Coming Up Close

Welcome to Summer here in Tauranga. Christmas has come and gone, we travelled nearly 4 hours up north to spend 2 days with my family, unfortunately the weather was pretty cruddy so we didn't get to take many photos. When we came back however things cleared up and it's been pretty hot here. On on afternoon walk we walked down to Pilot Bay to see a new cruise ship - the MS Ovation of the Seas leave for it's next destination. It can hold up to 4,905 passengers, is 348 m in length and can travel at 22 knots. When we were watching it, we could see people on board look like the size of ants - the ship is so huge and so many rooms and decks on board. I'd like to hear how your Christmas was and how your last few days has been :-)

Last weekend after I visited the Robbins Park Rose Gardens here in Tauranga I drove along the waterfront and this place, the Trinity Wharf Hotel caught my eye. Every year around this time they put upside down Santa legs on their roof - it's quite eye catching as cars pass over the harbour bridge in the distance. The water in the harbour was also so calm and the day so lovely and hot that I couldnt' help but enjoy the scenery. Today though was the last day of the year for me at work and tomorrow we are travelling up north to see my family for Christmas day and onwards on a tiki tour further up north on boxing day. Merry Christmas everyone :-) Linking up with Skywatch Fridays this week.

Seeing as it's been such beautiful Summer weather here at the moment I took the opportunity on Saturday to drive into town to visit the Robbins Park Rose Gardens here in Tauranga. For such a scenic spot it has amazing views of the harbour and Mount Maunganui even though it's situated close to railway lines and the city centre. It was apparently named after a former Mayor and established in 1960 by the Bay of Plenty Floral Festival Society. There are 28 bed rose gardens, various camellias and other shrubs. The water fountain is suppose to represent Ceres, the protector of flowers and crops and the goddess of plenty according to Roman Mythology. Linking up with Our World Tuesday this week :-)

This morning on my daily walk I was enjoying immensely the fine sunny weather and I could feel the Christmas hustle and bustle going on around me, plenty of traffic, lots of holiday homes being built, 2 cruise ships in port. I don't know about you but i can't wait for a good break and 2 weeks of time off.  I have 7 days to go until I finish work for the year - woo hooo! Linking up with Skywatch Friday this week :-)

Pity this weekend has been so cold and windy, but last weekend was hot and sunny - perfect Summer's day. We were walking along the boardwalk at Pilot Bay and saw someone with kayakers and sails set up for hire on the grass by the picnic areas - I liked the way the rainbow colours stood out. Linking up with Our World Tuesday here :-)

Summer is here and the red Pohutukawa trees are flowering at last, these are New Zealand's iconic Christmas tree, they usually line the coastlines along the country and myth has it if the flowers are out before December then it means we will get a good hot Summer. Looking forward to it -but not the humidity though... More Skywatch Fridays here :-)

On our tiki tour a while back we were out and about in Te Puke a small farming settlement about 20 minutes from Tauranga. On one of the country back-roads we passsed by an old house on piles which looked like it was now being used as a woolshed. I didn't venture inside as it was on private property but I did stand by the driveway and take some shots of it, unfortunately historical research on it didn't uncover anything very interesting. Linking up this week with Macro Monday (the top shot of an Echevaria at Whakatane Hill Cemetery) and Our World Tuesday :-)

I've been spending some days outside at work during my lunch hour and in the garden is a small selection of roses of pink and apricot coloured variety. They smell divine! And the "mum" plaque at the top was seen at Whakatane Hill Cemetery at while ago - someone obviously was well loved and missed... Linking up with Macro Monday and Our World Tuesday :-)

Gotta love early Summer mornings along Marine Parade, part of where I walk each day. This is a road along the beach that's lined with mostly posh multi-million dollar holiday homes. As you can see on the left of the photo there's one that's been built and on the right are a ton of carparks as this area gets very very busy over the Christmas/New Year season - the beach is extremely popular. Lucky we live 5 minutes away so it doesn't take us long to walk if we want a swim :-) More weekend reflections here ...

Summer is here at last - stinking hot heat, blowflies coming inside, afternoons sitting in traffic jams  - all these things rock.....not. So, it was so nice to be able to get out in the fresh air to nearby Papamoa Beach and walk along the sand. It's now time to separate the winter clothes from the summer ones, put blankets back in the linen cupboard, start putting sunblock on and enjoy the long sunny days. Enjoy your Friday :-)  Linking up with Skywatch Friday .

Yesterday our Sunday drive consisted of something a little different....instead of sticking to the main highways, this time we drove around the little back roads and did a wee tiki tour. One place we ended up in was the Kaituna River and the bridge above it leads into nearby Papamoa. Looked like there had been a number of hopeful graffiti artists down there trying to decorate the pillars and while we were there I got a quick moving shot of water skiers racing past enjoying the fast moving current of the river. Linking up with Our World Tuesday ;-)

I really like this view - on our time at the Ngamuwahine River a couple of weeks ago we were getting ready to leave by driving across the road leading to the main highway and stopped to admire the scenery - so peaceful and scenic, what do you think of it? Linking up to Skywatch Fridays :-)

Today was one of those breezy sunny Spring days where you just know Summer's not far away. What started out as a walk along the beach turned into watching the Junior Surf Lifesaving crew practice on the sand. Was about another hour and a half before we finally got home so a good walk was had by both of us. Linking up with Our World Tuesday :-)

Last weekend early on a Saturday morning I ventured down to our local Pilot Bay to watch one of the big cargo ships leave Tauranga and head out to sea, I was there for about half an hour and didn't see it go past but I did see lots of hopeful people trying their luck with fishing off the wharf - including this dad who was setting up a line for his little boy. It was a bit chilly for a late Spring morning so I headed home for the warm sheltered sunshine :-) More Skywatch Fridays here :-)

On a recent drive to find somewhere different to visit we came across this lovely quiet place about 15 minutes out of town down a gravel road off the main highway. The Ngamuwahine River runs for about 19 kms and was such a peaceful wee spot - perfect for paddling or swimming - no doubt there are probably eels swimming around in the water. We couldn't believe how quiet it was there. Linking up with Our World Tuesday :-)

Reflections on the sand, low tide,...these kayakers were making their way across the beach out to the water. One of them has some really awesome tattoo work on his arms and can you see the ship in the distance? Apparently it had been there for quite some time, unable to come into the port as it had some unsafe cargo on board. Linking up with Skywatch Friday  and Weekend Reflections :-)

What a view! This scene at Whakatane beach warmed my heart - it was a perfect sunny Spring day, a slight breeze in the air - no wonder this couple was sitting int he sun on their chairs reading books. The island in the distance is named Whale Island apparently :-) Linking up with Skywatch Fridays :-)

Recently the other half bought a macro lens for us both to experiment with...so here are a few of my favourite images I took at Whakatane Cemetery last weekend - enjoy: I spotted an old watch that someone has put inside a hole on a Celtic gravestone - I wonder if it belonged to the occupant? Fabric daisies that have faded from all the sun - these were sitting in a jar next to a grave. Mum - a plaque belong to who must've been a dearly loved member of someone's family. A green and red Echevaria thriving in a pot with other succulents. Moss on an old pottery jar at another grave - looks like it's been there for quite a few years. More info on Whakatane's Hillcrest Cemetery here ... A very nice peaceful place that is well looked after :-) Linking up with Macro Monday ...

Over the weekend we did a bit of a tiki tour around Whakatane, one of the spots we visited was lovely Ohope beach. Beautiful hot sunny Spring day and awesome scenery - yellow gazanias growing in the sand on the hillside and a driftwood sculpture on the sand - just perfect! Linking up with Our World Tuesday :-)

I saw these patterns in the sand the other day at the beach - they looked fascinating to me, even though the sea and the waves made these I thought they were really cool, especially the way the sun and sky was reflecting on the water :-) Linking up with Skywatch Fridays ...

Our walk along the beach Sunday morning was a bit more interesting than usual...instead of just walking along the sand we explored the rock pools as the tide was out. We spotted thse large starfish clinging to the rocks in the low water. Something I love checking out are all the sea creatures so these guys were very cool to photograph :-) Linking up with Our World Tuesday :-)

It's been good to have a change in the weather here in Tauranga, so much rain over Spring but for the last couple of days it's been sunny and warm, certainly Summer is on it's way. After work on Thursday I braved the traffic queues to drive out to Sulphur Point Marina , one of the local places near the extensive port. These guys looked like they were making the most of an afternoon off from work - not sure if they caught anything but I sure was envious of them :-)