I’ve lived in Wellington for about 6 months now, it’s not the first time I’ve lived here. Last time I lived in Wellington in 1990, was for about 6 months. That’s not to suggest it’s time to leave though. Not a bit of it. Not yet anyway. A selection of random shots from around Wellington, not so much in Wellington, as around it.
Erskine College, Island Bay. Derelict old convent school, probably haunted.Winter in Island Bay. I live in Island Bay so you may experience a bias in these photosSunset in Island Bay, see? Bias.That Island is called Tapu te Tanga. It’s in Island Bay.That’s the way in to Wellington Harbour. If you come by boat that is.Surfer dudes at Titahi Bay.Wellington from Wrights Hill, long exposure to get that cool line of light thing on the motorway from the Hutt Valley.Oh look, it’s Island Bay again. Actually this is Houghton Bay, the next bay along.Cool clouds above Owhiro Bay. The Kaikoura Ranges in the distance, 200 kilometres distant.Pauatahanui, Porirua Harbour, Not many Paua in there though I reckon.Pencarrow Lighthouses at the Wellington Harbour Entrance, for when one Lighthouse isn’t enough.Pilot boat escorting a container ship out of Wellington.Cool Sunset clouds above Makara, making the huge wind turbines look puny.Sea thing. Karaka BayBoat shed thing in Lowry Bay. Hasn’t stored any boats for a while. Not sure what it’s for now.Chopper dude, Lyall Bay. Probably reading ‘Zen And The Art Of Bicycle Maintenance’.Tararua Ranges above the Hutt Valley. Taken from Oriental Bay.Those rocks are really big. This was the day after the ‘Great Storm’. I call all good storms, the ‘Great Storm’. It amuses me.The Interislander ferry heading for the South Island. I take this boat every month. There and back, obviously. Otherwise I’d live in the South Island now.Wavey.Kite Surfer in Lyall Bay. Good and windy.Two things, Air New Zealand didn’t crash into the hill and the sea is full of Dolphins, Lyall Bay.Colourful, in Lyall Bay.He survived, so did his cell phone. He actually ran away. I also have a photo of that.I believe those shed are empty and the land soon to be used for something more modern. Flash apartments would be best. Wait and see.OK, so this could be anywhere of course, but this cool surf shot was taken by me in Wellington. Houghton Bay to be precise. That’s a Nor’Wester blowing above Wrights Hill at Sunset. Windy Welly.Miramar Peninsula, in the mid-ground.Oriental Bay, people walk along the waterfront there, or run in colour co-ordinated lycra wearing headphones carrying an unnecessary water bottle.The Road to nowhere, one of those ‘there and back’ sort of roads.Like everyone, I love a brightly coloured boat shedSpring, Princess Bay. Pretty.Boat shed in Ivey Bay, Paremata.  Actually many boat sheds. Just that one is more obvious.The Classic Cable Car shot, you can buy a postcard just like this one.
So there you go. There’s much more to Wellington of course. But I’ve had enough of thinking up things to write in captions now. You could always visit and see for your self.
I spent a couple of days in Queenstown, for work. Lucky me. Much of the trip was inside but I was able to get out for a wander about. Fortunately you don’t have to walk far in Queenstown and surrounds to see the awesomeness. Herewith, a couple of snaps while I had a moment to take them. This can be a travel blog thing. For people who like to travel and read about travelling. I think it qualifies as a travel blog because I took photos of a tourist destination.
The obligatory wing shot on the way into Queenstown.The mountain range is called ‘The Remarkables’. Can’t imagine why.Same mountains, different day. Those awesome clouds go by the name of ‘Lenticular’.Sunset over Lake Wakatipu. Looking South if you are interested in that sort of thingSame view, slightly different spot, different time of day.On the hills above Arrowtown. I thought the colours and textures of the trees were cool enough to Photograph. It’s my camera, I get to choose that sort of thing.That’s a New Zealand Falcon, not the Swamp Harrier. The Falcon is pretty rare and even harder to photograph. This was a good day.Because who doesn’t like a photo of an old derelict cottage?Chinese Gold Miners huts in Arrowtown. Small.I liked the juxtaposition of Spring blossoms and snowy peaks. Arty and all that.There’s a famous tree in Lake Wanaka which everyone with a camera feels compelled to photograph. This isn’t it. This is a small Willow tree beside Lake Wakatipu which I’ve decided can be ‘That Queenstown Tree’. It looks striking early in the morning with the sun on it. Which is superfluous explanation really.
Queenstown, probably New Zealand’s most famous tourist destination. It’s nice there.
Because who doesn’t like to look at some epic cloud formations? Don’t ask me to go all scientific on you. I’m not a cloud geek, I don’t know what the clouds are called. I just like looking at and photographing some cloud action that’s worthy of capturing. I’ve already put a few photos throughout the blog which feature cool clouds, but they were incidental to the view. These ones are the reason I took the photo. It’s the subtle differences. If you know the names of the clouds, please comment and enlighten us all.
Southern Central Hawkes Bay, the day before the ‘great flood’ turned up in other parts of the country. Waipukurau, the nearest town to here was unaffected. The clouds were weird throughout Hawkes Bay that dayLooking North-East across Waipukurau in Southern Central Hawkes Bay. Storm brewing, but not here.I call these ‘God rays’, they are actually called ‘Crepuscular Rays’. Which sounds meteorological rather than awesome. These are over the small Rangitikei town of Hunterville, which few would describe as awesome.Rangitikei river valley, full of fog, love this stuff. There’s a river down there, I expect it has something to do with the valley hugging foggy clouds.I put a lot of care and thought into naming my images. I call this ‘Yard Rays’. I know.South of Napier, Hawkes Bay. Storm front brewing but the storm wasn’t here. Still, as you can see, the beach is not one for sunbathing so that’s good to know if you’d ever considered such a thing and felt a special trip to Napier might be in order. Make the trip by all means. Don’t swim or sunbathe, drink wine.Looks like a Tornado brewing over Napier in Hawkes Bay. It isn’t.Rays punching through the clouds above Lake Taupo.This is an unremarkable place in the Manawatu. Made interesting only by the sun striking through the clouds. I’m sure there is also lots of local history the local people are very proud of though.Cumulonimbus. I know I said I wasn’t going to name any clouds. But this is amazing. The entire top of the Whangaparoa Peninsula obliterated by a nuclear explosion, is what a Cumulonimbus looks like in this instanceOver there at the bottom right is Rangitoto Island to give some perspective to this epic cloud formation. Early morning in Arkles Bay.Same place, different day, slightly different angle. Big skies up there.Rangitito at Dusk, with a boat heading out to sea. This is the sort of thing you want to be looking at of an evening rather than the telly. Just saying.
So that’s it. When people say ‘it’s all cloudy’, that’s a good thing. See?
Apparently Pam arrives tomorrow, if she does. That’s Cyclone Pam of course. There were pretty amazing clouds developing in the North and East of where I live so I thought I’d pop out and take a few photos. These were taken in the space of an hour. Near my place.
Look North, early evening, lumpy land, cool clouds.Cross. This is the monument to a local man who loved the area.What’s your beef? You can also see the Te Apiti Windmill Farm away in the distance at the bottom right of the image.LinesYards.Ducks crossing. There was a cool weather effect in the distance. Then some ducks flew through the shot which is cool.Without the ducks, just layers of land and evening cloud, with rainbow type thing.Rule of thirds, New Zealand style. Looking East towards the Manawatu.The local high ground. Trig on Mt Curl.Looking north, towards Hunterville.Looking up the line. The Main Trunk Line. New Zealands main rail line. From a crossing on a farmers land in the Rangitikei.
