Sunday, 15 November 2015
tree rage!!
Someone has obviously upset the neighbours!!
It would appear that covering their fence and letterbox in om symbols offers no protection from irate tree lovers....
Spotted just outside Kaitaia.
It would appear that covering their fence and letterbox in om symbols offers no protection from irate tree lovers....
Spotted just outside Kaitaia.
pheasant road-kill
Just out of Waipapakauri on 90 Mile Beach I found a recently killed pheasant by the side of the road. Back at camp Te Araroa tramper Tyler shared some preparation techniques, then a couple of days later at Ahirapa camp Grahame helped me eat my find.
See the video at:
https://youtu.be/R7h72JOTnEo
See the video at:
https://youtu.be/R7h72JOTnEo
Friday, 30 October 2015
I find some old photographic slides
In a Kaikohe junk shop I came across a box of old colour slides from the
1970’s. I find discarded social history of this sort fascinating - here
are highlights of someone’s life, carefully, and probably proudly,
recorded and annotated....then under different circumstances simply
junked.
Thanks to www.freesfx.co.nz for the soundtrack....
Thanks to www.freesfx.co.nz for the soundtrack....
See the video:
In a Kaikohe junk shop I came across a box of old colour slides from the 1970’s. I find discarded social history of this sort fascinating - here are highlights of someone’s life, carefully, and probably proudly, recorded and annotated....then under different circumstances simply junked.
Thanks to www.freesfx.co.nz for the soundtrack....
See the video:
industrial devastation
Visiting old, abandoned industrial sites is a rare pleasure. On this trip I came across a burnt-out wood-mill in Kaitaia opposite the cemetery.
On Sunday of Labour Day with no-one around I was able to explore the site quite thoroughly....
See the video:
On Sunday of Labour Day with no-one around I was able to explore the site quite thoroughly....
See the video:
2015 National Weaving Hui - Part Two
A visit to the National Weaving Hui at Ahipara, and a look at the local marae.
See the video:
See the video:
Monday, 26 October 2015
flax weaving hui - part one
At Labour weekend I attended the 2015 NZ National Flax Weaing Hui at Ahipapa at the southern end of 90 Mile Beach.
There was an exhibition of the work of past weavers at the marae. Unfortunately, but understandably, photography was not permitted within the building. However I have included some pix of the meeting house and the church.
See the video at:
There was an exhibition of the work of past weavers at the marae. Unfortunately, but understandably, photography was not permitted within the building. However I have included some pix of the meeting house and the church.
See the video at:
road kill!
Although I have seen several instances of road-kill on this trip, they have so far been either too mangled, too old, or too large (a turkey and a goose) to salvage.
However, just outside of Tauranga Bay I came across a fresh, manageable rabbit.
As you can see the eye is still clear.
I wrapped the body in newspaper, and later skinned and gutted it at Whangaroa, then hung it in the van for 2 days - it was so fresh it attracted no flies!
At Taipa I met some locals who invited me to stay the night on their property, in return I shared my find with them - cooked in a can of tomatoes, with diced pumpkin and carrot, some ginger, and the Promite and beef stock I carry for making gravy.
See the video:
https://youtu.be/H_ZHxwygeeU
However, just outside of Tauranga Bay I came across a fresh, manageable rabbit.
As you can see the eye is still clear.
I wrapped the body in newspaper, and later skinned and gutted it at Whangaroa, then hung it in the van for 2 days - it was so fresh it attracted no flies!
At Taipa I met some locals who invited me to stay the night on their property, in return I shared my find with them - cooked in a can of tomatoes, with diced pumpkin and carrot, some ginger, and the Promite and beef stock I carry for making gravy.
See the video:
https://youtu.be/H_ZHxwygeeU
jandal finds
Jandal finds continue: I found this pair broken and abandoned by the side of the road just as I turned off Highway 10 onto the Taupo Bay Road:
...and this one on the beach at Tokerau Bay:
hunting and gathering
As a freegan, I am always on the lookout for free food, and on the boardwalk at Mangonui I scored a feed of mussels!
After parking my van overlooking the harbour, I was enjoying the view of the water and the boats when a pair of divers appeared in front of me having climbed up a ladder out of the water onto the boardwalk. They had with them a large net of mussels, which they dragged to a ute parked next to me and heaved ......Then, wetsuits and all, they climbed into the vehicle and drove away - leaving behind half a dozen fresh mussels of various sizes!
I grabbed my bucket and scooped the seafood up.
That evening I enjoyed the freshest and tastiest steamed mussels I have ever eaten...
After parking my van overlooking the harbour, I was enjoying the view of the water and the boats when a pair of divers appeared in front of me having climbed up a ladder out of the water onto the boardwalk. They had with them a large net of mussels, which they dragged to a ute parked next to me and heaved ......Then, wetsuits and all, they climbed into the vehicle and drove away - leaving behind half a dozen fresh mussels of various sizes!
I grabbed my bucket and scooped the seafood up.
That evening I enjoyed the freshest and tastiest steamed mussels I have ever eaten...
oblivious
I thought this chap was a total dick-head with his headphones on:
After all he’s on the beachfront in Northland looking at this idyllic scene in Tauranga Bay!:
I encountered this same fellow and his female companion the day before at Matauri Bay. They were just ahead of me on the walk up to the Rainbow Warrior memorial at the top of the hill overlooking the bay.
When they arrived at the top she promptly sat down and consulted her cell-phone while he went to the cliff-edge and took 50 or so photographs of the western aspect framed by a pohutukawa tree with his large digital SLR (I could hear the shutter repeating).
After a perfunctory glance at the memorial they scuttled off down the hill again, no doubt eager to get out of Dodge as there is (thankfully to me, anyhow) no wifi available here.
After all he’s on the beachfront in Northland looking at this idyllic scene in Tauranga Bay!:
I encountered this same fellow and his female companion the day before at Matauri Bay. They were just ahead of me on the walk up to the Rainbow Warrior memorial at the top of the hill overlooking the bay.
When they arrived at the top she promptly sat down and consulted her cell-phone while he went to the cliff-edge and took 50 or so photographs of the western aspect framed by a pohutukawa tree with his large digital SLR (I could hear the shutter repeating).
After a perfunctory glance at the memorial they scuttled off down the hill again, no doubt eager to get out of Dodge as there is (thankfully to me, anyhow) no wifi available here.
more wildlife
I found this huhu beetle (tunga rere) on its back in the kitchen at the Waipapakauri Motor Camp in the morning when I went in to make a cup of tea.
According to John Early in “Know Your New Zealand Insects and Spiders” these critters are active at night and their attraction to lights causes them to crash into windows and walls. “They can give a nasty nip” - yes I can attest to that!!..this thing wasn’t happy about being rescued and clung to my hand with its spiny legs and tried to cut my finger off!!
These are the beetle form of the huhu grub - “a good source of protein and fats”.
I think that this long-legged specimen is a species of the House Crane Fly.
I spotted it in the toilet at the Men’s Shed in Keri Keri. Many other unfortunates of its kind were hanging from the spider’s webs in the corners of the room.
According to John Early in “Know Your New Zealand Insects and Spiders” these critters are active at night and their attraction to lights causes them to crash into windows and walls. “They can give a nasty nip” - yes I can attest to that!!..this thing wasn’t happy about being rescued and clung to my hand with its spiny legs and tried to cut my finger off!!
These are the beetle form of the huhu grub - “a good source of protein and fats”.
I think that this long-legged specimen is a species of the House Crane Fly.
I spotted it in the toilet at the Men’s Shed in Keri Keri. Many other unfortunates of its kind were hanging from the spider’s webs in the corners of the room.
some birdlife
I am not particularly knowledgeable when it come to identifying bird-life, but with the help of some books on the subject I can report that so far I have seen a pair of South Island Pied Oystercatchers at Opiti Bay, and a New Zealand Dotterel on the sand at Matauri Bay:
Several birds flew around my camp by the beach at Mautari, but were too quick to capture successfully with my camera, so I have included for you a rather charming woodcut illustration of one of them from “Native Birds - Nature in New Zealand” by Charles Masefield (1948)...
Below - a fantail:
Below - a fantail:
Arrival at Matauri Bay
A video showing the view from the road as its winds down to the beach and campground at Matauri Bay - resting place of the "Rainbow Warrior".
Friday, 16 October 2015
beachcombing
After leaving Browns Bay I stopped at Orewa for a cup of tea beside the beach.
A brief stroll yielded several finds for recycled artworks: a pair of broken jandals and a handfull of soy-sauce fish from the sushi shop:
A brief stroll yielded several finds for recycled artworks: a pair of broken jandals and a handfull of soy-sauce fish from the sushi shop:
a glimpse of the road
After a night at the waterside campground at Pahi I headed north to Keri Keri along the backroads. This clip shows quiet winding gravel roads along the way..
Thursday, 15 October 2015
keri keri men's shed
I have spent that last three mornings with the crew at the Keri Keri Shed, helping them build their new storage shed......a slideshow of the activities and characters will follow shortly (I am limited by power and internet access while on the road).....
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