Picton and Malborough Sounds

Autumn what's that ? All four days when we went to Picton over  Easter Weekend we were sun soaked. Driving along the Queen Charlotte drive towards Anakiwa we had gorgeous views and found a nice spot to do some fishing and strumbled up a track to the top of the hill near Havelock.
The men got the hang of it and therefore we drove the next morning to Waikawa Bay to fish again as the ladies enjoyed the view. We had a nice surprise as we discovered a stingray when we walked along Waikawa    Marina. Someone told us that the stingray, without a sting, lives there and doesn't want to leave.


Another surprise was the little birdy sitting on the path on Motuara Island. After taking in the magical surroundings on our boat trip through the Queen Charlotte Sound we stopped at Motuara Island,which is a bird Sanctuary. When you step of the boat you hear the noise of the many birds but we only saw this little cute one who sat so still you could nearly touch it. We walked to the top and found out that the island had been claimed by captain Cook. In the past you just had to put your flag somewhere and it was yours.
Captain Cook also went to Ship Cove and we followed in his foot steps. At  Ship Cove is the start of the Queen Charlotte Track, a four day coastal walk. The South Island has many amazing tracks which are well looked after with huts and camp sites along the way. At Endeavour resort and Punga Cove resort we picked up some trampers and headed back to Picton.

When we sighted deeply it was already Monday and we were waiting for the InterIslander from Wellington to arrive to bring my daughter who drove home with us. An amazing trip with a happy end.

With a tour guide around Orana park

Orana park is a zoo with 8o hectares of ground about 10 minutes drive from the airport in Christchurch. It is a open range sanctuary where endangered animals have lots of space to walk around. A young friend is a volunteer at Oranapark and works very hard every Saturday and also looks after the giraffes. First we had a lunch on a beautiful spot and then we got a VIP treatment and we learned a lot of facts from our young tourguide.

The lions doze of in the warm autumn sun. The right one is a male. It looks like a female but the male gets castrated, we were told to make them less dominant. The male then looses its manes but they grow into very big animals.

Girlfriend of Gregory Peck. Forgot the name of this Ostrich. Our friend knows the names of all the animals.

I thought that Gregory Peck followed us because he liked us but we learned that he checked us out if we didn't get too close to his girl friend

The cheetah is one of the fastest in the world and can run up to 120 km an hour. The word Cheetah comes from an Indian word meaning 'spotted one'.

 

 Our friend paints the sign and gets a haircut at the same time ;)

My friend took this picture from a lot of big trout in the lake. Look how clear the water is.

The rhino walks around with her young one. Orana Park is part of an international White Rhino breeding program. Our friend has touched the coarse skin of the Rhino. This isn't dangerous he said as the Rhino couldn't see him and because of the thick skin he doesn't feel it either.

My friend and Nathalie. He has fed Nathalie for months when she hurt her tong on the fence. She is all good now.

 

Nathalie or the old girl as our friend calls her She is the oldest giraffe in Orana park. Thanks for the wonderfull day we had.

Butterfly delight

More sunflowers today but the focus is this time on the butterfly who is posing patiently for me long enough to go inside grab my camera and make a picture.

 

When you come to the end of all the light you know, and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: Either you will be given something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly.   Edward Teller

 

Just when the catterpillar thought the world was over it became a butterfly. Proverb

I love butterflies because they are beautiful but also because of their symbolic meaning.The most significant thing about butterflies is that they go through an enormous change. They transform inside the chrysalis where new genes are turned on which changes their form from an earthy caterpillar into a free flying colourful butterfly. 

 The Greek word Psyche means both butterfly and soul. I think inside our soul rest the secret of who we are. We are already perfect just like the butterfly. We don’t know that and look to the outside world of how to be and how to behave. It can take us a lifetime to find out what our passions and strength are.

 For years we can run after shallow ideals to become rich and powerful only to find out that we were chasing some ghosts. We really want to be loved and respected. When we discover our passion, enjoy life and send out ripples of love we will move towards becoming a butterfly. We need to believe that we already possess the genes to become a butterfly. We just have to turn them on by following our intuition.

We change all the time but significant changes are rare.  We too can experience a transformation from a sudden insight when somebody turns  our light on inside or when we discover one day what our passion is, when we learn that love is the most important thing in the world whatever we do. The hard work becomes a game. Sometimes we have to bump our head many times and sink deep before we learn the right lessons, before we are able to make that important change.

When we are lucky to go through a transformation and become a butterfly we must remember that we were once a caterpillar and respect that stage of life in others as well. Only then we can show our full colours

Christchurch in 1952

As I have to divert my attention to other matters at the moment, I leave you with a promotional video about Christchurch from 1952. I noticed that 60 years ago Christchurch had pretty much the same laid back atmosphere and people engage in the same activities as today. You don't see much bikes on the road anymore though and obviously the buildings are changing rapidly. Enjoy.

Lyttelton to Diamond harbour

In Christchurch new buildings, new websites new everything is popping up. One of the new Christchurch websites is called therefore Popup city Christchurch The website shows things to do, new places to visit etc. From this site we got the idea to take the ferry to Diamond Harbour. We have done this many times before but haven't done that since the earthquakes as our beloved Godley House cafe , which was the landmark of Diamond Harbour,has been equalised with the ground. But the weather was gorgeous today and we felt like going for a walk in a different place.

Where the buildings have gone in Lyttelton a container cafe appeared

Waiting at the boat stop

The tug "lyttelton" is preparing hours in advance for a trip.

Leaving Lyttelton harbour

Arriving at Diamond harbour

We went for an hours walk along the coastal track

When arriving back at Lyttelton we had a muffin and a delicious organic drink at this make shift cafe. The cafe appeared thanks to the wire 8 attitude of the kiwies. In 1963 wire 8 was imported to New Zealand and used by the farmers for fencing. It was also used for heaps of other tasks and since then it is a symbol of kiwi ingenuity and self-sufficiency. They say the only thing kiwies need is a piece of wire 8.

The magic sunflower

Sun rays, enlighten
creating a glowing golden crown
of  a sun flower towering
above little plants far down



This shiny yellow shuttle
Sits proudly on the top
resting in peace on its stem
holding it's glorious head up

 

Sun flowers dancing
in harmony together
Rocking on a lullaby
waving in windy weather

 

Isn't the world a feast
doesn't beauty give you power
especially when your garden is covered
with that magical sunflower