New Zealand
Driving to Millers Flat we noticed how high the Clutha River was. After leaving Faigan's Cafe we decided to drive to Roxburgh and have a look at the hydro dam. At the base of the dam the air was chilly and there was a constant roar from the rushing water. Here's two photos of Roxburgh... Continue Reading →
Four Square is an iconic brand in New Zealand, a national network of grocery stores easily recognised by the colourful number four and the "four square man" always on display. I was just reading at the Four Square website that "Four Square turns 95 in 2019 - having been founded in 1924". This afternoon we... Continue Reading →
Opening the doors into "A Garden of Earthly Delights" was a bright and colourful experience. It's an exciting display space to enter and a joy to explore. Here's an introduction to the exhibition (which ends on 11 August 2019). nb: this post continues on from my previous post A Garden of Earthly Delights Hocken Library,... Continue Reading →
This fascinating exhibition currently on display at the Hocken Library in Dunedin is well worth a visit. We went on 29 May 2019 and were both glad we'd made the time to take a look. Items on display are drawn from many different University of Otago collections and the exhibition was curated by Robyn Notman... Continue Reading →
Steve Schwartzman gave me a link to his stunning photo of kelp swirling in the surf at Bluff taken 24 February, 2017. Bluff is a port town right down the bottom of the South Island (not far from Invercargill). Southland, New Zealand Here's part of the description from Steve's blog-post: "The bull kelp (Durvillaea antarctica... Continue Reading →
I enjoyed reading the responses to my Peace and Quiet post about the Tuatara Lodge cafe in Invercargill, Southland. Those responses have prompted me to do this post about tuatara (the last photo in the Peace and Quiet post showed a tuatara painted on the outside of the building). Steve Schwartzman (Texas, USA) commented "You... Continue Reading →
The cafe in Tuatara Lodge, Invercargill is my go-to place to sit down with good food, a hot drink and just chill out and forget about everything else. Yesterday (Saturday) I sat down to enjoy one of my favourite comfort foods - savoury mince on toast - which they do really well. Later I had... Continue Reading →
Once upon a time a couple went to Invercargill on a Saturday outing. After chilling out in a city cafe for hours they walked back to their car on a back street. Looking through a high office window the lady got quite animated - she'd spotted a plump pig with a ladybird bottom on the... Continue Reading →
Great article today in the Otago Daily Times about Foulden Maar - history, what's there including a nice selection of fossil photos, and the writer Elena McPhee has spoken with Associate Prof Daphne Lee from the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. At: Sifting through layers of history The campaign to #SaveFouldenMaar is still active... Continue Reading →
"Every so often I will see something that reminds me I am alive and worth keeping that way. Recently it is this… I pass this tree every week when I drive into the city. My kids ask me about it. What it means. Why did someone paint it? Although they are 4 and 5 years... Continue Reading →
Whoomph.. the volcano blew its top and left a crater. The big hole, shaped like an ice-cream cone, then filled with water. There was nothing to disturb the sediment at the bottom of the lake (described as "anoxic" i.e. no oxygen). Around the lake an evergreen rainforest, a "vine forest", supported all sorts of plant... Continue Reading →
Beautiful drawing of Foulden Maar fossil lake deposit. "This reconstruction of the 23-million-year-old fossil lake deposit Foulden Maar in Otago, New Zealand, was commissioned by palaeontologist Dr Daphne Lee and drawn by artist/ecologist Dr Paula Peeters. The preservation of the site is so good that individual flowers, leaves, and insects can be identified. The drawing... Continue Reading →
Exploring Colour 