstown Gardens on 27 Oct 2018. Most are selected for this post due to their cream or lemon colours - I seemed to have a bunch of photos that fitted this description. There are also many brightly coloured flowers in the gardens but those photos are...