Nugget Point

It didn't really keep raining until April. We had at least three gorgeous days this week. That means bright sun and warm breezes. I'm glad for the school kids, because they finally got to enjoy their summer break, which ends next week. They've been bravely donning their little wetsuits and hitting the waves for a last hurrah.

Yesterday, we loaded a picnic in the car and headed south to Nugget Point, a promontory capped by a white lighthouse.

Crossing the Ridge to Nugget Point

In the water surrounding the Point are a smattering of smaller peaks. The nearest has a cave eroded into its center.

If you look closely you can see the peaks are made of sedimentary layers, which were flipped to vertical orientation and then eroded to points. I love geology. You can say terms like "vertical strata" with authority.

Looking North

Looking South

Kelp clings to the rocks

and waves like tentacles in the swell.

From high above the water, we watched seals dive and play in the surf.

A seal swims across the surface.

(Click image for larger view.)

If you can find four seals in this photo, you're really good.

(Click image for larger view.)

As we watched the seals, I noticed one moving at an unnaturally fast pace. We quickly realized it was a penguin racing through the waves for fish. After a few times across the lagoon, he surfaced and waddled ashore among the black rocks. Jeremy's penguin obsession swept over him, and he began bribing British tourists for their binoculars and couldn't be peeled from the railing.

Celtic Crosses

Uncle Jerry, lover of the Emerald Isle, asked for Celtic crosses. I needed morning sun for this, and that's been sort of hard to come by! However, this morning we woke to bright sun and made a special photographic visit to the cemetery.

Reading the inscriptions, I learned that many belong to those who were born in Ireland and died in New Zealand.

I think the Irish would have felt at home here and not lacking for green hills by the sea.

As a bonus for today, here is a special Kiwi form of the cross.

(Hint on previous post.)

Evening Walk

Yesterday evening, I looked out the window to a strange site: the moon. Strange because I hadn't seen it in four months. Even when it's a sunny day here, huge cloud masses inevitably sweep in after dark. Even once in Warrington when we noticed a clear night sky, we ran outside to catch a glimpse of stars, but only got 10 minutes of viewing before a front started blotting them out.

When we saw the moon last night, we got on our jackets and headed up the hill to the cemetery for a vantage point. As we neared the cemetery entrance, a black cat darted in front of us and through the main gate. About six seconds later, it fled back out of the entrance running about as fast as I've ever seen a cat go. Would you go inside?

We did. As we wandered among the shadows of bushes and trees, the half moon illuminated white crosses and headstones. The surf crashed against the rocks on the shore below. Finally we found the target of our search: the Southern Cross.

Jeremy was brave enough to try some astronomical photography:

The Southern Cross (formal name is Crux) is a constellation clearly seen in the southern hemisphere, but only visible at tropical latitudes in the northern hemisphere. Crux helps mark the southern sky and is loaded with cultural significance. In New Zealand, Crux is featured on the national flag. The Maori call it Te Punga, meaning the anchor. Other cultures have seen a duck, or a stingray. I believe it most resembles an F-16 fighter jet.

On our walk, we also caught sight of Orion. I wandered why it looked funny, until I realized he was upside-down.

Orion the Topsy-Turvy Hunter

The clouds started moving in, and we headed back. Pausing once to watch a satellite hastily cross our arc of sky, we noticed Hugh Hedgehog foraging near a stone fence. Unconcerned with people, cars, superstition, signs, or wonders, he browsed in moonlit grass.

A Day on the Peninsula

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Fish and Chips and Ginger Beer

Lovers' Leap

Inlet at Allens Beach

Our Friend the Pukeko

The pukeko is a funny and colorful bird and a local icon. Many live in the swamps behind the beaches. I was unable to catch the pukeko baby on camera, but here is a shot taken by Floyd Wilde of Cambridge, New Zealand.

The fuzzy black baby runs after the parents and makes me giggle uncontrollably, which amuses Jeremy.

Vista from Sandymount Track (Trail) Head

(click for larger view)

Southland

Yes, Dunedin is pretty far south, but there are places yet further and deeper. New Zealand's Southland region covers the southern tip and south-western coast of the South Island. Before Christmas, we took a road trip to explore the sites and legends of Southland.

Our first stop was the town of Gore. This modestly sized town of under 10,000 has achieved a redneck trifecta as the "World Capital of Brown Trout Fishing," the country music capital of New Zealand, and the home of Hokonui Moonshine. We ate lunch next to a giant fish.

Next, we hit Invercargill, the southernmost city in New Zealand. (I wanted to impress you by saying it was the southernmost city in the world, but it's outdone by some settlements in Chili and Argentina.)

Invercargill was the home of motorcycle enthusiast and racer, Burt Munro (1899-1978), who set motorcycle speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats races in 1962, 1966, and 1967. His 1967 record still stands.

Munro was known as an eccentric man who made his own rules. Short on cash for enhancing his bikes, he cast his own barrels, pistons, and flywheels. When the town council rejected his house plans, which called for seven-foot ceilings to save on heating costs, he built a garage to that specification and lived in it instead. When council members came to inspect his property, he explained that, yes, he was working on his house. For twenty years or so.

Burt's bikes are on display at the E. Hayes & Sons hardware store in Invercargill.

By the way, Jeremy thought this was the greatest hardware store he'd ever seen. He particularly liked the section of gifts and fine housewares at the front, which he referred to as a place to put your wife while you went shopping. I agree with this model, as I could really use a comic book and video game section in my stores.

Invercargill also features a velodrome, where people ride bikes round and round in circles. This photo features elderly citizens getting their exercise. They also host speed races, in which I assume participants make use of that angled wall.

Invercargill Town Hall and Theatre

Invercargill Water Tower at Night

At last we arrived to the town of Bluff, the end of the highway in New Zealand. The next stop is Stewart Island, reached by ferry only.

(All photos in this post by Jeremy Beck.)

Until when?

It's been raining a lot.

I mean a lot.

The weather people finally gave up and announced that it was going to rain until April, implying that January, February, and March (i.e., summer) are doomed to pass as one big cloud. To put this into perspective for you, it's basically like saying Summer is cancelled. Try again next year. And the fault for this tragedy, they say, lies with El Nino. Click here to read all about it.

I wonder if the weatherman is going to take the summer off or continue showing up to say "Rain tomorrow" each evening. I'm glad I got a new umbrella for Christmas, but I should have asked for a canoe.

But, I'm not going to let this bad news get me down. Nope. I've been busy filling the house with all the bright, smiley things I can find.

Sunflower Calendar

Orange Kalanchoe

Yellow Gerbera

Roaring Fire

Even Jeremy's raincoat is bright.

We're going to get through this.

Home and Back Again

Well, we're back again, after a whirlwind visit to friends and family back home for Christmas. We saw a lot of people, but still not all that we would have liked. We also saw a lot of snow. It looked like this:

My Parents' House in Manassas

Northern Virginia got 18 inches of snow on December 19th (largest December snowfall since 1932) and found out that white Christmases are overrated, despite the romantic songs.

Overcoming jet lag was interesting. After everyone else was snug in their beds, we were wide-eyed for hours. On one of the first nights, we watched an entire Alfred Hitchcock movie, plus two complete Food Network shows before drifting to sleep around 3 a.m.

Having arrived to Baltimore just after the snow storm, we again tested our luck and flew back out in a snow and ice storm on New Year's Eve. We sat on the runway for two hours waiting for a "window" through which to take off. As reddish jets of de-icing fluid cascaded over our window, the captain calmly explained that certain "mixes" of precipitation are acceptable for take-off and others are not. I'm glad someone knows about these things.

If that wasn't enough, we had a medical emergency on the plane (not us). The flight attendant requested any doctors, nurses, or EMTs to please identify themselves. Fortunately, we were flying with an Air Force unit, and a red-headed medic saved the day. He was then offered a Diet Coke and a gift from the airline for his services.

After getting settled here back at the house, we paid a visit next door to Liz and Russell. They had spent Christmas at the beach in Australia with Russell's family. Unfortunately, Russell's nephew had a near-fatal (really) accident during the festivities, when he was struck in the head with a cricket ball. He got surgery for Christmas.

http://markgorman.wordpress.com/2008/08/

And then, we found out how to truly win a Kiwi neighbor's heart. Jeremy had brought Russell four CD albums of Russell's music idol, Toby Keith. (It seems he can't get these in NZ.)

I'll never forget the look of dumbfounded elation on Russell's face, as he fingered the CDs from one hand to the other. This may have been his best Christmas ever. We got up to leave, and Russell, still overcome by the surfeit of Toby Keith, walked us past the garden and cut us a giant, gorgeous stalk of broccoli, which I promptly cooked for dinner.