Dave was invited by our New Zealand friend Eric to come with him to his cabin on Lake Alexandrina. Eric is a fly fisherman who fished with Dave during our trip to NZ in 2001, and Eric and his wife went with us to Stewart Island last month. To get to Lake Alexandrina, you drive north from Dunedin about three hours and then drive west for about two hours. It is near Lake Tekapo, a much bigger and better known lake. The first photo gives a bit of an overview of the area from an observatory. Lake Tekapo is on the right, and Lake Alexandrina is in the center of the photo.
Next is a monument to sheep dogs, particularly one sheep dog who used to steal sheep for his master.
In the photo below, a small lake called Lake MacGregor is in the foreground, with Lake Tekapo in the background. The mountain range is called the Two Thumbs range. This view looks east with the evening sun behind, and the clouds are pouring over the range from the ocean behind the mountains. This happened two of the nights Dave was there, and he took two other photos showing the clouds flowing over the mountains.
Dave and Eric fished from a rowboat and also from the side of Lake Alexandrina. The photo below was taken at 8 a.m. Note how still the water is. Normally it is very windy like it is in most of NZ. (There's a little bit of wind power here, but lots of opposition to new wind farms. It seems like a natural form of energy generation in this windy place.) In the background is Hell's Gate Mountain.
Dave thinks he might paint the next two photos of Lake Alexandrina because they are so pretty.
Now, for you bird lovers, here are two black swans on Lake Alexandrina. There are two kinds of swans in NZ, black swans and mute swans, both of which were introduced. Mute swans were originally from Britain and are white. Black swans were introduced from Australia. Both species have thrived in NZ, and black swans have become so numerous they sometimes have to be "reduced," according to the bird book we have. I wonder how "reduction" is done.
A pair of crested grebes was nesting close to Eric's cabin, and Dave watched them leave behind their egg and fish together. They are amazing swimmers. One would go down, then the second one would go down right afterwards, and then they would pop up maybe 100 yards away. They have a cool crest on their heads, which you can sort of see in the photo below. They are fairly rare.
Lynne Baab is the author of numerous books about Christian spiritual practices including Sabbath Keeping and Fasting. She is a Presbyterian minister and holds a PhD in communication from the University of Washington. From 2007 to 2017, she and Dave lived in Dunedin, New Zealand, where she served as the Jack Sommerville Lecturer in Pastoral Theology, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Otago and Adjunct Tutor, Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership. Lynne's website is www.lynnebaab.com where she blogs weekly about spiritual practices. Many magazine articles she has written are available on her website, as is information about her books. Dave Baab is a retired dentist and associate professor in dentistry, a watercolor artist, and an enthusiastic tennis and pickleball player. After three years back in Seattle, Dave and Lynne returned to Dunedin in October 2020.
Next is a monument to sheep dogs, particularly one sheep dog who used to steal sheep for his master.
In the photo below, a small lake called Lake MacGregor is in the foreground, with Lake Tekapo in the background. The mountain range is called the Two Thumbs range. This view looks east with the evening sun behind, and the clouds are pouring over the range from the ocean behind the mountains. This happened two of the nights Dave was there, and he took two other photos showing the clouds flowing over the mountains.
Dave and Eric fished from a rowboat and also from the side of Lake Alexandrina. The photo below was taken at 8 a.m. Note how still the water is. Normally it is very windy like it is in most of NZ. (There's a little bit of wind power here, but lots of opposition to new wind farms. It seems like a natural form of energy generation in this windy place.) In the background is Hell's Gate Mountain.
Dave thinks he might paint the next two photos of Lake Alexandrina because they are so pretty.
Now, for you bird lovers, here are two black swans on Lake Alexandrina. There are two kinds of swans in NZ, black swans and mute swans, both of which were introduced. Mute swans were originally from Britain and are white. Black swans were introduced from Australia. Both species have thrived in NZ, and black swans have become so numerous they sometimes have to be "reduced," according to the bird book we have. I wonder how "reduction" is done.
A pair of crested grebes was nesting close to Eric's cabin, and Dave watched them leave behind their egg and fish together. They are amazing swimmers. One would go down, then the second one would go down right afterwards, and then they would pop up maybe 100 yards away. They have a cool crest on their heads, which you can sort of see in the photo below. They are fairly rare.
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