After our overnight stay at Raukawa Hut early last year we’d been looking for another hut to visit, so many months ago now we booked a night at Atiwhakatu Hut in the Tararua Forest Park. While we were able to book Raukawa Hut for just our party Atiwhakatu Hut is a bigger hut that sleeps […]
Visiting Gibbs Farm
For years now I’ve had a monthly reminder in my calendar to check for availability to visit Gibbs Farm, a sculpture park featuring a large number of mammoth commissioned artworks situated north of Auckland on hilly farmland adjacent to the Kaipara Harbour. Earlier this year I was surprised to find some dates available in November […]
Travelling in NZ while the world deals with COVID-19
It’s very strange to have spent a long weekend on holiday away with friends while much of the world is under lockdown and suffering through COVID-19 outbreaks. We’re very aware of how lucky we are in New Zealand to have a community free of COVID which allows an almost normal life. Every morning while we […]
School holidays trip to Timaru
The school holidays was once a time for us to avoid travelling in New Zealand, but that was back in the days of having a child who wasn’t school aged (or not having a child at all). Now we join the rest of the school-going NZ families in trying to find both things for our […]
Cloudy with a chance of Aurora Australis
The last couple of weeks have had a few opportunities for some interesting night time photography. There have been a few nights with a good chance of Aurora Australis activity and on clear nights there have been some final chances to capture the brightest part of the milky way low in the night sky before […]
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 […]
Supermoon and Mark Gee
Facebook has certaintly helped increase my knowledge of all things astrophotography, largely through membership of different groups and seeing the photos others share and their stories about how the images were captured. One of the stars of the New Zealand (and world) astrophotography scene is Mark Gee and as luck would have it he’s a […]
And now 2
Alayna is now 2 years old which meant a party and lots of celebrating. Alayna recieved lots of cool presents including loads of clothes, many great books and games (the fishing game from Aunty Bridget and the clan Burdett is fantastic). There were a number of gifts that were made rather than bought such as […]
Red Rocks
Saturday was a stay inside away from the howling wind and constant damp kind of day. We got some baking done and a few other things around the house but didn’t really get any fresh air. Thankfully Sunday was calm and dry so we headed out mid-morning to the Wellington South Coast for a walk […]
Visiting Wellington Zoo
Alayna is fast becoming a fan of the natural world and becomes quite entranced with animals. Our cats are definitely a focus of attention and when there are birds outside Alayna will sit and watch with interest. When we visit Zealandia its obvious that Alayna is getting more and more interested in the fauna and […]
The stars from Makara
We had a weekend of wonderful weather with clear skies and little wind. The moon was rising late on Sunday night so I headed out to Makara to shoot the stars. It was a glorious, a little cool but calm and only a few people about the beach. Heading along the coastal path I could […]
Another year, another Scott Kelby photowalk
On Saturday the annual Scott Kelby Worldwide photowalk took place and I joined up with the Wellington leg. It was a beautiful afternoon and our route took us through a number of interesting back streets and along the waterfront as the sun was setting. It makes a difference when the weather is glorious and the […]