41: Noah, Is That An Ark In Your Pocket Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?

I think Noah must have conjured up the idea to build an ark whilst on holiday in New Zealand. Sure, we're all about clean and green in this part of the world. It rains hard and frequently enough that dust and dirt don't have a chance to settle on anything. And well, I think the green part you can figure out for yourself. These photos were taken on two separate days from my bedroom window. Scarcer a place you'd rather be when the sun is shining in a cloudless NZ sky(photo on left). But come the gale forced onshore southerlies off of Antarctica and rain blasting in sideways (photo on right), well, that Air New Zealand package to the islands doesn't sound so expensive after all! Click on each photo for a larger image. See video on left.

40: Random Kiwiana

Now that I've been here for over a year and a half, I find it interesting just how many things there are in my daily living to which I'm now just completely oblivious. I guess you could say the living just gets to be living no matter where you are on Earth. The things that I used to marvel over upon my arrival, now they're just a part of the every day scenery. I remember being in awe over the lush green mountainside that just plunged straight to the ocean's edge between Pukerua Bay and Paekakariki. Now I still find it just as beautiful, but after seeing it more times than I can count, well, it just doesn't seem to have the same effect.


Anyway, I just thought I'd take a retrospective step back and add some kiwiana photos. Things you won't likely see in other countries that you will see here.



Click on each photo for a larger version.

39: Colonial Knob Hike (Elsdon, Porirua)

I woke up this morning to a beautiful New Zealand winter day. Pristine conditions with clear blue skies and and crisp winds blowing from the northwest. This past week was particularly heavy in the work department, so after finishing up some projects at home, I decided to venture out and take a hike (tramp in kiwi terminology) to the summit of Colonial Knob. I'd heard about it and read a few things on it, and amazingly for the past 9 months that I've been living here in Titahi Bay, I somehow managed to evade this mountain literally in my back yard (not on purpose, though). As with nearly everything I do, I always have a digital camera on hand to capture the action. Most of my friends live in Wellington and with the price of fuel these days at $2.12 per litre (or $6.70 USD per gallon), it's hard to attract any exercise buddies up this way. Click on each photo for larger view.

38: Birthday Dinner at Istanbul Turkish Restaurant, Wellington

Bob once told me one time that doing a PhD is the most isolating experience I'll ever do. Now that I'm neck deep in the thick of it, he was right. Very right. And although there is a social component to the work I'm doing with the participants, the isolation really hits hard during those long hours when I'm either glued to the computer or stuck in the office on a late Friday or Saturday night doing some sort of menial (albeit necessary) grunt work. However, I was deeply humbled by Bob's orchestration of putting together a birthday dinner for me. It offered a welcome respite from everything and gave me a chance to just "be" for a little while. Thank you all for making my birthday special and memorable!!

37: Lifting the Weight of the World....Or Maybe Just Mana Island

While I confess Titahi Bay seldom turns on the goods in the surf department, I can't complain about the natural beauty it has on offer on a regular basis. There were microscopic knee to waist high remnant of a windswell and not enough to entice me into the water. Instead I took a run up to the top of the hill this evening and, like usual, I brought my camera to capture some of those special moments.

36: A Glorious Winter Day

Greetings all,What can I say? After a few cold, windy, wet days, the clouds parted and we were left with this beautiful day. It was the clearest I've ever seen the South Island. Just impeccable. I ran up to the top of Colonial Knob and here were the photos I took. Simply incredible. The sunset photo was taken several days ago, but spectacular nevertheless. Click on each photo to see the large image. Enjoy.

35: Outlaw Surfers Take Advantage of Queen's Birthday....Disappear to Taranaki for Two Days

Greetings all,
Yes, it's true. I've not posted a single anything in 6 months. Three reasons: first, I've been busy. Second, I've had a knee injury since December and hadn't surfed in 5 months. Third, nobody reads these things anyway unless they're under three paragraphs long. I know you all just like the photos anyway....and so it shall be. Here's the story in short form. Queen's birthday gave everyone a three day weekend. See, the old bag still has some practical value in modern times, even in a parliamentary nation like New Zealand. We ducked out of town for a couple days to take advantage of a bit of swell pumping up the Tasman Sea. Not great surf, but good to just get wet again after so long out of the water. On a positive note, have been tremendously productive, so if anything positive can come out of injury, that's it.








I actually had the privilege of being "profiled" the other day. We stopped off in Oakura for petrol. The attendant came out seemingly attempting to be helpful. He was all but up our asses like an enema. I told him I didn't need any help and could pump my own fuel. But he wouldn't leave. He washed our windows. Then the minute I finished pumping, he abruptly cut in front of me to put the cap back on my tank. We went in and paid and that was the end of it. But as we drove down the road, we thought back to the sign on the pumps that said something like, "it is an offence to steal fuel." I recall seeing it and thinking, "yeah, well that's got nothing to do with me." Well, considering how grungy we both looked, I think that was probably the reason for the condescending VIP treatment. Had I figured it out while still there, I might have paid out on him and given him an earful for his poor judgment. I figure he'll be flipping burgers somewhere else by the time we get back up that way.