Rotorua

by

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

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge-Lights

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New Zealand lights.

The Stratosfare Restaurant at Rotorua.

Or maybe better to say  that guests need to

take the Skyline Gondola up to the restaurant.

Definitely worth a visit.

The last two were captured in the… 

Auckland Airport.

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image

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by

Pic-and-Word-Challenge_Wk160_Contemplation

Toy
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Our Rotorua accommodation had about this many steps outside the building.

Our host met us and offered to carry our cases in.

Great.

We had just completed a 1.8 kilometre walk,

over a geothermal area where handrails were few and far between.

I was also told, by the builder, that there are 666 steps in the walk.

Presumably 333 steps up and  333 steps down.

An hour or so driving and my knees were begging for mercy.

 

 

Sans luggage, I almost bounded up the outside steps

only to be greeted by this staircase inside.

AND at the top of this staircase was another…as long and steep.

Finally our room door.

It was opened and there was another staircase,

only 4 steps into the room.

At this point our host, seeing my struggles with the stairs

asked if we would like a ground floor room.

My knees were doing cartwheels…in their imagination!

Why in the name of fortune had he not made the offer

prior to scaling these steps.

The resident donkey came over to bid us farewell.

Although I really think it was contemplating one of

the apples we were told we could feed it.

As much as I like large dogs it took me about three seconds,

on the shore of Lake Taupo, to decide his Newfoundland,

as nice as it was, was not my type of dog.

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Pic and Word Challenge: Contemplation

by

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge-Places-People-Live

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In late June 2018…

we visited Wiseman, Alaska.

Wiseman is 63 miles, or 101 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle.

Only eleven people live at Wiseman and

while it looked gorgeous in summer,

stories about Wiseman winters

made us want to head south.

Although I have to confess the scenery was spectacular..

A few weeks ago we visited

Whakarewarewa Maori Village

in Rotorua New Zealand. 

I’m not sure that I would like to live with geysers

and geothermal pools in my back yard. 

However, at least one could stay warm all year. 

 

 

A Victorian winter’s day, where all you have

to think of is whether to take a coat…or not.

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image

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by

Pic-and-Word-Challenge_Wk158_Giant

Toy
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Giants from new Zealand…although we begin in Italy.

Anyone who has visited the Vatican

may have climbed the spiral step less staircase

and been in awe at its construction.

However the entrance/exit to the Ruakuri Cave, at Waitomo,

makes the Vatican staircase look like a miniature.

We also visited the Giant Redwood Forest at Rotorua.

These trees are not as large as some

of the photographed Californian Redwoods,

however, they are still Giant Redwoods

 

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Pic and Word Challenge: Giant