Mapua Wharf

This was a great little spot for lunch, sitting and taking in the tranquil views on a lovely winter's day.

Mapua is about halfway between Motueka and Nelson in the South Island of New Zealand.

Linking today with Skywatch Friday

                                   Weekend Reflections

 

 

Christchurch NZ

Holidays are great, but it is also nice  to get back home. Our 3 weeks in new Zealand flew by in no time.  The main aim of the trip was to visit  family with just  a little bit of sight seeing  thrown in. Being winter time we weren't too sure if we would get too many fine days for touring or not. The weather gods were certainly kind to us, in fact it has been colder and wetter at home by all reports.  Just one really chilly morning and a couple of days of heavy rain. We started off in Christchurch as we wanted to see the city again since the devastating earth quakes of 2010 and  2011. There is still so much to be done. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will Christchurch resemble the beautiful City it once was for many years to come. Life goes on in Christchurch amid the demolition and re-construction.  The Re-Start Mall in the CBD is a little bit of Kiwi ingenuity.  Shops and cafes are being housed in shipping containers, all decked out with the necessities. We took a tram trip around the city area, this was the best way to see the re-building. Seeing the damage to The Cathedral was quite heartbreaking.

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                            Wednesday Around The World

From this side the Anglican Cathedral looks ok, but around the other side it is a different story. There is much debate about this beautiful building, many want it restored, but the church wants to demolish it and rebuild

Looking out from the tram

 

You can always rely upon the beauty of the Avon River to lift ones spirit

 

Three Wise Monkey's

I found these little statues in a park in Dowerin, see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil

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                               Wednesday Around The World
 

I am off to New Zealand tomorrow morning for 3 weeks so hopefully I can come home with some amazing photos to share with you all.

 

 

 

 

Saturday's Critters

A couple more pics from my recent trip to Donnelly River. Sharing with  Saturdays Critters

 

A kookaburra keeping watch on one of our walks

Old man Emu patrolling the village

The rubbish bins all have clips on the lids so the kangaroos can't open them, this one kept trying

A splash of red caught my eye, these little robins don't stay still for long.

Geese

Lemon Tree

I have an abundance of Lemons at present, as you can see from the photos.  I have given away so many but still it is loaded. I have made lemon butter, lemon cordial and frozen lemon juice to use when I no longer have lemons on the tree. Any further suggestions would be welcome.

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Skywatching

A couple of sky shots taken from my backyard during the week. It did look promising for rainfall but only a little eventuated.

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Glenoran Pool

Glenoran Pool, on the Donnelly River  near Manjimup in WA's South West is a popular swimming hole  and picnic area, although I wouldn't fancy swimming there myself.  A large karri tree had fallen  during recent storms. The river is freshwater but also contains a lot of tannin. A still day made for some nice reflections on the river.

Linking today with Scenic Weekends and Weekend Reflections

To get to Glenoran Pool we had to cross One Tree Bridge. Nothing special I thought.

Once we went for a walk we came across the original  One Tree Bridge which was constructed in 1904 from one fallen karri log

 

Skywatching

Oh what a beautiful bright moon we have had these past few nights. We have also had a lot of cloud cover too so I had to wait for the moon to appear only for it to disappear just as quickly

Linking with  Skywatch Friday

 

 

I have just taken these shots tonight to add to this post