Coming Up Close

Along Taupo's waterfront is this sculpture named " Defining Horizons " by Graham Bennett . Made from a combination of stainless steel, Cor-ten and mild steels it symbolises journeys of discovery in New Zealand. The artist said he wants viewers to make their own interpretations of the sculpture, but for him it has many overlapping ideas. He said "I was thinking of Polynesian migration, Cook's voyage of discovery and families ancestral journeys, but it could be interpreted as any form of way-finding". The upper components of it which point in different directions symbolise the longitudinal divisions of the globe which divide the Pacific Ocean and the latitudinal divisions inspired the ribs which give it a nautical feel. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday .

Once in a while on my cemetery visits I find graves that make me want to find out more about that persons life. These ones which had an old Victorian picket fence around them are located in the Jewish section of the Old Symonds Street Cemetery and belong to 2 little ones named Catherine Nathan and her sister Miriam Nathan, daughters of David and Rosetta. I managed to convert the Jewish dates to 1844 and 1855 as their dates of death and although I couldn't find the cause of why they died so young I did find out that their father owned a men's fashion shop in Auckland City and was also an auctioneer so I'm guessing they probably lived in one of the many old houses that once stood nearby that has now been replaced by a more modern building.  I can't imagine how heartbreaking it would've been to lose 2 little ones at this time with no vaccines or the medical knowledge we have today. Linking up with  Our World Tuesday ,  Through my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My Corner

 I normally wouldn't post anyting on a Sunday but this one is different. Today for New Zealanders and Australians we celebrate this day as ANZAC  (meaning Australian New Zealand Army Corps) day by remembering those who died in all wars that our loved ones have fought in. Today and tomorrow are normally public holidays, all businesses usually have to close until lunch time out of respect for how important this day is to literally everyone. Here are 2 of my heroes. Neville Walter Franks (above), my dad's uncle who died in WW2 of wounds on Monte Cassino, Italy. My youngest son actually looks very much like him. Matthew Allan Dunlop of Napier, my grandmother's uncle on my mother's side, died in WW1 in the Somme, France.  I hope you will remember this day with me.

In and around both Taupo and Rotorua there is loads and loads of geothermal activity. While we were visited Rotorua we spotted this within the Government Gardens. Rachel Spring has a temperature of approx 212 degrees farenheit and is a natural hot spring of alkaline water. Originally named Whangapipiro by the Arawa people but was later renamed Rachel Pool after Madam Rachel who was a notorious English cosmetician who promised youthful complexions because of the softening effect of silica water on the skin.   Linking up with  The Weekend Roundup  and    Weekend Reflections .

I love Tirau, it's one of those small towns where you just have to stop and look around.  The sheep, above, hosts a wool and craft shop inside and like the dog building was built in the 1990s both created by local artisan Steven Clothier. The ram on the right was added later in 2016.  This farm dog hosts the local i-site visitor centre where people can find out about what to do there. We drove through here on our way back from Taupo in which it was a crisp Autumn day. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday

 I love finding little things like this that pop out of nowhere on my travels. Seen on a footpath in Taupo it apparently is a Maori proverb that means " love given, love returned " and is a timely reminder in this day and age of how we treat each other.  After Prince Philip's death and how his family came together on the day of his funeral it got me thinking about my own ancestors. Obviously the royals knew/know each other pretty well but I don't have alot of information about those who came before me except for immediate grandparents/great grandparents etc so I've started typing up kind of like a memorandum of my life, thoughts and what I've found out so far on my genealogy journey. Hopefully after I've gone, whenever that happens, my children will be able to have something of me that tells a story of my life.  Over the last 2 days I have been feeling a bit blah, not sure if it's the change of season or what and we don't watch a great deal of what

On our recent re-visit to the Symonds Street Cemetery right next to the Jewish section is this mural painted on the side of an old building. Named "Totems + Milk" it was painted by artist Reuben Winter who sadly was successful in committing suicide in 2020 with the dates "1994 - 2020" signifying his birth and death.  Young Reuben suffered from chronic pain and fatigue illness, he also worked with many influential New Zealand artists. Such a talented young man will I'm surely be well missed. Linking up with  Mural Monday .

I've been wanting to take a photo of this sculpture for ages, when I lived in Auckland many years ago I wasn't really interested in it but now I think it's just so weird and unusual. Here's what I found out about it: Greer Twiss 's bronze 'Karangahape rocks' (1967–69) sits in a park on the corner of Auckland's Karangahape Road and Symonds Street. It is a water fountain but the flow is modest – Twiss had the water trickle gently down the grooves in the large discs so it would not spray out in high winds. The water feature broke down in the late 1980s and was only repaired in 2012.  It's like a focal point where it's located, at an intersection of Grafton Bridge and is easily seen if anyone is sitting in their car at the traffic lights. Greer is the Godfather of contemporary sculptures, for more than 50 years he has made them, exhibited, been collected, been commissioned, taught, been reviewed and written about. He has also been a pioneer of cast m

This is the main highway between Taupo and Napier, we drove up through mountains so high that it felt like we were driving in the clouds.  Lots of Autumn colours and a bit of a drop in a cooler temperature, apparently the road use to be a very windy gravel one that took alot longer, B remembers being in the car with his parents in the 1960s and 1970s when they lived in Whakatane and had to drive to Napier to visit his grandad.   All up it took us about 90 minutes for the drive when it use to take at least 2 hours or more before this part of the road was made. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday  and  Timeless Thursdays.

In most regions and towns here are these signs warning people of how high or low the risk of a fire is. Usually in Summer most of the country enforces a fire ban which means you can't light fires at all including incinerators and outdoor fire pits etc. Because we are now in Autumn the risk starts to get lower and the fire ban comes off around March - this photo was taken in Taupo last week while we were out for a walk. Linking up with  Our World Tuesday ,  Through my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures , Travel Tuesday ,  My Corner of the World  and  Wordless Wednesday .

Looking back on the last year or so. April 2020 we were smack bang in the middle of lockdown here in New Zealand. B who is an essential worker was the only one working full time, myself and my 2 adult children were stuck at home unemployed and boy was it frustrating financially. Luckily I found some old dvds that were in our television cabinet so I managed to binge watch those for the 6 weeks. We are pretty fortunate and lucky here that our country is in such a good place health wise, we have our freedom as well which is pretty important if you ask me. Last week both our government and the Australia government entered into a travel bubble so people flying between the two countries could do so without having to quarantine so many people have been snapping up tickets, I wonder how long it will last? Last week we were on holiday in Taupo, to my delight there were numerous murals around the town. This one is like the eyes are watching. Painted by Xoe Hall this one is part of the "Graf

While we were in Rotorua last week B took me to this spot called Kerosene Creek, he use to live in the city and Taupo many years ago. It's like a watering hole/swimming spot off the beaten track that isn't well known. When we were there we only saw a mum with her children and a couple with their dog enjoying the hot geothermal water. There is geothermal activity all over Taupo and Rotorua so this is probably one of many natural heated streams. We didn't have our swimming stuff with us so we just walked the track. Enjoy the photos.   Linking up with  The Weekend Roundup  and    Weekend Reflections .

In 1840 having settled upon Auckland as the site of the capital for the new colony Governer William Hobson secured a 3000 block of land for the government. It was purchased from local chiefs and included the northern part of the suburb of Mt Eden. The following year a 13,000 acre block was purchased by the crown. Once surveyed and divided the land was subsequently offered for sale and gradually the trappings of colonial life grew upon the landscape.  We were driving through Mount Eden, a suburb in Auckland earlier this week. There are a lot of old buildings in this city that were built near the turn of the 20th century, what I like is that there are so many that are still being used today instead of being pulled down.  Linking up with Skywatch Friday  and Timeless Thursdays.

 One thing I noticed last Saturday while we were in Taupo is that there were alot of classic cars parked in town, I'm wondering if there was a show on. I just love the look of these, so beautiful.   Linking up with  Our World Tuesday ,  Through my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My Corner of the World  and  Wordless Wednesday .

While in Taupo earlier this week this was the first mural I spotted on the side of a building. Painted by GASP (Graffiti Art Sign Painting) it's very colourful and has a sort of retro feel to it.  This was part of the Graffiato Walking Tour during the Street Art Festival. Linking up with Mural Monday .

 Another street/shop view in Kaikohe - this time it's a corner shop that sells vegetables. This one has signs selling Kumara for in $3 packs and Kamokamo in $20 packs. If you are unfamiliar with Southern Hemishere vegetables I'll do my best to explain what these 2 are.  Kamokamo is kind of like a type of Squash or Butternut, it is  like a pumpkin - it's very yummy whatever way it's cooked, I like to add it to either Winter soups or a Roast Pork/Chicken dinner. Kumara is like a type of sweet Potato and is used in much the same way but it was bought here over 1000 years ago by early Maori settlers from the Pacific Islands.  Worth trying if you can.  Linking up with  Timeless Thursdays ,  Skywatch Friday ,  The Weekend Roundup  and    Weekend Reflections .