New Years Day on the Beach
Wednesday 1st January 2003
Alex and Jane play with Luke's new kite, whilst Luke looks on whistfully! (quoting Alex - "I think this is a big boy's kite, Luke")
Wellington
Friday 3rd January 2003
Wellington is a nice town - even if it is a bit windy. However, we have just this one photo of Wellington, taken inside the main entrance to 'Te Papa' (literally - 'The Place' - the National Museum) where they had a Lord of the Rings exhibition.
Mount Taranaki (or Mount Egmont, depending on how PC you are!)
Sunday 5th - Tuesday 7th January 2003
These two photos are of the same view from our hostel in Stratford, but the first was taken on the evening we arrived; the second was taken the following morning. Ten minutes after this second photo was taken, the weather closed in again and we lost the view for most of the rest of the day!
Stratford is named after Stratford-upon-Avon. Stratford, NZ also tries to gain maximum leverage from the Shakespeare connection, just like it's namesake. There is a 'glockenspiel' clock tower in the town centre, which re-enacts Romeo and Juliet three times a day. The locals claim that Glockenspiel means musical clock - but I think they're wrong. Perhaps Stratford in the East End could learn from this entreupenerial approach to tourism - claim someone else's hero!
Views of the foothills of Mount Taranaki - notice the shroud of low cloud, which was very frustrating! The climb up to this point had been very steep, but we'd had bugger all view because of the cloud - grrrr!
In these photos, you can see the rock formation due to the volcano. The first photo shows the flow lines in the rock. Near here I found a piece of pumice tone. The second photo shows some mud.
This is a photo of a landslip that we had to cross. There was an even larger landslip later on, but we don't have a photo - we were too busy trying not to fall down!
A view out across the bog that we were yet to cross.
A host of photos of the Mountain as the clouds cleared in the afternoon.
Marsh Buttercups
The mountain in the evening... (we quite liked this mountain!)
A view of New Plymouth in the early evening.
Jane sketching at sunset (whilst desperately trying to hold in her stomach!)
The shadow of Mount Taranaki across the surrounding plain as the sun set.
Urm, it's Mount Taranaki - surprise!. This time taken in the morning.
This is a fantastic photo - I know it's of the mountain again - but I really like it anyway. It was worth taking so many photos of the same thing just to get this one!
Jane battling through the undergrowth of the path upto and back down from Henry Peak. This is the bit of path which hasn't yet been 'improved' by the NZ Dept of Conservation - although they have dumped big bundles of wood across the very narrow path to encourage people to break their necks!
The people who will be 'improving' the path stayed at the same hut as us last night. They're a bunch of crims!
The last section of the path back to the car was through a never ending range of valleys - each with a small ankle-breaker stream at the bottom of it just like this!
I promise that this is absolutely the last photo of Mount Taranaki, this one taken from the end of the walk.
Taupo - Craters of the Moon
Thursday 9th January 2003
This notice explains how this thermally active area became quite so thermally active - urm, it's caused by the Geothermal power station up the road!
This place is just an unholy hell hole. The fact that it was raining heavily did nothing to endear it to me. Look at how the trees are all slowly cooking to death - nasty way to go!
I did say it was raining!
Napier
Thursday 9th - Monday 13th January 2003
Various photos of the hostel where we stayed in Napier - a converted prison!
Various mug shots of me and Mike at the prison!
Dolphins at the Marineland Centre in Napier. It may look like this dolphin is playing with the bell - but really he is trying to alert somebody to the fact that there are two dead bodies in the pool! (There were two girls in snorkel gear lying motionless on the surface of the water - they really looked like they were dead!)
A couple of seals - or are they sealions? Also at Marineland.
A selection of some of the great Art Deco buildings here in Napier. The first photo is of the entrance to the Masonic Hotel, where we stayed on our first night in Napier (too expensive for more than one night!)
The fourth photo is of the indian restaurant where we ate one night.
Photos of some of Carpay's work in the Napier / Hawkes Bay Museum.
Jane attempts to paddle without get her knickers wet - and fails! the waves smack in on Napier beach like brick walls falling down!
View (not of Napier!) from the top of Bluff Hill.