Tuesday, February 28, 2012

New Plymouth

Now I've spent five days in new Plymouth. I've seen a lot of great wave and kite surfers. The weather has been varied. Today it mostly rained. I was hoping for better weather so I rented a bike and went for a ride towards Back Beach. After 30 mins the rain started, and didn't stop... Got a few photos, but after that I simply did some rain hiking along the beach and rocks.

Yesterday was nice when I joined a surfer and went to a few of the other beaches in this area.

Tomorrow I'll head for Auckland in the afternoon. Hopefully I'll do some surfing myself before that...









Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Long Exposure Rocks

I'm in Wellington watching the rain pour down... Good thing there are plenty of indoor activities here. I spent many hours in Te Papa today. Watching and learning about volcanos, earthquakes, history, and art. An incredible place that requires many days to explore in its full. One thing I'll sure remember is the earthquake simulation! Scary to feel the ground move and shake...

Tomorrow my plan is to visit the botanical gardens, Carter Observatory, and a zoo maybe. On Friday I'm leaving for New Plymouth to enjoy surfing and walking on Mt Egmont.

I've processed some more shots from the west coast close to Greymouth. One of my favorite spots so far.



Saturday, February 18, 2012

Going North

Now I've spent a few relaxing days in Dunedin. Most of my "active" time was at St Clairs beach. Taking photos and doing some surfing. That was the second time I did surfing in Dunedin. It was so much more fun than the first time, since now I could stand up for much longer :) I hope I'll do some more along the Surf Highway 45 up north.

Now I'm in Christchurch for about 10 hours. I'm leaving early on the Coastal Pacific train tomorrow. It will take me to Picton, where I'll stay two nights before taking the ferry up to Wellington.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Catlins tour over

Now I'm in Dunedin after 5 days in the Catlins. Amazing 5 days with lots of walks where I've seen wildlife, forests, rocks, beaches, and waves. I've stayed at backpackers close to beaches, and once on a Hilltop :)

I wish I did spend more time in Curio Bay. I stayed at the Lazy Dolphin there, 50 m from the beach and 500 m from the penguins. Sea Lions and Dolphins are also regular visitors.

In Papatowai I stayed at the Hilltop Accommodation. For a water/rocks fanatic like me, it was an odd choice. But I loved the view. And the extra 5 km each beach walk would demand of me... The sheep in the hill fields that I passed amused me quite a bit too. They were scared shitless for any car or person. They ran 100 m away whenever I passed. Hundreds of them! Good exercise.

Kaka Point meant even more beach walking, but mostly in rain under cloudy skies. Nonetheless enjoyable. That was the biggest town I stayed in. Almost 300 residents I heard. Had a few meals and beers in their pub :) Paddy the bartender is alone worth the stay in Kaka Point.

The next few days will be spent relaxing and sorting pictures in Dunedin. Maybe some surfing also :)







Thursday, February 9, 2012

The Catlins

Yesterday started off with an early grey morning at Stewart Island, without coffee, but with stress and heavy rain… The day soon got better after the ferry and ride to Invercargill where I got on the Catlins Coaster. The rain continued but I got to see a couple of romantic sea lions, and then later on in Curio Bay (where I've stayed one night now) I saw the penguins feed their young ones. Sadly, I also saw a sheep that fell into the waves and sea weed and couldn't get up. It was still alive when I left at 9 pm, but I doubt it made it.

This morning I took a walk on the beach and saw a seagull that really got a big breakfast... :)




Monday, February 6, 2012

Waitangi Rugby at Stewart Island

Yesterday I arrived at Stewart Island in deep fog. As the day passed it cleared up. At 2 they had their annual rugby game here. Of course I put the zoom lens on the camera ran there :) It was the first rugby game I watched ever. Crazy! I don't understand how they walk away from all those hits. If just one of those tackles would be performed in a Swedish football game, it would make the national news headlines...

I also took a short guided walk along the coastline in amazing light in the evening. Just me and the guide. That's luxury, and I learnt a lot about the local plants and their history. It was a good day :)











Saturday, February 4, 2012

Flickrooster

Flickrooster is a site that collects data from Flickr Explore and creates a top list for each month. So far in February, I'm number 1 :) As time goes by, other photographers will surely pass me, but I'll probably end up top 100.

Flickr's best photographer

Friday, February 3, 2012

Invercargill Dinosaurs

Today I arrived in Invercargill. In the same building as the tourist information, there was a museum with various exhibitions. They also had live dinosaurs! At least direct descendants called Tuataras. Very cool reptiles that most of time stands posing in cool positions, saving energy. The oldest one is 108 years!! They have kids too. Below is a couple of small ones shot in IR. 

My plans here are to go to Steward Island for 1,2, or 3 days. Then go up to Dunedin with many overnighters in the Catlins.