Auckland Winter Garden

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Peter Viesnik

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Local artist : http://www.viesnik.com/

(Debbies) Grandma Scotts french swirll bowl

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Gary Nash - Glassworx

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The glass series part one

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Gary Nash - local artist

Another great sunset on the west coast.

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Fishing , a national pastime

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Swamp at Pariki Beach

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Beach walkers

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More interesting sky , we need to look "up" more

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I make these for kids , large and small

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Orange juice, plain soda, and a

little Grenadine on the bottom

Pakari beach

A new friend from Muriwai

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As I removed this magnificent cheese and pineapple toasted sandwich (from the small cafe and takeaway shop at Muriwai) from its wrapper I looked around and I had a new friend. (below) , Fully registered and loved by someone on the beach but with an eye for free snack.

A delicate little eater as I fed him my crusts.

When I had finished he gave me a smile and moved on in search of desert!!

A chubby little chap - winning the hearts and minds of beach goers in his quest for the perfect a snack.

Strong on-shore wind at sunset

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West coast sky

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Auckland City

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Soft morning colours and the full moon

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That would be the Chelsea Sugar refinery on the right and
yes it is painted bright pink - don't ask me why

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Sunrise through fog under the Auckland Harbour bridge

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Quintessentially New Zealand

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Bacon and egg pie

Whitebait fritters. (made with whole

free range eggs and a table spoon of

corn flour, just like our Maori receptionist Lorraine

told me to do , and she should know )

Click here and see New Zealand Whitebait

ANZAC Day 2010

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April 25th is Anzac Day in New Zealand, a day we remember
our war dead and the sacrifices they made.

In WWI alone New Zealand lost seven percent of our men
aged between 18 and 45 to a war in Europe and in total there were 55,000 casualties.

Some like my grandfather (pictured with last night’s sunset) caught
pneumonia (as a result of the huge flu epidemic), returned to NZ, and then died
when my father was only five in another bout of pneumonia.

Click here to go to the Wikipedia info

One of the last Gannets to migrate

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Lake Ototota

Something for you quiet water Auckland kayakers ,

stumbled upon this little lake the other day .

Cape Egmont

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If you were really really tall you could see Brisbane Australia from here .

(Slight problem with the  curvature of the earth)

Back beach , New Plymouth

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And all just five minutes from town

Mt Taranaki aka Mt Fujiyama - from the film The Last Samurai (filmed here)

I think the old pines just give this a slightly "not NZ" feel

Back in Taranaki for Easter

 

It's those Muriwai Gannets again - less and less each time I go.

Water

Bluff Oysters - my first (but not last) for 2010

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Bluff oysters - a local delicacy , not available all year and the “season” just opened.

These purchased fresh (never frozen) battered and savoured at my nearest beach (Orewa – ten minutes from home) . Well done my local fish shop at Silverdale .

Now that’s what I call the way to end a working day especially a Monday  and yes I admit it I ate at least six before I got the camera out - so bite me !!

Sheep

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We have over 30 million sheep in New Zealand,

a large reduction on the numbers 30 years ago

(there are only just over 4,000,000 of us).

Never the less still more than enough for our Australian neighbours

to make up plenty of jokes relating to Kiwis and sheep,

but at least we don't throw our national symbol (the Kiwi) on the barbeque!

baaaaa

Canterbury sunset

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It's that most popular of Kiwi take aways again !!

Back at the beach for a fish and chip dinner  ---heaven
Hard to grasp that 1.4 million people live but half an hour from here,

 good of them to stay at home and leave the park to me and the

almost no others spread over it's 30+ beach acres ........

Back at Muriwai

m

It was so nice at Muriwai last week that I decided to go back last night for another look.
It was extremely windy and the tide was out so no prospect this week
of seeing fishermen getting washed off the rocks.

I keep meeting very pleasant Canadians (either living here or on holiday) at this location.

(if anyone is interested taken with either a 20D and 17-40 4L or a 50D and 70-200 4L IS,

RAW files tidied up with Elements 8)