A townie no longer

The best thing about going off-island for a month is returning!! Living on my island haven for 16 months has given me the taste for a simple life and living in a town no longer holds appeal. Whilst it was great to see family and friends, I longed for bush and birdsong, sparse traffic and the sense of identity that our island community has.

The Weather Gods blessed me with amazing Autumn weather - it's not often that there's 3 weeks of mostly fine weather in Taranaki but I certainly appreciated it as my main mode of transport was either walking or biking. No time for tramping this time round but I did get to visit the high country of North Taranaki for a few days - stunning in the rain and low cloud that swirled up from the valley below.

Enough talking! Here's some photos...

Mt Taranaki from the Stratford side

Mt Taranaki from Egmont Village side

North Taranaki high country

Swirling clouds rising from the valley below

New Plymouth's Wind Wand taken from the bus

The bus trip to Wellington was interesting as it's been a while since I've had the luxury of looking at the scenery instead of where I'm driving. Amazing to see the damage done by high winds/tornados in the Patea to Waverley area - huge branches smashed and roofs blown away. The Intercity bus was very comfortable and smooth and I thought the price of the bus ticket was exceptional at only $23.

Wellington was fun - not only did I discover more great bush walks just a stone's throw from dense housing, I was also shouted tickets to the Hurricanes vs Brumbies match at Westpac Stadium. Not a good result but the atmosphere was good and we had great seats to watch the action - and the Hurricane supporters and their drums sitting just a few seats away. Fun to try out the new units to and from Johnsonville as well.

Fab views from a bush walk between Brooklyn and Aro Street

Go the Hurricanes!

Kiwi around - SLOW DOWN

My wish to see a kiwi came true this morning as I walked down for the Dawn Parade. Sadly it wasn't the live one that I was hoping for; this one had been hit by a vehicle overnight and lay in a heap in the middle of the road a few minutes walk from home. It was really upsetting to know that it was totally avoidable and that one more of our precious birds died before the 50 or so years of its natural lifespan were up. All drivers here know that there are kiwi around, that the roads are narrow and that vision is limited in some places.

Please drive carefully at night when kiwi are around

The 'Kiwi' road sign just down the road that may have prompted the driver to slow down was stolen a year or so ago and hasn't yet been replaced. Stealing these signs seems to be a common occurrence - see this article here http://www.doc.govt.nz/about-doc/news/media-releases/2010/kiwi-killed-after-road-sign-stolen/. Are people really that thick to think that removing the sign won't have an impact? Sure the sign looks great in the living room but is it worth the price of dead kiwi on the roads?

Kiwi feathers and blood on Back Road

My guess is that the kiwi was a youngish male because of a relatively short bill. He was in great condition and probably weighed around 2½-3kg. It's the first time I've been able to examine one closely as normally there is minimal handling to prevent stressing them out.

Kiwi feathers - so soft and uniquely coloured

See the large ear opening - almost as big as his/her eye

I'm sorry, manu.
http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-animals/birds/land-birds/kiwi/kiwi/you-can-help/

Anzac Day 2012

Anzac Day 2012 started with a stunning sunrise, a well-attended Dawn Parade and a sad note - see my next blog. Here's some photos of the view as I waited for the ceremony to start...

The colours in the sky were in contrast to the sombre ceremony as we remembered those who had not made it back from the wars.

Ringa Ringa Heights Golf Club

On the way to my rat lines I pass the top end of the Ringa Ringa Heights Golf Club. It's a 6-hole course with the following stats:

It looks like they play 3 rounds to make up the 18 holes. There are currently 32 members and visitors are welcome to rent clubs from the Flight Centre/Post Office. It is New Zealand's most southern course and don't let the views put you off your stroke!

From the golf club it's just a hop and a skip down to Deep Bay which looked particularly scenic today...

After my rat line I had lunch with friends, then walked back to the 'Bay' and couldn't resist taking a few more pics!

Halfmoon Bay from Golden Bay Road

Stewart Island Backpackers

Ayr Street





Fungi fun

The photos in my previous blog were taken with my newest toy - a Sony Cybershot TX10 waterproof camera that's smaller than my mobile phone. I love both my other digital cameras but moisture and electronics have been an expensive mix in the past so thought a waterproof camera was a great idea. I'm thrilled with the picture and video quality, and although it has a heap of functions that I'll need to learn, all of these shots were taken using its Auto-intelligence. Easy eh!

Being so small means that I can slip it in a pocket every time I go out. Just as well I had it today to snap the fungi I passed. I haven't had time to identify any of these yet but they sure are pretty!

The underside of the previous fungi pic

Close up of previous fungi pic

Another close up

They don't come better than this!

I've already used 'perfect' and 'Paradise' and I'm not sure if there are enough superlatives to describe today. What an absolute stunner! No wonder Stewart Islanders smile so much.

I woke early and decided to skype to a landline in England. The signal wasn't particularly good so I moved my computer out on to the deck and watched the sun start to rise above the trees as I chatted with my Auntie. The next minute swirling fog moved in, the temperature dropped and I grabbed my camera. As I was busy snapping I heard a plane and realised that the fog, though dense where I was looking, had almost gone from the other side of the house. Five minutes later the fog disappeared, leaving blue skies in its place and setting the scene for a magnificent day with a minimum temperature of 6.3°C at 6.57am to a maximum of 20.6°C at 10.27am. I'll let the photos do the talking...

View from my deck as the fog rolled in

The fog at its most dense

I'm pretty sure this is a fogbow, also known as a white rainbow

Sunlight shining through the fog as it was lifting

Blue, blue skies

The day just got better - I grabbed these shots of Halfmoon Bay as I walked through to my rat line at Deep Bay.

Visitor identified

In my February blog 'Another anniversary' I put up photos of this visitor...

...but I was unable to identify it. Many thanks to Detective Rob for taking up the challenge and to Leonie of Landcare Research who replied...
'Your enquiry has been passed on to me. The beetle you have photographed is called a Squeaking longhorn beetle, Hexatricha pulverulenta, a native beetle. Apparently they make a squeaking noise when held. The grubs live in dead wood of dying trees especially beech and pine.'

A Google search reveals that Longhorn beetles belong to the Order: Coleoptera, Family: Cerambycidae - a large family that includes over 180 species endemic to Aotearoa. Huhu beetles also belong to this family. One Google link was to T.E.R.R.A.I.N - Taranaki Educational Resource: Research, Analysis and Information Network - http://www.terrain.net.nz/friends-of-te-henui-group/local-insects/beetle-longhorn-2.html - a Taranaki community resource that is a wealth of information and GIS technology.

Whilst I'm on the subject, have you heard of the New Zealand Biodiversity Recording Network at http://www.nzbrn.org.nz/index.aspx? After registering you can then record observations for birds, plants, fungi, frogs, geckos, skink, butterflies, insects and mammals. What a fantastic way to create a snapshot of biodiversity in your area - and learn about our unique flora and fauna at the same time. Yeah, I know that there's not always time but I reckon it will be a great retirement hobby!!

I have just finished S.J. Watson's debut thriller, 'Before I go to sleep' and found the theme of memory loss quite intriguing. I know my memory is sorely lacking but nowhere near as bad as waking up each morning with no memory of the last 20 years. The book is written from this interesting perspective and I found it hard to put down once I started. It won the UK Crime Thriller of the year and featured as the Listener's inaugural Book Club selection: online comments from the Book Club are divisive - it seems to be either a book you love or one that is ho-hum!