New Zealand - Kiwi Kountry

(As most of you know, I have been trying to post most of our 'official' missionary photos and experiences on our missionary blog Kiwi Krossings, and keep this blog more for my photography, but sometimes I can't decide where to post.  Here are some photos I also posted on the other blog.)

THERE ARE THREE KINDS OF KIWIS IN NEW ZEALAND:

The Fruit

The Bird

The People

New Zealanders call themselves Kiwis.  (Isn't this about the cutest kiwi you have ever seen???)

Winter in Auckland

This post is for those of you who are feeling sorry for us because we happened to end up in Auckland during one of the coldest winters in 50 years, with more snow in New Zealand than they've had in 50 years.  I thought I'd show you a couple of winter photos I took last Saturday:

As you can see, it's been a rough winter for us.  We had to laugh at the news the day of a big storm last week.  There was a big debate over whether they could officially say it snowed in Auckland.  They couldn't decide if it was a few flakes of snow, or just a bit of sleet, or hail.  Whatever it was, it melted before it hit the ground.   I have to say, however, that there was considerable snow in the southern part of the north island, as well as the south island, and since there are no provisions to remove snow because it is so rare, it did cause problems for a while.

Three of My Favorite Things!

When I am outside, here are three of my favorite things to look at and photograph:

Beautiful Trees

There is such a wide variety of interesting trees here.  I've posted a photo of the kauri tree that can live for thousands of years.  Another great tree is the pohutukawa tree.  The trunks and limbs of the old trees are massive.  I can't wait until Christmastime when they are covered with red blooms.  In addition, there are many varieties of fern trees and palm trees, pine trees, furs, as well as common fruit and shade trees. 

Beautiful Clouds
Our office has big windows where most days we can watch the most fascinating 'cloud parade'.  The clouds hang very low and have great dimension, and sometimes they move across the sky so quickly it looks like a time lapse video.  One minute they are dark and menacing, and three minutes later they are light and fluffy.

Beautiful Seashells

I love to walk along the beautiful beaches and see what treasures I find.  I already have a tray filled with shells on our coffee table and we've only been here a few months.  I've missed doing some creative edits, so I took a few minutes and had fun with this one.

A Special Dinner!

We've been down to Christchurch on assignment, and our special friends invited us for Sunday dinner.   We were told that crawfish is a special delicacy.  This was caught by a friend, but if purchased it would cost around $200.  I thought it might taste like lobster, but it didn't!

The Mighty Kauri Tree

The Kauri tree comes from one of the most ancient tree families ever discovered and is found in New Zealand and Australia.  It is the second largest tree in the world.  This one is just a baby at a mere 800 years old.  They can live to be several thousand years old.

Raglan, New Zealand

On another Saturday jaunt, we went to the temple in Hamilton, then drove to the west coast, which has 'wild' water.  Years ago there was a surfing movie called 'The Endless Summer' (so I'm told), where a group of surfers traveled the world chasing the sun and surf, and one of the places they stopped was Raglan.  Around the next bay from this shot we watched some surfers who were satisfied with winter water in Raglan.  It was cloudy and rainy while we were here but at sunset, the clouds parted for just a few minutes allowing the sun to sweep across this landscape.  I've lost track of how many spectacularly beautiful beaches we have seen in three months, and we still have many, many more to see!

Orchids in Fiji

Sunrise in Suva

It rained most of the time we were in Fiji.  One morning, however, I woke up very early and noticed the clouds had cleared so I quickly got dressed and walked to the pool area and took a few photos.

East Indians in Fiji

Over one third of the population of Fiji is made up of East Indians.  Originally they were brought over as indentured laborers to work in the sugar cane fields.  In some places we traveled we saw so many Indians and Indian stores that we could have been in India. 

Sri Siva Subramaniya Swami Temple Nadi

Castaway Island

This is where Tom Hanks shot the movie 'Castaway'.  I can just see it now.....Tom trying his hardest to split open a coconut, or spear a fish to keep from starving to death, and talking to a volleyball because he was so lonely......... then, "cut, it's a wrap", (or whatever movie people say when they've finished a scene).  He then strolls a few yards down the beach to relax at this resort where he probably had lobster and an exotic cocktail for dinner.  And I bet he was enjoying his meal in the company of someone he did not call Wilson!  (Actually I have no idea if the resort was there while he was filming the movie, or if the resort was built because of the movie.)      

Fiji Island Getaway

Our trip to Fiji was totally amazing as far as our missionary activities were concerned. We had assignments and activities scheduled one after the other every day until the last 2 days. On the other hand, our trip to Fiji was totally frustrating for me as far as photography is concerned. We were driven everywhere we went and were always with other people so there was never time for me to stop to take photos, even though there were tons of photo ops.  This means that a good share of the 1430 photos I did take were either shot from a moving car, a moving plane or a moving boat!  This shot, obviously, is from a boat.  The one day we had for sightseeing was overcast and rainy.  For a brief few minutes the sun peeked through and I snapped a few.  This is a small resort island close to Nadi.

The Rest of the Story!

So the last post showed a shot of a beautiful spot outside our motel room in Taveuni, Fiji.  If one looked up,  this is what you'd see.  Yes, those are bats.....BIG bats, now look closely and you'll see lots of them hiding among the leaves.  They are fruit bats.  Ugh!!!!  Look below for another shot.

Fiji Sunrise

From one of the two larger islands we flew in a little plane to the small island of Taveuni.  It was a beautiful place.  This is the sunrise outside our motel.

Fiji's Future

I have turned into such a bad blogger!  I need to say that our missionary work is consuming almost all our waking hours, at least while we were in Fiji a few weeks ago on assignment.  I can't believe we saw and did so much.  As I have time I'll post on Our Kiwi Krossings, but I'll also post some of my favorite photos here.  And my favorite photos are the beautiful children.  Here are a few:

The Maori Haka

A dance where the whole body 'speaks', even the tongue, the eyes and the voice.  Some hakas are welcoming and joyful, some are ferocious, powerful and aggressive:

Anyone With An Opinion?????

"Many Hands Make Light Work"

Hey, photo friends, I need your help!  First, a little back ground.  There is a photography festival in Auckland, and yesterday was photographer participation day.  The theme was, "My day in Auckland" and photographers can submit 3 photos, all of which had to be taken on that day.  They are supposed to represent and show the photographer's interpretation of what he saw or what he did on that day that gives a feel and flavor of daily life in the Auckland area.  

Jeff and I decided to venture into the city, which we hadn't done yet.  We walked along the streets, ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant overlooking the harbor, (very few Mexican restaurants here in NZ), and had a fun day 'people watching'.  Any of you who visit my blog know that street photography is not my strong point, but I thought I'd give it a try. So this is where your help comes in.  I've narrowed down my photos to a reasonable number and now would like you to tell me your favorites, and give me suggestions for some witty titles.  (The ones I have are lame.)  If you're willing to help me out, click HERE, and tena rawa atu koe ('thank you very much' in Maori)!  

Mills Bay, New Zealand

Tawharanui Beach

Pukeko

A common native bird in New Zealand

A Few More Photos from Matakana

Kiwis, (what New Zealanders call themselves),  take their recycling seriously!

I don't think I've ever seen duck eggs for sale before.

Have your tools sharpened while you watch.

A quaint village store.

Colorful steps.

Major Eye Candy

WHATIPU RESERVE BEACH

Monday was a holiday, so we took off with our friends to visit some of the beaches on the Tasmanian Sea side (west) side of New Zealand.  I don't think I will ever get tired of seeing the never ending beauty of the coast and ocean views just minutes away.  Around every bend is a breathtaking vista, one after another after another forever, and each unique in its own way.  This day we saw beautiful black sand beaches, craggy cliffs, and volcanoes covered with lush green foliage set as the backdrop.  At the end of the day I was truly on visual overload.  When I downloaded my photos to the computer I couldn't decide which beautiful scene to post to remember this day, so for the next few days you'll see some of my favorites. 

Sunset at Takapuna Beach

One day after work we hurried home to get my camera, then walked along the beach until after sunset.  This beautiful beach is a 5 minute walk from work and a 10-15 minute walk from our flat.  Did I mention how lucky we are to be in such a beautiful place???

(For a couple of my first sunrise photos at Takapuna, click HERE)

Hamilton, New Zealand Temple

Aglow in golden evening light, this beautiful temple sits atop a hill like a sentinel, watching over miles of vibrant green country landscapes.

OUT OF BODY EXPERIENCE!

I feel like I'm in a dream where I suddenly fly away from my life, surroundings, daily routine, familiar faces, and then wake up in a foreign land.......  Oh wait, that actually happened!!!!  

The past 2 months have been incredible, in what I've seen, what I am learning and what I am doing.  I'm just now beginning to tread fast enough to keep my head above water. I'm hoping that soon I'll be posting here again, and visiting your blogs, too.  Just so you know, I'll post some of my favorite photos here, but to read about our adventures and see more, follow me HERE.  We've already been to some beautiful places, and that is easy because there are photo ops around every bend.  Here's one:

It was a dark and moody day, but the sun peeked through briefly.  Hard to believe everything is so beautifully green at the beginning of winter.