After our December visit to Kāpiti Island we still had a couple of daytrip vouchers to visit the more southern Rangatira Point. Keryn’s parents were staying and Phil had a significant birthday to celebrate, so we decided to all take the trip before Alayna started school. Leave from work was organised and we drove north […]
Kāpiti Island
Late last year (2020) I entered a Wellington region photo competition and won a prize of an overnight glamping trip to Kāpiti Island. We finally took the trip last weekend, though it almost got delayed due to the weather the previous week. The south end of the North Island has had a prodigious amount of […]
Success and otherwise
Over the past few months I’ve had some success in photo competitions. Once again I entered the Guardians of Pauatahanui Inlet photo competition (previous success in 2013 & 2018) and managed to win the Nature category, and also have a number of other photos placed and highly commended. The photos can be seen below with […]
Sinclair Head seals
Sunday seemed like a good day to go for a hike. We’ve got a holiday coming up soon with lots of walking planned so we’ve been wanting to get out a bit more and have Alayna get used to longer treks. With a decent looking weather forecast we set our sights on the New Zealand […]
There he blows!
For the past few days a whale has been loitering around Wellington Harbour. Relatively quickly the whale was identified as a southern right whale, a species last seen in these parts 8 years ago. There is a myth that back in European settlement days the southern right whale population was such that their noise at […]
Boxing Day at Queen Elizabeth Park
The extended Christmas weekend has been a period of stunning weather in Wellington. I’ve been forgetting what wind is like, no doubt I’ll be reminded soon enough. We took advantage on Boxing Day and took a walk up the coast at the Mackays Crossing end of Queen Elizabeth Park, specifically the Wetland Walk and the […]
A photowalk and Bird of the Year
With longer days and the promise of warmer weather we’ve been getting out and about making the most of the opportunities outdoors. Earlier this month was the latest Scott Kelby worldwide photowalk and the Wellington event took place in Petone. This was the first time Keryn and Alayna have joined in and we set off […]
Zoo portraits
Keryn and I are now zoo crew members with Alayna getting to visit for free until she gets to her 3rd birthday. On a cool and showery Sunday we visited the zoo and checked out (and were checked out by) the occupants. With every visit Alayna is getting more and more engaged and this time […]
Alayna visits Wellington Zoo
Last week Alayna had a couple of days at home as she wasn’t really well enough for daycare. We both looked after her for a day and on my sick day we went to the zoo. This wasn’t perhaps the most obvious choice as it was a cold and wet winter’s day but I had […]
February highlights
It’s been a busy February so far with lots of things happening including my 40th birthday. Rather than go into any detail here’s a few photographic highlights instead. Walking at Zealandia: Camping at Kaitoke: Chinese New Year: Plimmerton fish and chips: Walking in Wellington on my birthday: Back to Zealandia: Night time at the Pauatahanui […]
A Summer Holiday – Napier & Hastings
Our last three nights of our holiday were spent in Napier. Travis was also in town having spent the last few nights our tramping so we met up in Hastings at the weekly night market for some good food. There were a few craft stalls and a dozen or so food stalls from which we […]
A Summer Holiday – Whangarei
Our most northward destination was the Bainbridge home near Whangarei and we had a relaxing week with family around Christmas. From watching the daily antics of the numerous quail families, checking out the other wildlife such as the kereru after seen visiting the big puriri tree at the bottom of the front yard or the […]