April 6, 2011

Back to the real world we arrived in Saskatoon late Sunday night. It is always good to be home even though you can have a tremendous time while away.

I plan on continuing to post a few pictures from our trip over the next few weeks but expect to loose those that are not interested in birds and scenery!  I love birds and tried to get as many photos of New Zealand birds as I was able.  I'm not confident that I have all the correct names so welcome any corrections people may have.

In no particular order here are some NZ birds.

There were lots of these around but typical of magpies they are clever and seem to know when a camera is pointed at them.

 Australian Magpie

We had a wonderful time at Snell's beach while staying at Heron's Landing, a great apartment with all the 'mod cons'.  This was where we saw the people collecting piper fish for bait (see previous post).  The owners of the apartment led quite a stressful life while fixing this place up and said they didn't know until recently why the place was called Heron's Landing.  Seemed obvious with this guy wading in the tidal flats.

 White-faced Heron

I had read there were other types of Heron's but was told they were quite rare.  Phil, our driver on the Cape Reinga trip, noticed this Reef heron and we were able to get close enough for a shot before it flew away.  I was thrilled to see another type of heron.

 Reef Heron

I really enjoy these comical birds.  They have long gangly legs that don't seem to work too well when they try and balance in trees where they often land.  They are a popular NZ bird for inspiration on pottery, fabric and other gift items.

 Pukeko

I spied this bird on a pier at Paihia and was able to get quite close to it.  I wasn't sure what the species was but it looked much like a cormorant. My sister Nola immediately quoted a poem she had in her head about a cormorant or shag. It would seem there is no consistent naming of Shag or Cormorant.

I found this version on the internet and think it is pretty close to Nola's version.

The Common Cormorant

 The common cormorant (or shag)
 Lays eggs inside a paper bag,
 You follow the idea, no doubt?
 It's to keep the lightning out.

 But what these unobservant birds
 Have never thought of, is that herds
 Of wandering bears might come with buns
 And steal the bags to hold the crumbs.

-- Christopher Isherwood

 Pied Shag

I was surprised to see only three kinds of gulls in New Zealand.  There are many varieties in North America so identification is much more difficult for me.  Still the habits of the NZ gulls paralleled ours with lots of birds hanging around looking for hand outs where people were eating fish and chips.

Black-billed Gull

April 1

We are at the last night of this amazing journey.  We have had such a great time that none of us wants it to end.  Reality will be soon upon us as this is our last evening of sleeping in a bed for a couple of days as our flight leaves at 11:15 tomorrow evening.  Tomorrow morning Cathy and I are heading into Avarua on our rented bicycles to check out the local market.  I want to meet a carver named Apii Ronga who was at the New Zealand Collaboration in 2009.  He should be at the market and might be a good candidate to come to our collab in 2012.

This place is truly a tropical paradise.  Palm trees and exotic fruit abound.  We have had coconut water, papaya and hope to have a banana from trees right around the bungalow. Every morning we are awaked just as the morning sky is beginning to lighten by a great group of roosters sitting in the trees right by our heads.  They are magnificent in their fine feathers and are quite photogenic.  There has been lots of discussion about the possibilities of Coq au vin or other rooster based dishes but by the time everyone is fully awake the pressure is off the roosters.

Our beach just a short walk from our bungalow

There is a reef completely around the island that protects it from crashing waves and makes swimming possible pretty much anywhere except around the main townsite.  We spent some time today with a snorkel and mask and saw some wonderfully colored fish.  Doug saw a Moray eel but refused to poke it with his finger.

View from our deck during a sudden downpour.

View a few moments later from same deck.

I was looking for a cinnamon bun and couldn't find one so went to the local store and found a few ingredients to try and make my own. Unable to find yeast or cinnamon I substituted self raising flour (who knows what is in that) and used raisins and papaya chunks for flavour.  I had a couple of other set backs when I tried to cook them. The oven was blazing away at the correct temperature when all of a sudden it went out as the propane tank was empty.  I ran over to Nola and Doug's kitchen and started their oven up figuring my problem was solved.  Just as that oven came up to temperature it ran out of propane so now I was onto the bar-b-que.  That heated up and started to burn some of the sugar just as Mike the owner came by and found a new propane tank for my stove.  I finished the buns off in the original oven.  They turned out surprisingly good, mostly I think to the generous portions of butter and brown sugar that always help to cover other problems in baking.

Trent with cinnamon buns.

We went out to a great restaurant called The Tamarind with the generous offer by Mike to let us use his car to drive there.  A taxi is about $40 each way so that was prohibitive for a supper trip.  Mike and Tina are so generous and have been the best hosts you could ask for. This restaurant was spectacular in it's setting and we had a wonderful dinner.  Nola and Doug were very generous in offering to pay for our supper as a thank you for doing some of the organizing.  It was greatly appreciated.

 At the Tamarind restaurant.

At the Tamarind restaurant.

This will be my last posting before we arrive back home.  Thanks for your comments.  We look forward to seeing everyone soon.
Bye for now
Trent