Fotoeins Fotografie

location bifurcation, place vs. home

Posts tagged ‘Aotearoa’

Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand

New Zealand: Christchurch red zone post-quake

The sight of overhead cranes.

The clang of jackhammers.

The constant rumble of dump trucks filled with debris.

The dust clouds surrounding sites slated for demolition or new buildings under construction.

After four earthquakes since 2010, over half of the buildings in Christchurch’s Central Business District (CBD) were destroyed or have been condemned; the number I got from informal conversations was 70 to 80 percent. The expected cost to the local economy and for reconstruction will be in the billions of dollars. These are staggering numbers. Before reconstruction can begin, there are buildings to take down, and mountains of rubble to take away.

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New Zealand : Wellington Daybreak from Mount Victoria

Before visiting the South Island for the first time, I spent a week with friends in Wellington, New Zealand at the beginning of July 2012. I didn’t have my own set of wheels, but I didn’t need a car in a compact city that is easy to cover on foot. If necessary, the buses work well to reach most destinations in greater Wellington.

The winter weather had been beautiful and relatively calm, which I thought was a little unusual for winter in “windy Welly”. But I was definitely not one to complain, and before leaving Wellington, I wanted to watch the sunrise from the summit of Mount Victoria.

At a height of about 200 metres or 660 feet, Mount Victoria (Tangi Te Keo in Maori) may be more like a hill, but it’s tall enough to get a great view of the city and the harbour. Wellington harbour is also known as Port Nicholson, and Te Whanganui a Tara in Maori.

I caught the first buses of the day: what would I see? Would the skies be clear? I was the sole person to alight the bus at the summit, just minutes before sunrise. There’s something to be said to be the only person at the summit to welcome the brand new day.

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New Zealand, true-colour image from NASA Terra satellite, December 2002.

Travel Memories of New Zealand’s South Island

It’s good to stop for a moment, step back, and consider the journey: the places visited, the impressions accumulated, the conversations and ideas left behind. In the midst of career change and year-long RTW travel, every moment becomes a potential highlight. I’ve been keeping all of my senses tuned, and in the southern winter’s low-season, it has become more than just a possibility, with far fewer people on the roads and at various sites.

When Christina Hegele asked if I might participate in a blogger relay, I was in the last stages of my July 2012 visit to New Zealand’s South Island. Te Wai Pounamu o Aotearoa has provided some of the finest travel highlights, a conclusion shared by many.

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At Akaroa to surpass 40,000 clicks

In Christchurch, New Zealand yesterday (15 July 2012), the warmest winter day ever in recorded history saw the maximum temperature reach +23C/73F : it was absolutely glorious.

Because of this, I went out the following day to Akaroa (Maori for “long harbour”), also known as the Banks Peninsula. I purchased a two-hour ride on a boat out into the harbour and into the Pacific. The clouds cleared; the skies were wide, clear, and blue; and the seas were relatively calm.

And there were Hector’s Dolphins to be seen, a pod of at least six.

And oh yes, I crushed the 40,000th exposure on my camera.

Akaroa, Banks Peninsula, South Island, New Zealand

Late-afternoon from the main wharf in Akaroa

And if winter’s like this, I have nothing about which to complain, and for which I have every reason to be grateful.

This post first appeared as a status update on my Facebook Page, and now appears here on Fotoeins Fotopress (fotoeins.com).