Luck and Mythical Chemtrails

I count myself as being very lucky!

Lucky - that I found and was able to marry my Kiwi Girl!
Lucky - that I am able to travel a bit and see the rest of New Zealand!
Lucky - that my guardian angle looks after me (my brother Manfred who passed away far to soon)
Lucky - that I was able to participate in the "0800sunnytourist" NZ Government program!  (sshhhhh - it is still a secret!)

Recently we had a long weekend away in Tekapo and while the weather forecast was for mixed weather - it ended up with a clear sky and very sunny - even though I had deliberately  N O T  dialed the '0800sunnytourist' number and requested a NZ developed ANTI-cloud spraying program to be used on this day!
Result - we see Mount Cook in all its glory and as is longstanding tradition - we 'saluted' the Mountain with a glass of bubbly - for being such a good sport.

Local folks will tell you it is rather a rarity - normally it is either fully or often just the top part covered with clouds, thus you can only see the lake and perhaps the bottom part - IF at all!  So we added up the trips I have made passed here with various people at various times and got past 18 events. And every time - I have seen Mount Cook.  Not every time as glorious as this one, - once even very lucky that the thick fog lifted just at the time we were there - an hour earlier it was still a white out! Still - yet to see it shrouded.  So yeah I feel very lucky and special in that regard! Moral of the story - hmmm I should be a bus tour driver - I could make lots of $$ from happy tourists . . . . .

Have fun!

Drop dead gorgeous scenery near Lake Tekapo is killing people

Hmmm
you know when this old elderly *cough* slightly mature bear is on the road, then it is a given that, subject to certain substances consumed, there have to be the occasional pit stop to urm drain excess fluid from the system.
When you gotta go - you gotta go - right?!
Anyhow - I was pleased that there always has been a  convenient public toilet in the car-park of the Lake Pukaki look out. Now - Ladies - I have no idea what your plumbing system looks like having never been inside a ladies rest room and I sure do not want to find out.  Quite why you would want to have a "rest" in a ladies "rest room" is beyond me. Nor do I need to know what you gal's actually do in there. If you belief television it is more about powdering the nose or something. I guess the same goes the other way - many ladies will have little clue what the inside of a men's public toilet looks like.  Well let me tell you, that most of them have a urinal - guess that is not something you find inside the ladies????
What is a urinal I hear you ask??
It is at best usually a long metal wall about so high, with a drain on the bottom all designed to catch the drips and run those urm drips away into whatever sewer system exists.  At worst it is a plain long drain in the ground. 

Scouts are famous for making / building outdoor urinals / Latrines and some urm watering places in some countries have virtually no privacy at all - there are some very public versions to experienced in France for example.






Some more modern versions have these semi half round very posh white porcelain bowls over which you stand and aim and woe and behold if you miss - your toes get a free wash!!!
Some even have a tiny wee half sized divider sticking out inbetween the white bowls.
Dividers???
Why dividers?
Well
See
There exists one unwritten, universally understood, globally accepted, never explained but very well known rule that you never ever under any circumstances do you look SIDEways while doing your - urm - waterworks (unless you are testosterone competitive driven teenager). To do so would instantly incur the wrath of your fellow male urm pinkler. Something about comparing sizes or male challenges of ego . . . .   You barley acknowledge the other person and at BEST you can have a conversation about the weather.  Unless of course you are one of the aforementioned testosterone laden young male.  This bears remembers certain competitions involving heights . . .   Ah those were the school days.




Anyhow - I transgress.


The routine among males is more along the lines of - go in / unbutton/zip / point water gun / shoot / empty / dribble / zip-up or button up - all the while resolutely looking straight ahead at the wall in front of yourself. - THEN go and wash hands afterwards. 
Of course advertisers know this!! Where else would you have such a captive audience ?? There is nothing to do BUT to read whatever piece of paper / image is in front of you! You get about 20-60 seconds advertising time - water works and your age depending.  As you get more - what was it, oh yeah - maturer you donate less and less - but you make up for it by going more often, just to read the advertising! :)

Thus ---  Advertising heaven!!

Urm - yes well, there was this one as well . . . . . .











This bear has seen his fair share of graphic images. This one however was new!!
It is an image put out by the "South Canterbury Road Safety Organisation"!
Well firstly, I never knew such an .org existed - secondly - jolly good idea.
As you can see it is written in five languages (although you could argue that German is missing) and is very clear and succint to the point - it needs to be - remember = 20-60 seconds attention span. (please - ladies - do not infer that this is all the attention span a man can muster)
What got me is the amounts of dots in certain spots.  The main highway south from Christchurch to Dunders is not overly surprising.  Inland route though somewhat was.  So imagine, here is me trying to slow down the  *cough*  liquid donation sequence in order to get some more time to read this.
Running out of time - urm - liquid - I did something else you should never ever under any circumstances do inside a public toilet - I whipped out my cellphone
 A F T E R   the chap two lines to my left has - urm left, and snapped this image!

Turns out - the Ladies 'rest-rooms' have a similar version in their public no wait - private space - so Mamabear later confirmed! There is an image of this on each door! Guess the gal's do not have a Latrine so their "captive" moment is on the bowl you sit . . . . .   hmmmm anyhow

Basically I wanted to take home a reference - whence the quick snapped photo - as I knew I would likely forget the name or org that I need to look this up later on ! As it was - I did just do that (forget that is) until yesterday.  Something about getting older and forgetful.
Hang on a sec - who said that!??

Anyhow the very quick 20 sec glance I had inside the public toilet near Lake Pukaki more or less confirmed what I had suspected for a long time.
You will see the "Legend" which lists the type of crashes in the past 5 years
or more to the point what caused the crashes in the last 5 years in this region!
They are nicely colour coded circles:
Distraction / Fatigue / Incorrect lane position/ To fast or lost control
New Zealand is heavily pushing an anti speed campaign.
During the major holidays it has zero tolerance to breaking the speed limit - a 100km on the open road.
Their slogan is 'speed kills'  or  'the faster you go the bigger the mess you make'.
(not surprising given the ways cars are constructed these days)
Anyhow - my gut feeling (no- not that of feeling drained and empty) - rather you know that feeling you get in your gut when you are suspecting something but can't confirm or put on a firm hand - urm grip on it - has at last shown some promise.  The Speed icon featured FAR less in the Inland Canterbury region then at first suspected.    I wonder if this is symptomatic of New Zealand as a whole????
Secondly the 'Distraction' seemed to be the highest placed icon.  Now being distracted could mean anything - from text-ing while driving, sorting out the fighting kids in the back seat or changing the radio station to yes - forgetting that you are driving while you are starring at the beautiful scenery.
I wonder if there is a further breakdown on "Distraction" avaible??
Would be a shame if the  gorgeous scenery near Lake Tekapo is killing our tourists!
I shall have to use my friend Google . . . . .
Have fun

PS - here is the link -->  http://www.scrs.org.nz/











26/1/2016 
bahahahahaha

Guess whats been published in todays "The Press"  - online?!?!?!

http://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/76214007/south-canterbury-toilets-provide-road-safety-messages-for-foreign-drivers


South Canterbury toilets provide road safety messages for foreign drivers

TIM FULTON

Last updated 08:01, January 26 2016

A South Canterbury public toilet with one of the region's new road crash maps with messages for tourists
SUPPLIED
A South Canterbury public toilet with one of the region's new road crash maps with messages for tourists
South Canterbury's public toilets have become a novel location for pitching road safety messages to tourist drivers.
Maps in public toilets showing crash sites over the past five years are giving safety warnings in Chinese, Indian, Japanese and Filipino.
The maps, placed above urinals and on the inside of toilet doors, also link readers to websites with road safety messages in 14 languages.
Tourists are being given the safety warnings and driver tips at 60 public toilets around South Canterbury.
South Canterbury road crashes from 2011 to 2015, as displayed on maps in toilets around the region.
FAIRFAX NZ

South Canterbury road crashes from 2011 to 2015, as displayed on maps in toilets around the region.

READ MORE:
* Opinion: The most dangerous month for foreign drivers is coming
* One million foreign drivers are on their way, but should we be afraid of them?
* Crash data shows danger level of foreign drivers
 
South Canterbury Road Safety co-ordinator Daniel Naude said the signs were mostly aimed at foreign tourists, and toilets provided a captive audience.

It was difficult to get people to read road safety information, but he realised signs in toilets could make for good reading for "30 seconds when there's nothing to do".
Daniel Naude has been using signs in public toilets to warn tourists about the risks of driving in New Zealand.

Daniel Naude has been using signs in public toilets to warn tourists about the risks of driving in New Zealand.
The past year had been especially bad for serious-injury crashes in South Canterbury and nationally, he said. NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) statistics showed 625 injury crashes were reported in South Canterbury from 2011 to 2015. Just over 50 – or 8 per cent – involved overseas drivers.
Of all the crashes in that time, 44 per cent were a result of crossing or turning, while 24 per cent involved losing control or colliding head-on at a bend. A further 4 per cent involved drivers overtaking, crashing head-on, or losing control on straight roads.
Naude said tourists were especially vulnerable if they thought New Zealand roads were quick and easy. A 300-kilometre drive from Christchurch to Queenstown looked like a breezy three hours, but was much tougher.
The toilet map sites included Geraldine, Fairlie, Tekapo, Twizeland Mt Cook.
Naude was negotiating with Department of Conservation for more maps around Mt Cook, and had heard from a Queenstown business group interested in the idea. He hoped NZTA's crash statistics for last Christmas, expected to be available by March, would show the signs had made a difference.
Highlighting road crashes was not popular, but the public response had mostly been positive, Naude said.
In a bizarre tribute, someone had stolen one of the signs from a toilet at Tekapo. "I don't know . . . maybe they liked the frame or something."
The maps cost South Canterbury's three district councils just a few thousand dollars and were based on NZTA's national crash statistics from June 2010 to June 2015.
Queenstown Lakes District Council transport manager Denis Mander said he had seen one of the maps at a toilet at Pukaki and thought the idea was "brilliant".
The council was working with NZTA on road safety programmes for tourists in Otago and Southland, including information for hotel guides.
The material would include estimated journey times, especially for busy routes like Queenstown to Milford Sound, which tourists mistakenly thought was a fast drive.
NZTA, tourism operators and southern councils were also putting safety messages on the back of buses and in rental car handouts, and more rumble strips were being added to roads.
NZTA road safety staff in Christchurch were not immediately aware of the map rollout.

The new bridge across Lake Tekapo

While doing some research last year -  I stumble on an very early-ish aerial Photo of the Lake Tekapo River and the Church of the Good Shepherd.  Actually I think the focus was the original bridge across the river - and the neighbourly pub just of to the right of this image.  This is the first bridge and it got dismantled when the NZ Government decided it was an ideal location for a power station and a dam.  The bridge would have been submerged and lost forever.  As I understand it - the timber got recycled for various projects.   Seeing that Tekapo seems to be our regular holiday haunt and we have a soft spot for the area - we got very interested when it appeared that the town would build a special foot bridge - in order to avoid crossing the main road twice on the way from town to the lake front with is famous church. Fund-raising for this project began several  years ago and after some delays (including the realisation that the wrong steel was used - which had to be re-made) the new bridge was finally ready. So naturally when we had a spare day - we decided to be mad and go there just for a night.  Luckily for us we got a room just for the night (sounds devious??) and were able to walk on said new bridge. This image was taken from the top of Mount John Observatory - just to give a comparative view. 

Have to say - when the Church was originally build - it would have been more like a barn in a big field and the world famous view out of its altar window would have been significantly different. The raised lake adds to the grand imagery for sure!

Anyhow - to cut a long story short - as soon as we found out that the new bridge was open and we had a spare day - we decided to go there and walk across it.  First impression - good!! Landscaping at either end yet to be completed. I also noticed that the planks were made out of wood and some had been engraved (with the sponsors names or people who made $$ contributions via fund-raising) and some of those names (after only 3 months of being laid) have already faded in the harsh summer sun.
Further - the timber used (as any timber will do) has lifted and moved as it dried out - so there is up to 10mm hight difference from one plank to the next. It might become a tripping hazard.  On the other hand - the council may yet do more work on that aspect - because in winter this could be very icy and slippery so the gaps might not make any difference in the long run.  One hopes so.

In any case - it was a simply stunning day and yours truly in photographic heaven.  The newly acquired wide angle lens got a decent work out as did the rest of the gear.  We went there principally to take pictures of the bridge and somehow still ended up with many more of the church itself. 


The bridge gives a new vantage point - right over the middle of the canal and lets you change the angles towards the Church of the Good Shepherd.

Some landscaping yet to be done and one wonders if they leave the pine tree standing . . . . .











From the highest point of the bridge looking towards the church and mountain range.  We commented on the lack of snow on the tops.  We saw more snow when we were here last in late summer with my cousin Doris!! It does change round the views!!

It is a very busy place - on the outside - and everyone is jostling to get the "just" right picture.  Funnily enough most churches would give an arm and leg to have that  many people in or around their church.  Inside it is another story!!

The lake level was low and here half the bridge is visible.  Hmm the imported pest of a plant - the Lupins -  have been and gone with their flowers - I am sure they would add a lot of colour the scenery!!

You can no longer take pictures inside the church - much to the disappointment  of the very many hobby/professional picture snappers. You can however use a very powerful telephoto lens and stand way back and hope like mad that no one walks into the frame . . .    It is however not the same.  We did notice that the atmosphere inside the church has returned to something akin of peace and holiness.  You can sit and reflect on the grand gesture of our maker in creating such a wonderful backdrop and your very own and some say insignificant place in the universe - without having to listen to the constant pushing and shuffling and click click of various over-eager and often frustrated photographers.   I am still wondering if there is a business opportunity waiting (you know - recreate the interior look next door and then charge xx$$ per minute for anyone who wants to capture THAT look) to be explored.  

Anyhow - back to the reason why we came here - new wide-angle lens and the bridge!!! Clearly some people before me had walked across this particular spot as the grass was trodden down to almost a permanent path . . . . 






Best time to take a pic - late summer evening around dinner time! Less people around and the lighting makes this an easy shot to take.  Usually there is always part of one or other wall that is in shadow an this makes for difficult conditions.   We had walked from our room to the restaurant and I only had my cell-phone with me - and it was one of those spur of the moment things - turns out it was one of the better images from the whole trip!!

Before dinner - as in during the late afternoon, we decided given the weather forecast and limited time we would go up to the Mount John Observatory.  I am glad we did do just that in the end.  First surprise - there is now a toll gate at the bottom of the drive - asking for a $5 parking fee.  REALLY????   In New Zealand???  Since when???   Sad to see that coming more and more into practise.  We also had to wait as it seemed there was no parking space left at the top.  Luckily for us and 3 minutes later and a short but lovely chat with the young girl from overseas who - urm *cough* manned* the gate, we were allowed to drive up.  (and swears at un-educated foreign drivers coming back down)
The view from up top - as always with Blue dome days - is just stunning.  I took a series of photos and stitched them together for a panoramic view!  It is as blue as the photo shows! The Uni has also seen its wisdom and had yet another student from overseas present on-site, who had the main telescope up and running and yes we saw (despite the daylight) the next nearest sun to our own solar system (Centaurs Alpha) - amazing these telescopes!!! One small version was set up to show us Mount Cook (or just the very top of it) and yes it was sunny and visible - but not for much longer.  The best thing though - was the telescope that was trained towards the sun and I saw some real life solar flares.  The above image is taken from the internet but it pretty much is how we saw it - red bright disk with the *smoke-like* flares going of to the sides - and yes there were a good number of them.  Hmmmm - do I invest in yet another gadget to be able to capture that with my own camera???  It was mind-blowingly stunning to see with your own eyes!!

The view from the garden right outside our lodgings! It was a lovely 26 degrees and just a gentle breeze and we had dinner already and the sun does not set until post 9pm along with a prolonged dusk time (it does go eventually completely dark well past 10pm) so we took the opportunity and sit outside along with our home made desert (rich chocolate cream cake) and we cracked open a Riesling and just chilled out until it got dark - by which time it was clear that there would be no night photography possible - the weather forecast was spot on with the flow of air - it brought lots of rain clouds in from the Tasman sea. Guess we might not see Mount Cook the next day when we leave for home again.

We decided that it is a crime to come this far and not stop at Lake Pukaki and spot his grand majestic mountain of New Zealand, so made the decision to go home the long way (adding some 250km to the journey).  Yes the weather had closed in and there was no mountain visible - the first time ever for me of all the times we had been there - and I guess - given the weather records in this region we, so far, have been extremely lucky with Mount Cook!  Still traditions are to be honoured and we got out a bottle of bubbly (non-alcoholic in this years case - given the long travel back home) and
poured a glass or two and did the traditional salute to the grand majestic mountain. Well we had to visualise his presence.  During the time we spent there we counted 10 camper-vans parked or coming and going and 4 tour buses as well as countless cars.
It was the case of spot the native Kiwi. Have to say - we saw far to many Motorhomes (converted from old buses) and yes we got a little bit envious - this is what we would like to do - sel up and tour the country with no restraints on time or places.    hmmmmm that will keep!!
We also bought the usual Salmon Fillet - all 3 kg of it - which always makes a super nice meal the next day at home.

We counted only 13 trucks (other then  the Milk truckers who have to go daily) so the driving to and from was very relaxed and easy flowing. Especially once you get off the normal beaten track.  We headed for Mamabears favourite power-station near Omarama and on to Kurow were we spotted some famous hay-bales.  They were supposed to be of Minnon fame - according to the news paper from 4 days back - alas it is from the recent Rugby world cup and its most famous son - Richie McCaw!! Of course - had to take a pic!!
Late lunch there and some cruising of the local stores and found a new Vineyard (or better - its shop front) and naturally had to sample their wines.  Folks we are in trouble - they were good and they want us to become members (with whatever benefits they can offer) and they SHIP to Christchurch.  Sighs.  From there it was past a very sleepy Waimate (not surprising - it is not a tourist town so nothing was open!!) and back home! 

Well long story short - we came - saw- and conquered - urm - sort of - we went and saw the new bridge which looks good and took to many pictures of the famous church and had a fun time relaxing and sadly coming back home again.
Farewell Tekapo - till next time


Have fun

 

one year ago to the day in New Zealand . . .

At the shores of this lake is a place so amazing,

when looking out past cross, altar and the baptista
one can't help but contemplating la grande vista
even in the clear night sky the stars are blazing


 to be continued . .


 

Annual Christmas Epistle - Decemer 2014

 

When is a highlight not a highlight?

So it is my turn yet again to be creative with words and stuff. It certainly has been an interesting year! First up – Reinhold had fun packing a friends van – to the rafters. We had a practice run a few days before Christmas, then celebrated the holy day here. Roger and Julie came for dinner and while the ladies cooked and chatted the boys packed. It was literally packed to the rafters. That included 6 laptops and several desktop computers and LCD screens. Yes, yours truly was responsible for setting up and running an Internet cafe during the Jamboree. So with the van packed we left the next morning bright and early and drove to Picton to catch a boat to get to the North Island. We bunked down at a friends place in
Wellington and then had a ball at the Scout Jamboree held in Feilding. 10 days later we were exhausted and had to drive back to Christchurch – we got back just after midnight having been another 12 plus hours on the road. While driving up to Feilding we tallyed up the miles we would have done together and got way past 10 000 km of sharing the road in Roger's van. My boy just dryly asked if after all this time together in a van – did we still have stuff left to discuss / say to each other?!?! You bet we did!! You may be pleased to hear that this years jamboree was mostly a dry affair – not like the last one we had there in 2005 where we had major floods to contend with.

We just caught our breath from that and then the highlight of the year hit us – yes my cousin
Doris and her lovely hubby AND a good friend of ours came for a short holiday. We took  them on a long tiki tour through the bottom half of the South Island. Naturally it has been a busy time with seeing lots of places, exhausting, exhilarating as well. We ended up, between the four of us, taking over 6000 pictures. Which to print – which to leave out???? Hokitika / Lake Tekapo / Queenstown / Te Anau / Invercargill / Catlins / Dunedin and back to Christchurch – a total of 3000km plus. We had a great time and missed them after they left for Austria again, yet we have lots of happy memories.

We sent Grandad out to a senior cooking class where they were supposed to learn about cooking for yourself a single meal. On his second time out he had a fall and we took him to the gentle people in white – or do they now wear blue uniforms?? Anyhow – they poked him – prodded him and hooked up various cables at various body parts – and long story short – at his right young age of 80 years they fitted him with a pacemaker. Supposedly he now can step out in rhythm!!

After that little episode both Reinhold and Pam had a thrill of a semi life-time – we flew up to Auckland and saw Michael (not our boy) Buble in concert!! He's such a major Babe (and as a man I am confident enough in my own being that I can say that like that)!! We had fun bobbing and rocking to his tunes! The concert by the end almost ended up like a massive Kareoke session!! Songs well known and loved – 20000 people singing in tune – awesome!! Sadly it soon came to an end and we had to go and find our place of bedding – and catch up with a dear friend!! I took us longer to get out of the car park building than to drive across Auckland City!! Actually we hit the famous Auckland traffic congestion from the Airport to the Concert venue – a trip that should have taken no more then 30 minutes at best took actually almost 80 minutes. At times walking would have been quicker.

June rolled round and the mad boy that I am – I took a group of scouts again across to the
Westcoast for the annual camp over there. We visited Steve again and carved our own Pounamu (NZ Jade). Roger and myself again acted as mules - carting all the gear in his van. It was a relaxing camp as one of the leaders took on the role of running said camp and I was just there in case things went pear-shape!! Chris did a fantastic job and he will take his group across again next year – without me – so that will be a weird feeling. I have however been conned in taking another group across – so will still be involved with Scouts then.

Arguably another highlight – every parent dreams of THAT moment – when the kids leave the nest happend. After looking for ages – Michael and 2 lady friends he gets along very well with managed to find a 4 bedroom place in town for rent and so he moved out from our home around beginning of August. Yesss!! His 'new' place is older then ours and had some earthquake damage (which has been fixed) and he is a happy chappy. One of the girls he flats with had since then had a boy of her own – so he is getting a front row lesson in early baby birthing/caring/etc!! Michael is coming every Saturday Night (bang on 5.30pm) for tea and a catch up with his family – so we tend to hear his news then!

The next (and some say – THE most important highlight) was celebrating Pam's birthday in
August, so we decided to treat ourselves and booked a few nights at our favourite South Island spot – Lake Tekapo. Part of the treat was actually being in a hotel – so no cooking was involved – even breakfast was served and of course no doing dishes – after all what would be a 51 st celebration if you have to do your own dishes!!!. Wohoo!! My waist line certainly took happily on the extra nice food on offer!! It was great to be there in the middle of winter and yours truly this time REMEMBERED to bring with him a tripod – so had two nights down by the lake frontage where the Church of the Good Shepherd is and took some night shots –
until the battery got to cold and gave up!! Regular readers of www.oldbearnews.blogspot.co.nz/ will have seen some of the night photos I took. We also had day trips – to Lake Pukaki and saw the famous Mt. Cook – where – yes – we did the traditional thing with wine and salut!! We also bought some salmon from the local Aoraki Salmon farm!! yummmm!! Lunch up at the Mt. John Observatory with sparkling clear views of Lake Tekapo!! Too soon it was time to come home again and do the mundane everyday
thing – called work!! Just as well – we need the extra cash in order to repeat these special holidays!!

Reinhold (being a good scout that he is) had the opportunity and work during the general
election for New Zealand's parliament. He ended up stationed at his place of work – issuing votes to the public – then after close of time count all the votes. The team of 6 there had one healthy person on the night and the rest at various stages of illness – so extra counters were brought in and – so the story goes –we posted the second fastest result for the night. wohooo

The next highlight – yes another child left the nest. As I type Jonathan is on his way to Canada on a years adventure. The first 5 or 6 months he is stationed in the middle of absolutely nowhere and is “employed” as a ski lift operator! After that he hopes to be able to travel around or maybe find some more work in Vancouver. He may also choose to go over to Europe for some time – so keep your eyes peeled!! Walking home from work today – I realised that I have moved from being a 'home-dad' for 25.7 years to being – just – a DAD. We wish him well and know he will have a blast!! We did put on him one condition – given the family history – that he had to give us 4 weeks notice if he intends to marry a Canadian girl (so that we can book ourselves in for his wedding – in Canada). Turns out the girls over
there adore the kiwi boys – so he is having a good chance . . . . . Michael dryly commented that he now has to ring us before he is coming round, given that the two of us are now home alone he never knows WHAT we might get up to. Ahhh his mental images – need straightning out! :D

Highlighting Christmas this year and yours truly will be away again with scouts for 7 days ( I will be running a Photography base) and then we have booked a camper van in Australia early March. This IS a treat, as we celebrate 30 years of marriage in February – so we will fly into Brisbane and have 10 days to find Sydney. Mamabear plans to spend a whole day on a Gold-Coast beach doing nothing but having her feet in the sand/surf - while reading her e-book!! ^^ We might make a detour to the Hunter Valley famous for its wino-fino and plan to catch up with a couple of people we got to know via Scouting. This is not only a treat but also a test, to see if we can survive 10 days in such an enclosed space. Ultimatley we plan to buy a large caravan and do one years worth of travel around NZ = but that highlight will have to wait until we can afford to retire.

Well – I am working on another highlight – of finishing this letter and get it printed. Should really add photos . . . . hmmmmm WHICH ones to pick????? When is a highlight not a highlight?? When you have too many and we sure had a few this year!

Merry Christmas and a decent 'rutsch' into 2015

Mamabear & Papabear

Lake Tekapo and Mt Cook Trip

It dawned - again - very frosty.  It is always tempting to 'draw' on the glass canvas and this day was no different!  In any case  we strolled across to the Hotel restaurant (which compared to outside and with sitting next to the big windows with the sun streaming in was over-hot!!) - Today’s breakfast - 4 pancakes (which looked oddly like the McDonald’s Pancakes) along with some fresh berry fruit / whipped cream and real fresh from the Beehive "alpine" honey (as in they have the bee-plate suspended in a glass contraption and the honey drips from the timber slats . . . .   Burb's.   Hmmm the coffee probably didn't help.  The no nutella diet starts tomorrow.  In any case - 10 o'clock is check out time so no point in lingering - time to pack up and defrost the car and ohhh yes - pay our bill. On the way took the opportunity again to flash away at this bird - urm - duck and yeah - pleased with the final result.  I am wondering how they regulate their bodies - they seem to have no issues in the cold water. 

Given that we have all day to get back to Christchurch which essentially takes only about 2 hours drive - we did what everyone seems to be doing - going to church.  Well we tried - the service in winter time is only every second week - or was that every second and fourth Sunday in a month??  Bummer we missed out there. Anyhow the lady in waiting was very nice and knowledgeable.  She gave us hints and bookmarks and so forth.  While Mamabear chatted I took the Opportunity and tried to focus on 'other' areas of the usual picture taking things.
For example the roof - 100 % New Zealand Rimu (from the days you could still mill the rimu trees) and made and cut to xtra large dimensions so as to be able to hold the large amounts of snow they can get on the roof.

I got also real close to one of the bolts
that is holding up the structural trusses / contraptions.



It doesn't give you a good example but the square nut would be a good two inches wide . . . .

In any case - soon gave up - other people wanted to follow my example - so did what most do - focused on the window! I have a picture just like that from a previous visit. Amazing what a half pace forward or backward - or even up can do for the angle here.  It is a real pity that the plant outside the window is a New Zealand native - it tends to grow to fast to much, and seeing it is native - it is also urm - protected I think -  THUS not lightly cut back. That just means that - compared from many many earlier years - the cross is almost always in the shadow of the plant.  It would be fantastic if there is more lake and less sky in the image.  Hmm wonder if I can "stitch" the two of them together ? ?  

Not far away - men's best friend - the sheep dog.  The McKenzie country is named after - well Mr McKenzie - who was a bit of a unusual character and of very dubious quality. Actually he was a sheep rustler nicking the young lambs from the farmers and then feeding them at his hide out 'till they were nice and big  and then flogging them of at the market as his own. He made a tidy sum. Local farmers could never work out whereto he rustled his stolen goods - until one day someone managed to follow the trail and eventually "discovered' the McKenzie Basin.   So on the way (remember earlier) you drive past this sign called 'dog's corner' just before you come round and see the Alps - well - turns out the rustlers would tie up the dogs there as a kind of early warning system. There is a sign saying "historic place" but  there is literally NOTHING to see. Not a post not a plaque etc.  hmmmm   I am sure we could do better there. 
From there it was down Burke's Pass (Mr Burke - another early local character for all the wrong reasons) which does have a nice looking pub - hmmm maybe one day we stop there instead of Geraldine.  maybe one of the reason we do NOT stop there is that they sell out-door garden furniture made out of macrocarpa - LOVELY stuff.  I am sure mamabear always breathes a sigh of relief as we zip past it . . . . .    Maybe next year ^^ 

Lunch at Geraldine - urm - well - we had more then that - but the slice was nice, as was sitting in the sunshine and enjoy the warmth of the mid winter sun!

Meant to say - I did not know that before my cousin came to NZ for a visit, one of her "relations" was already here.  Found his Bio at the Mt John Observatory.  Must go and chat with him - he is into serious night photography and living local - he has way more opportunities then this humble wanabe snapper.












To soon we were home - Son numero uno cooked dinner and then it was this time honourd tradition - of bringing Mamabear her presents. She does protest every year she ain't want/need anything - but  anyone who does not bring gifts is in grave danger. Though me thinks though protest to much - urm - ok - moving along -  *cough*
This year I did good.  Seeing she always said how she used to and has abilities and I have never ever seen her putting lip to stick - I organised her a little something.  It went down like a treat - and already have heard a few  notes coming out of the instrument.
Won't be long before she joins the Christchurch symphony orchestra!!  :) 

There goes another successful trip to Tekapo.  Understanding type Mamabear is, she suggested that we would aim for June next year - as this would fall close to my Birthday - and we have been there now at least twice for hers.  June would still be winter - but closer to Matariki - the Maori New Year Celebrations.

Once a year, twinkling in the winter sky just before dawn, Matariki (the Pleiades) signals the Māori New Year. Traditionally, it was a time for remembering the dead, and celebrating new life. In the 21st century, observing Matariki has become popular again. Heaven-bound kites, hot-air balloons and fireworks help mark the occasion.

http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/matariki-maori-new-year

Anyhow the reason why this is significant is that the earth - you know - does move (shock horror) around the sun and with that celestial movment comes a movement of stars / milky way etc and during Matariki the Milkyway does line up with the Church of the Good Shepherd - so ideal for taking night time images.  Yess
So it makes all sense to try and arrange a visit there in June - just need to avoid QEii weekend - which is the weekend I take a group of scouts on their annual westcoast trip!! And if we can work out which day they service is we can even partake in that! Last thing is we need favourable weather gods - but I am working on that!! 

 Have fun

 

Lake Tekapo and Pukaki trip

 

 

 

 

 

Ahhhh  the next morning dawned like it finished with a clear night. On the way to breakfast we noticed that the pond area had partially frozen over,  just enough to be ice there - but not strong enough in place to carry the ducks full weight - so they half walked half swam.  A funny sight to see and provided some amusement for a while. 

Breakfast was a savoury affair - scrambled eggs / sautéed mushrooms / minted lamb sausages / crisp bacon / hash-browns / baked bean’s and and and.  Of course there was a selection of cereal and toast and spreads as well, but today (for a change) was a savoury plate for me. Who could say no to Mushrooms?
As I dug into the mushrooms I thought of a certain Brush and briefly considered snapping a image and sending via sms - but you know = posh place we *cough* do not do that sort of thing here.
The day was ours and Mamabear requested that we should go and see Mt Cook (fingers crossed) and maybe aim for a light lunch at the Mt John Observatory later.  So we  packed what we needed and headed of into the Sunshine.  Yes we saw Mt Cook and did the usual and now traditional half glass salut!! Also took some videos and more pictures (some to be posted on FB or emailed to various Austrian Connections).  From there it is just another 5 min.  drive past Twizel to the Salmon Farm and Mamabear knowing how I like to eat said fish offered to buy a half decent fillet AS LONG as it came vacuum packed.  They did and we did - yummm!!


On the return trip we saw lake Ruataniwha (hmm that's now how you spell it) and it had virtually no disruption so had nice reflections - so Mamabear just does her female speak and says -= that looks nice - = translates into "we should stop and take pictures" - so a 5 point handbrake turn later . . . . . . .


More stops on the way back past Mt Cook and Pukaki and eventually we got to the top of Mt. John. Fabulous views - not a cloud in the sky and in serious danger of getting sunburn!!  Oddly enough - there was a young girl there along with her - hmmm family - that had been with us on the same Boat cruise at the Akaroa Dolphin watching trip in late January.  I remembered her 'cause she wore a Canadian Olympic team jacket so would have been into some sort of winter sport.  The sandwich was more then a simple sandwich- it was almost a meal in itself! Turns out that we were a Kiwi minority - the lady at the till reckoned we were the first Kiwis for the day up there!!
Anyhow - by now mamabear was feeling a bit under the weather - so to speak - so we decided to head back to Tekapo and take the afternoon easy - quick stroll down to the church and a good conversation with the Lady in waiting there. She pointed out a few things and especially the way the Milky way lies over the Church and when best to take a picture and - yeah a whole lot of other stuff!!
I parked mamabear back in the Hotel and then late afternoon headed - yep yet again back to the canal - this time from the other side - as I wanted to re-shoot the same image that was so nicely hung in the reception area of the Hotel - it was a landscape canvas print - taken a late afternoon and about 3 meters long and about half meter high and was ueber-nice!! The receptionist chap kinda knew the exact location from where the image was taken so I grabbed my gear and headed of to find that spot and see if I could be just as creative.  Some patient waiting and fixing and image taking later and I had a few passable images.
Turns out - as the lady in the church was saying - from time to time people pay cash and block access to the church  - thus you do not see the tour buses / caravans parked in front of the church.   No such luck for me!! I stood there for about 2 hours and taking the various shots - so we have a semi evening mood and a post sunset mood and almost darkness mood and  - ah you get the picture but all of them having a car or caravan or bus in them!!  It was also getting fresh - almost cold and getting hungry - yeah how could you get hungry after today’s breakfast and lunch - but hungry I was - so BACK to the hotel to dump the gear and getting out to dinner - this time to the "Tim-Place" a revamped place we had been to previously.  Nice and simple and good food.  The four waitress staff were from four different nationalities - that included one Kiwi!!

So here I am more then 200 meters away from the building and if you stand just in a certain spot you can shoot through the door and see the Cross, which rests in the middle of the altar, and see it against the blue snow mountains - ASSUMING you have the patience to wait for the pesky tourists to leave a clear passage! Patience son, patience!!



 Having thought about what went wrong yesterday at night - I was determined to get another shot tonight - so walked the birthday girl home after dinner and grabbed the gear and - yes walked back to the church (hey I am working on my fitness here - it takes about 20 minutes there - and 20 back ^^ )  and urm were was I - oh yeah - so walked there and set up and made sure I had everything just so and then snapped away - first image confirmed what I thought - just needed to find urm - the church - no easy feat in total - and again I mean -  total darkness!! In-between I  (thank god for my tripod) pointed the camera straight up and released shutter for 40 seconds!! yess  Pity that the cold got into the camera and batteries later on, it had trouble with focus and then with image recording - so it was time to pack up and yup - you guessed it - walk back to the Hotel!!  One last night shot of the hotel entrance and I fell into the bed - cold and frozen - but reasonably happy that I think I had taken some nice night shots!! Below the night images - un-processed except for one! Not half bad eh??
  

When I look at Your heavens, 
the work of Your fingers, 
the moon and the stars, 
that You have established; 
what are human beings 
that You are mindful of them, 
mortals that You care for them?? 

 Psalm 8: 3-4