Matamata

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SUNDAY-STILLS-PC-Reflect

 

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We had probably the busiest year we will ever have in 2018.Late February we spent a weekend in Auckland

to celebrate the engagement of

our eldest son to his bride to be.

 

In June we were blessed with falling snow while

visiting the Columbia Icefield and Athabasca Glacier.

Most of us had not seen falling snow ever,

so a real delight.

A week or so later while cruising the Inside Passage

during  our stop at Juneau we flew

onto the Mendenhall Glacier to visit the huskies

and have a rife in a sled.

Another highlight.

 

 

  

We hardly seemed to be home

before preparations needed…

to be made for our road trip in New Zealand

prior to our son’s wedding.

A Māori Hāngī at the

Whakarewarewa Māori Village in Rotorua…

 

…and a visit to the Hobbit Movie Set at Matamata,

 

…were preludes to the big day.

 

 

The next morning back at

Auckland International Airport

for our flight home.

 

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SUNDAY STILLS PHOTOS: Reflect

LIGHT WORDS: Reflect

Hugh’s Views & News: Reflect

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by

Lens-Artist-PC-2018-Review

 

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A great idea for the end of the year

and particularly one  in which I thought

I had not been out (with camera) very much…

January began with a nice sunrise which

reflected on our sprinkler.

 

February brought…

…one of my favourite photos for the year.

February also saw us in Auckland for a weekend to attend

an engagement party for our eldest and his  bride to be.   

March is… a nice month to get out and about…

 

for sunrises and…

surf.

Late in March I joined liked minded people

to exhibit some of our work.

In my case photos.

 

 

A few day later in early April we celebrated

our 31st Wedding Anniversary

with a First Class (our own private cabin)

dinner on the Q-Train.

 

Trips for sunrises and sets…


…were becoming fewer due to another trip into day-stay hospital. 

Also due in part to the fact that

we were thinking of our trip to Canada in June.

On the Columbia Icefield we experienced

falling snow for the first time.


A week later we were enjoying our Gold Leaf carriage

on the Rocky Mountaineer as it

carried us back to Vancouver.

Boarding the MS Noordam we cruised the inside passage

to Alaskan waters and enjoyed our first pre-booked excursion.   

A dog sled ride on the Mendenhall Glacier.

Glacier Bay was absolutely fantastic, and to see

Margerie Glacier calving, several times,

was well worth the visit.


Home in July for a rare colourful sunrise.


By late August canola crops were beginning to flower.


Early September and many deciduous trees were in bloom.


Late September and our road trip

in New Zealand had commenced.

Hobbiton movie set was another of our must sees prior to leaving.

Early in October we added

another daughter-in-law to our family.

 

 

 

Spring rains came and went leaving us fairly dry

at the beginning of December..

However, we were lucky enough to have a pleasant Christmas…

with temperature sitting in the mid-twenties.

Happy New Year to all.

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Lens-Artist Photo Challenge Patti: Review-2018

Lens-Artist Photo Challenge Leya: Review-2018

Lens-Artist Photo Challenge Amy: Review-2018

Lens-Artist Photo Challenge Tina: Review-2018

 

by

WeeklyPrompts-Photo-Challenge-Magical-Places

 

Hobbiton is my magical place this week.I found the Hobbits Movie Set…

a truly fascinating place to visit.

However, I have not been able to watch the first movie as yet.

I think this is THE tree which never dies and

gets a make over every few months.

If there are Hobbits fans reading this please forgive any inaccuracy.

As mentioned I have yet to watch a Hobbits movie.

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Weekly Prompt Photo Challenge: Magical-Places

by

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge-Places-People-Visit 1810

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During our flying visit to New Zealand for

our son’s engagement party in February…

we only visited Auckland.

 

Prior to his October wedding in Auckland we decided

to make the visit worthwhile and more relaxing.

One of our planned destinations was Rotorua

where we heard about and visited

the Whakarewarewa Maori Village.

 

 

While it is a living Maori Village

its geothermal properties are also quite active.

The yellowish bag just right of centre is

a bag of corn cobs cooking in a geothermal pool.

 

The Hobbit Movie Set near Matamata was also

on our destination list and well worth the visit.

 Not far from Matamata and not on our list

of ‘must visits’ was the Hamilton Gardens.

If you have any interest in gardening at all it is well worth a visit.

In October 2014 as part of the 2014 Garden Tourism Awards,

Hamilton Gardens was awarded the prestigious title of

International Garden of the Year.

We only had time to visit the enclosed gardens.

Auckland and a wedding was calling.

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