Matariki

 

Tonight in New Zealand it is a public holiday known as Matariki which means that it's the Maori new year. Matariki literally is the name for the cluster of stars known as the Pleiades and usually most people across the country can see them except it looks like we have a cloudy night ahead of us.

So instead of taking photos of the night sky we will be indoors no doubt with the fire on.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday and Little Things Thursday.

Winter skies in Paeroa

Night skies in Paeroa - (pronounced pie-rower) with petrol station to the right. 
Winter 2016

So I'm down with the flu...again! Must be the 4th time in the last few months - the joys of working with the public I guess. And after having my annual checkup at the doctor's last week I was pleased to hear that my blood pressure has gone down since last time I was there, I think it's the fact that I've lost weight that's helped but the doctor did say that going through the dreaded menopause (like I have been for the last 2 years) can slow your metabolism down to almost nothing so it explains probably why I'm so tired alot of the time. I think if it wasn't for the daily vitamins and supplements I take I'd be more worse for the wear.

I did get a chance to try some new chocolate bars by Cadbury - they've put out a larger bar of Picnic, a larger bar of Moro and a larger bar of Moro Gold, not sure what I think of them, they seem a bit rich and overly sweet so think I will stick with my favourites. Anyway...4 working days till I finish work - yay!

Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

We got it!

Photo of some people playing in snow in a farmer's field - Ruapehu - Winter 2017

Big news here. The other half travelled the 6 hours north to Kerikeri yesterday to view a house and we ended up getting it so our move looks like it's going to be in 2 weeks time. I've been collecting boxes from my work and will start going through things and starting to pack this weekend. It's always a good opportunity to get rid of things I don't need but don't want to move house too often as it's very tiring.

Winter has hit here. Usually each morning I try to get out for a 20-30 minute run but yesterday at about 9am it was still 3 deg celsius so I waited until an hour or so later on.

Hope all is well with you. Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

Farmland at the Houhora Heads

This is Autumn in the far north of NZ. Houhora Heads is on State Highway 1 on the way to Cape Reinga. An old water hole sits in this paddock for the cattle to drink out of.

Unfortunately here in NZ there are various farms that are in a bad way, some sort of virus is affecting cows so sadly they have to be destroyed. It must be terribly stressful financially to have this happen.

As for us, we may have some news to share shortly...

Mangonui Fish and Chip Shop

This place is one of my favourite Northland scenes. The Mangonui Fish Shop has won awards over the years for making the best fish and chips in NZ. Located overlooking the Mangonui harbour on the way to Cable Bay then Pahia this place certainly has a peaceful atmosphere - and with scenery like this who wouldn't want to enjoy a nice quiet lunch there.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

Ruaihona Marae, Te Teko

One thing I have a fascination with are Maori Maraes. When we are out driving and I see a signpost I try to stop outside there and take photos - I think it's the architecture and artistic carvings that interest me. Ruaihona Marae is on the edge of the Rangitaiki River in Te Teko. There are 2 other Maraes in the area; Tuteao and Uiraroa.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)

Mount Maunganui public library

Another sunny late Summer's day here, this morning on my run past our local library it was good to many of the Sunflowers and Rudbeckia still flowering - these had been planted about a month ago.

Hopefully for those in the northern hemisphere you have a bit of thawing out going on. Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)

Time for a morning surf

This week I've been struck down with another Spring flu, seems like when you work in a job that deals with the public people come in all the time sick, coughing and sneezing so it's easy to get bugs.

In NZ this week it's going to be Labour Weekend. I have family coming down here from Northland for a visit so we're hoping to spend some sunny days outside at the beach.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)

Early morning surf casting...

This morning instead of walking my usual route to the left of where we live I walked to the right along the opposite end of the beach, just in time to snap a photo of this guy surf casting, I could see as I got up close that he had at least 3 fish on the sand next to him that kind of looked like Kahawai which are perfect for smoking and cooking in a pie.

I'm envious of him as they are delicious to eat. Linking up with Our World Tuesday :-)

Time for some winter beach therapy...

We've had so much rain lately so when some Winter sun came yesterday I jumped at the chance to get out for a walk along the beach. Surprisingly it was very quiet, only 1 other person walking their dog that I could see but the air was crisp and the sun out so I felt alot more cheerful when I got home.

This week I finally have a Friday off and my parents are here for the week so we've been spending some time with them.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)

Christmas day at Mount Maunganui

Christmas day has come and gone for us kiwis. We spent the day vegetating, playing wii sports (at which I failed miserably), drinking the odd Tequila shot (which knocked me on my knees), battling the humidity and heat then driving out to Mount Maunganui for some fresh air. As you can see from the photo above lots of people had the same idea as us by swimming to cool down and this part of the beach isn't even the whole thing.

At the other end of the rocks in the above photo there were some fishermen surfcast, not sure if they caught anything but I'm sure if their fishing rods weren't secure in the rocks it would be likely to take off if a fish got on the line.

This last shot is of the light shining through the clouds over the apartments and buildings that line the beach. A short time later it rained which made things alot cooler. That's about the gist of my day - hoping yours was Christmasy and full of catching up with family :-)

Spring sunsets over Orere Point countryside

While at Orere Point last weekend, I happened to spot this sunset from the kitchen window. Since I'm a sucker always for a good sunset I quickly grabbed my camera. In the distance are a few trees but on the right if you can just see it is a farmhouse. Once Summer is here I'm looking forward to spending more time outside in the evenings.

For more Skywatch Fridays click here :-)

Spring sunsets and a full moon over Otumoetai

Last night while loading my car with groceries after food shopping I spotted the full moon in the sky above the carpark, since i take my camera everywere I go I quickly snapped a photo of the sky and the surrouding area. Hope your week has been good...for more Skywatch Fridays click here :-)

Winter reflections over Tauranga Harbour

Last week as I was driving around on errands I couldn't help but stop and take a photo of the scenery and view I get from the area I live here in Tauranga. This is just down the road from me and it's a view of the harbour when the tide was out. The pathway along the bottom is actually a hike/walk - not sure how long it goes for as I haven't tried it out yet.  Welcome to Winter!

For more Weekend Reflections click here :-)

Good winter's morning Mangawhai!

My weekend was full of visiting with my 3 teenagers and family members up in Mangawhai Heads, my home town. While my daughter and I were driving to the local shops I deviated down to the boat ramp and snapped this photo of the sun rising over the sand dunes at the estuary. Today I'm heading home back to Tauranga.

Hope your weekend has been good too :-)

Winter full moon magic...

So...after taking a brief break away from here I'm back feeling alot more renewed. Last time I posted I was only just getting over a bad dose of the flu, well the other half ended up with it too and I've been going to a few job interviews so it's been pretty busy. Unfortunately one job wanted someone with more corporate background experience and another wanted someone with a background in the private Hospital industry so I lucked out. All I can do is keep trying and sometimes being at home drives me up the wall but last night through the lounge window I saw this lovely purple pink sky with a full moon proudly showing itself off to me.

There's something about sunsets, skies and moons that makes me feel renewed and refreshed...here's hoping for a better week to come :-)

Anzac Day sunset and flaming skies

Good morning! I hope this Friday is treating you well so far. Last Saturday for us Kiwis and those in Australia was Anzac Day. After an emotional day here in Mangawhai this is what I saw from my backyard. At the moment in our street we have lots of new houses being built as there are quite a few empty sections and the skies looked very vibrant almost on fire so thought taking a photo of it was quite appropriate.

Hope your week has gone well - for more Skywatch Fridays click here :-)

Billows of early morning smoke clouds

Last week we had some spectacular colours in the sky above my house, this one I think looks like billows of smoke in the sky. In the change of seasons at the moment - from summer to autumn it's much cooler here and very welcome I must say. Is it the calm before the storm? who knows - this weekend we have Cyclone Pam forecast so we're expecting lots of rain and wind. It's still so dry here, farmers will be pleased to have some irrigation for the brown parched grass I see to and from my travels to work.

For more skywatch Fridays click here :-)

The last days of Summer

Next weekend us peeps downunder will be putting our clocks forward an hour signalling the end of Summer and the beginning of Autumn. Cooler temperatures are slowly creeping in (thank goodness) and are making way for changing skies. These two above are just a brief example of what I see when I look out my lounge window some mornings. All sorts of colours ranging from orange to pink to red to yellow greet us when I first get up. Can't beat living in the Kaipara!

Frosty morning skies over Te Arai

Although its been very dry here temperatures are starting to slowly cool down. Yesterday morning I snapped this shot over the vast farmland on the way to work - views over the countryside with Te Arai surf beach and fog in the distance.

For more skywatch Fridays click here :-)