Thursday, February 26, 2009
Flowers
For those of you longing for winter to be over, I thought I'd post a few flower pictures. It's summer here, although for the past ten days the weather was not recognizably summerish. We've been eating wonderful fresh fruit and tomatoes while wearing winter clothes. But today the sun came out and I went outside and took some pictures of the flowers in our garden. We're not very good gardeners, but the people before us planted some nice things. The first photo is from someone else's garden. Dave took it, and I found it on the camera, and had to include it since my theme was flowers. The second photo is some friendly flowers I just bought to put in a pot on the deck. The rest are from our garden.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Dave's fishing trip
Last week Dave drove up to Alexandra, about three hours northwest of Dunedin, and stayed there for three nights. Each day he drove somewhere to fish. The first day he came across the most common traffic jam in New Zealand (at least on the South Island).
The sheep started up that path on the right (in the photo below), and that's not where the farmer wanted them to go, so Dave got to watch the sheep dog go up the path and try to get them to come back down.
A little further on, he found this cute view of sheep huddling in the shelter of a rock (below). When I saw the picture, I thought they were trying to get out of the sun, but Dave said it was really windy, and they were sheltering behind the rock to get out of the wind.
Dave fished at the Manorburn Resevoir, created by a dam, and at the Nevis River. The rest of the photos show the places where he fished and the beautiful textures of the hills he saw.
The sheep started up that path on the right (in the photo below), and that's not where the farmer wanted them to go, so Dave got to watch the sheep dog go up the path and try to get them to come back down. 
A little further on, he found this cute view of sheep huddling in the shelter of a rock (below). When I saw the picture, I thought they were trying to get out of the sun, but Dave said it was really windy, and they were sheltering behind the rock to get out of the wind.
Dave fished at the Manorburn Resevoir, created by a dam, and at the Nevis River. The rest of the photos show the places where he fished and the beautiful textures of the hills he saw.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Two more North Island beaches
One of the beaches we went to while we were in the Tauranga area was on a bay. The swimming was lovely, no waves, lots of people and boats to watch. Dave swam with me for a while, then got out because he was itching to paint. He found some cool orange flowers with purple leaves and stem (which we found out just today are called a canna lillies), and he sat down on a grassy hillside to paint them. After I finished swimming I walked around taking pictures. In the second photo, I thought the tree was a really cool shape.
In the previous photo, you'll see a hill with a few cars on top. After Dave finished his painting we drove up to the top of that hill. The next photo is a view from up there across the bay.
On another day, we were at another beach. One of my favorite things on the North Island is all the Norfolk pines, which originally came from Norfolk Island, one of the Pacific Islands not that far from New Zealand. We found out on this trip that the early missionaries liked Norfolk pines and often planted them near their mission stations because the new growth at the top looks like a cross. Most of the trees in the photo below are Norfolk pines. I just can't get over seeing them as tall trees. I've often grown them as house plants.
In the previous photo, you'll see a hill with a few cars on top. After Dave finished his painting we drove up to the top of that hill. The next photo is a view from up there across the bay.
On another day, we were at another beach. One of my favorite things on the North Island is all the Norfolk pines, which originally came from Norfolk Island, one of the Pacific Islands not that far from New Zealand. We found out on this trip that the early missionaries liked Norfolk pines and often planted them near their mission stations because the new growth at the top looks like a cross. Most of the trees in the photo below are Norfolk pines. I just can't get over seeing them as tall trees. I've often grown them as house plants.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Mount Maunganui
The town Mount Maunganui is right beside Tauranga, undoubtedly counted in the Statistics New Zealand report saying that Tauranga's population has just surpassed Dunedin's. Both Mount Maunganui and Tauranga are built on narrow peninsulas and are surrounded by water. Mount Maunganui's peninsula has the actual mount at the end of it, and the mount is visible from far away. There's a picture of it in the blog post about kiwifruit -- the people's house where we were eating was many miles north of it and you could see it in the distance. The first slide shows Mount Maunganui from the south.
Here's a close up view from the ocean beach side.
The next two photos were taken by panning to the right from the photo above.
To put these beaches in perspective, Moung Maunganui and Tauranga are about the same latitude south as San Jose, California and Richmond, Virginia are north. The weather was perfect -- high 70s and low 80s with a breeze. Below is a photo of the mount from the bay side.
There's a trail up the mount to the top, and there's another trail, 2 miles long, around the base of the mount. Dave was told the walk around the base was very beautiful, so he took that trail. In the first photo below, you can see the trail. Then the remainder of the photos in this post show the views as he walked around the mount.
Here's a close up view from the ocean beach side. 
The next two photos were taken by panning to the right from the photo above.
To put these beaches in perspective, Moung Maunganui and Tauranga are about the same latitude south as San Jose, California and Richmond, Virginia are north. The weather was perfect -- high 70s and low 80s with a breeze. Below is a photo of the mount from the bay side.
There's a trail up the mount to the top, and there's another trail, 2 miles long, around the base of the mount. Dave was told the walk around the base was very beautiful, so he took that trail. In the first photo below, you can see the trail. Then the remainder of the photos in this post show the views as he walked around the mount.
Tiles in Tauranga
Tauranga is on the North Island, three hours southeast of Auckland, on the Bay of Plenty. For many years Dunedin has been the fifth largest city in New Zealand, but Statistics New Zealand recently announced that Tauranga has surpassed Dunedin in population. Big event! Dunedinites assert that the counting method wasn't accurate! Tauranga puts up billboard in Dunedin saying Tauranga has better beaches! Is more beautiful! Is better than Dunedin!
Internet war starts!
We had heard about the population issues, but the internet war started while we were visiting Tauranga and we read it about it in the Tauranga newspaper. Pretty funny.
The beaches there are gorgeous, and certainly much warmer than Dunedin's beaches. The city is growing so fast that there were traffic jams when we were there, which we never see here. A slow-growing (or no-growing) city has its advantages.
Downtown Tauranga is mostly along the water, because it's a city surrounded by water on almost every side. I was captivated by one part of the downtown, where interesting paving and tiles had been used. Ever since I visited Portugal in 2003, I have admired interesting paving and tiles. Here's what one intersection looked like:
On the sidewalks around that intersection, mosaic squares were scattered along the sidewalks. The squares were about eight feet on each side. Here are some of the ones I liked:
Internet war starts!
We had heard about the population issues, but the internet war started while we were visiting Tauranga and we read it about it in the Tauranga newspaper. Pretty funny.
The beaches there are gorgeous, and certainly much warmer than Dunedin's beaches. The city is growing so fast that there were traffic jams when we were there, which we never see here. A slow-growing (or no-growing) city has its advantages.
Downtown Tauranga is mostly along the water, because it's a city surrounded by water on almost every side. I was captivated by one part of the downtown, where interesting paving and tiles had been used. Ever since I visited Portugal in 2003, I have admired interesting paving and tiles. Here's what one intersection looked like:
On the sidewalks around that intersection, mosaic squares were scattered along the sidewalks. The squares were about eight feet on each side. Here are some of the ones I liked:
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
a kiwifruit and avocado orchard
In early January we met a couple, Margie and Graeme, who were visiting Dunedin from the North Island. When they told us where they were from and what church they attend, I realized we would be in their area in late January and would, in fact, be attending their church one Sunday we were there. One of the recent graduates from the Presbyterian seminary where I teach has just begun to serve as minister at their church, and I wanted to attend church there to show him support. When I told them which Sunday we would be attending their church, they said they would definitely see us because they were scheduled to be ushers that Sunday.
So in late January we flew to Auckland and drove about three hours south and west to the Bay of Plenty near Tauranga. The next day we went to church, and there were Margie and Graeme, as promised, handing out bulletins at the door. They invited us over for lunch after church. Their house overlooks a huge bay. On the other side of the bay, you can see a long island. In the far distance is a round hill. That's Mount Maunganui, close to Tauranga. Dave later walked around Mount Maunganui and took some great pictures, which I'll put in another blog post.
Margie works in a kiwifruit and avocado orchard. Before I go further, I have to explain that in New Zealand, "kiwi" is used to refer to the iconic flightless bird and to New Zealanders. The fruit that we call kiwis in the US are called kiwifruit here. They are originally from China, but thrive in the New Zealand climate. They are a major export fruit, and apparently all the best fruit is exported and we only get to eat the seconds. The next two photos give you a sense of what a kiwifruit orchard looks like, with Margie standing in front of the vines.
The first orchard she took us to was a yellow kiwifruit orchard. Yellow kiwifruit is fairly new here. I've never seen it in the US. I love it. It seems sweeter than the green kiwifruit. The skin is the same color, but not furry, and the fruit is yellow with a slight green tinge and a slightly different shape, more pointy, than green kiwifruit.
To convert a green kiwifruit orchard into a yellow kiwifruit orchard, yellow kiwifruit vines were grafted into an old green kiwifruit vine. In the next two photos, you can see the original (green) vine at the bottom and the two new (yellow) vines that were grafted into it.
Margie took us to a green kiwifruit orchard as well, and you can see the difference in the shape of the fruit. One of the things she explained to us at length is that there are male and female vines. The male vines are needed for the pollen produced by their flowers.
REALLY tall hedges surround a lot of kiwifruit orchards. The Bay of Plenty region is very windy (while we were there the weather was blissfully just like Maui), and wind is bad for kiwifruit because it causes the fruit to rub against each other and get damaged. The high hedges protect the fruit from the wind. The hedges also keep the orchards warmer by trapping the warmth of the sun.
The man Margie works for also grows avocados. Most of his avocado orchards are young. In the two photos below, the avocado trees (the ones with the orangish leaves) are about five years old and are planted among orange trees. The orange trees provide protection for the young avocado trees. As the avocado trees grow, first the adjacent orange trees are cut down. Then as they grow even bigger, the next closest orange trees are cut down. Then finally this orchard will be all avocado trees. They get very big, several stories tall, and are picked by people in cherry pickers.
So in late January we flew to Auckland and drove about three hours south and west to the Bay of Plenty near Tauranga. The next day we went to church, and there were Margie and Graeme, as promised, handing out bulletins at the door. They invited us over for lunch after church. Their house overlooks a huge bay. On the other side of the bay, you can see a long island. In the far distance is a round hill. That's Mount Maunganui, close to Tauranga. Dave later walked around Mount Maunganui and took some great pictures, which I'll put in another blog post.
Margie works in a kiwifruit and avocado orchard. Before I go further, I have to explain that in New Zealand, "kiwi" is used to refer to the iconic flightless bird and to New Zealanders. The fruit that we call kiwis in the US are called kiwifruit here. They are originally from China, but thrive in the New Zealand climate. They are a major export fruit, and apparently all the best fruit is exported and we only get to eat the seconds. The next two photos give you a sense of what a kiwifruit orchard looks like, with Margie standing in front of the vines.
The first orchard she took us to was a yellow kiwifruit orchard. Yellow kiwifruit is fairly new here. I've never seen it in the US. I love it. It seems sweeter than the green kiwifruit. The skin is the same color, but not furry, and the fruit is yellow with a slight green tinge and a slightly different shape, more pointy, than green kiwifruit.
To convert a green kiwifruit orchard into a yellow kiwifruit orchard, yellow kiwifruit vines were grafted into an old green kiwifruit vine. In the next two photos, you can see the original (green) vine at the bottom and the two new (yellow) vines that were grafted into it.
Margie took us to a green kiwifruit orchard as well, and you can see the difference in the shape of the fruit. One of the things she explained to us at length is that there are male and female vines. The male vines are needed for the pollen produced by their flowers.
REALLY tall hedges surround a lot of kiwifruit orchards. The Bay of Plenty region is very windy (while we were there the weather was blissfully just like Maui), and wind is bad for kiwifruit because it causes the fruit to rub against each other and get damaged. The high hedges protect the fruit from the wind. The hedges also keep the orchards warmer by trapping the warmth of the sun.
The man Margie works for also grows avocados. Most of his avocado orchards are young. In the two photos below, the avocado trees (the ones with the orangish leaves) are about five years old and are planted among orange trees. The orange trees provide protection for the young avocado trees. As the avocado trees grow, first the adjacent orange trees are cut down. Then as they grow even bigger, the next closest orange trees are cut down. Then finally this orchard will be all avocado trees. They get very big, several stories tall, and are picked by people in cherry pickers.
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