Penguins in Jumpers……

…… are cute.  Get knitting guys.  Anyone who’s got spare wool (who isn’t donating it to a, ahem, cause next weekend), can put it to good use by knitting these wee guys a jumper.

Since the Rena hit the Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga, there’s a awful lot of seabirds washed up onshore covered in oil and needing help.  These little blue penguins aren’t the only ones affected – dotterels, albatrosses and storm petrels are amongst the species affected.  For those of us not in NZ – just remember that your local wildlife rescue centre may need jumpers for animals and birds that have been taken in.

 

10 places……

…… I’ve always wanted to visit.  Maybe I will some day; maybe not.  It doesn’t matter.  But they’re on my wish list.

1: Isfahan, Iran.  For as the proverb says “Isfahan is half of the world.”

2: Antarctica. Because of Apsley Cherry-Garrard:

Exploration is the physical expression of the Intellectual Passion.
And I tell you, if you have the desire for knowledge and the power to
give it physical expression, go out and explore. If you are a brave man
you will do nothing: if you are fearful you may do much, for none but
cowards have need to prove their bravery. Some will tell you that you are
mad, and nearly all will say, “What is the use?” For we are a nation of
shopkeepers, and no shopkeeper will look at research which does not
promise him a financial return within a year. And so you will sledge
nearly alone, but those with whom you sledge will not be shopkeepers:
that is worth a good deal. If you march your Winter Journeys you will
have your reward, so long as all you want is a penguin’s egg.

3: Sana’a, Yemen. For the architecture alone.  And for a jumping-off point to Soqotra, home of the fantastical Dragon’s Blood Tree.

4: Cape Reinga, New Zealand.  Where the spirits of the dead enter the underworld.

5: Galapagos Islands.  For the schooling hammerheads.

6: Sistema Chac Mool, Mexico.  Have a look.  You’ll want to go too.

7: Delphi, Greece.

8: Shetland.

9: Mount Kailash.

10: Tromsø, to see the Northern Lights.

Where do you want to go?

The Holiday revisited, part 1……

……Monday 19th – Wednesday 21st October 2009

Day 1

Flew into Auckland from Heathrow via Hong Kong.  Having done this trip in a variety of combinations and routes over the years, I can safely say that having a two hour stopoff in HK is a shit idea.  Having a few days off somewhere en route is much better.  However, time and money did not allow…… Anyhoo.  Auckland.  Knackered. Got airport bus into the CBD to Chifley Suites on Albert Street, several blocks back from the wharf.  Very very nice and would recommend this to anyone.  My Expedia-fu had worked well, and I landed us with a really neat apartment with a decent kitchenette and lounge and two big flat screen tv’s. Woo!  We went out to get some food and wandered round town for ages, ending up in Foodtown for our shopping.  Came back via a nice bar on the wharf (Degree) and had tea.  Collapsed on sofas and died.

Day 2

Up to Foodtown again cos we’d forgotten most of what we’d actually needed in our jet lagged fuzz.  Came back to the apartment and dropped it off and went back down to the waterfront to catch the free bus to Kelly Tarlton’s (aquarium and antarctic experience).  Rob liked this bus.  It was shaped like a shark.  I kid you not.  Drove out along Tamaki Drive to the place and went in to see penguins and sharks and all sorts.  I really liked the sea horses.  Rob liked the sharks.  We both liked the penguins, and you go on a wee ride in an snowcat through their enclosure.  They smelled of fish, although I’m not sure why we were surprised by this.  The penguins who were shedding their juvenile plumage looked exceedingly grumpy.

When we came back to the CBD, we walked up to the Sky Tower and went up it. Fantastic views from the viewing decks: Rangitoto, Waiheke, One Tree Hill, Mt Eden, North Shore…all spread out in front of us.  It was really good – sat and had a coffee and just looked out across the city.  Rob couldn’t get over how few people there were about for such a huge city.   We decided that, providing the weather was ok, tomorrow we would catch the ferry to Rangitoto Island and walk to the summit, to be followed by dinner with Ngare.  Fell asleep early again (lightweight).

Day 3

Rangitoto Island.  This volcano is about 600 or 700 years old and sits in the Hauraki Gulf – it’s got a very distinctive shape, fantastic tree life,  wierd lava fields and some really neat baches.  We were also treated to a group of children on an outing doing kapa haka whilst waiting for the ferry back, which was interesting to watch, although I didn’t understand a word of it.  The climb up started at a steady pace and the sun was baking, especially across some of the lava field areas.  Further up, the climb got much steeped and the soil was different.  We saw fantails and heard tui (which Rob describes as the R2D2 bird).  At the top, the 360 degree view around was amazing, and we sat up there and ate our lunch. We wandered down through forests of pohutukawa and tree ferns and ventured to the lava tubes.  I’m not known for my love of dark enclosed spaces, but Rob had brought his torch, so in we went.  It was dark and damp and that’s about all I can say about it.  There were loads of spider webs everywhere, but I couldn’t find any spiders (and I did look).

Got back and had a shower before meeting Ngare and her other half for a fantastic dinner at Vivace.  Had a fantastic salmon salad and the wine was good too, although I failed to note what it was (except that it was pinot gris).  Made a mental note to try to have dinner there on our last night before leaving NZ.  To bed slightly drunk, and off to Queenstown in the morning, with vague hopes that my google-fu would not let me down on the accommodation I’d booked (and Rob’s hopes that all the accommodation was going to be as nice as this). Haha.

 

(If you’re reading this on Facebook, you won’t get all the links – you’ll need to visit my blog for that, which is where this post originated).