One of the bonuses of not having a car is that I 'see' a lot more of my surroundings, especially when it's dark. The darkness in the mornings is more than compensated for by spotting a kiwi at the Back and Main Roads intersection, and a weka crossing the road as I walked down to work last month. Just as exciting was walking home around 8pm last Thursday - it had been raining/hailing a short time beforehand but I walked home with clear skies, twinkling stars and silvery moonlight shining on the wet road. No need for my headlamp (except to walk along my puddled drive) and a very different look to the bush either side of the road, especially when it's full moon.
When there's no moon shining, it's as black as can be - I can't see my hand in front of my face. On these nights I get a stunning panorama of stars if the sky is clear. I haven't set up my telescope yet but can still marvel at the enormity of the Universe - and Man's insignifance! I know I will never take photos to capture this so will have to leave it up to your imagination.
It was too dark to see the kiwi calling between 4-5am last Wednesday morning but they weren't far from my bed! A male called at 4.25am, with a female/male duet 25 minutes later - I haven't found any footprints from them but there were fresh deer prints around. So magical to hear their calls, once so common on the mainland but now a rare experience and one that might disappear altogether for future generations of New Zealanders.
