TravelStream™ news feed for member donjohn on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/donjohn en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:50:31 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1207104240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1207104240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1207104240/tpod.html Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:50:31 -0400 45Below...or a new life near Antartica in Dunedin,N.Z.

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Dunedin, New Zealand

We didn't have a chance to have a proper family Christmas...so we sent Nick a ticket to come out for a week in Kiwi land, He came into Christchurch without luggage...due to airline. We spent a day in the city then took the Trans alpine train to Greymouth,rented a car and went down the West coast of NZ...saw glaciers...Candy and Nick went skydiving while I took photos. Back to Dunedin and went to favorite spots. PIx follow.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1197448020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1197448020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1197448020/tpod.html Tue, 26 Feb 2008 04:14:40 -0500 45Below...or a new life near Antartica in Dunedin,N.Z.

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Akarora, New Zealand

Believe it or not,there exists a French influence in New Zealand. Banks peninsula is near Christchurch on the south island and it was there that some French Colonists tried to make a go of it...but eventually failed..some buildings with a creole influence remain.THe Banks Peninsula was originally named Banks Island,discovered by Captain James Cook Nd named for Banks,his botanist. Later it was found not to be an island.Great for a day or two...good food,scenic,rugged lava flows...the whole ball of was is the debris from the eruption of an emorous volcano.If you go,take the harbor cruise and see the only pods of Hector's dolphins.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1200648420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1200648420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1200648420/tpod.html Sat, 23 Feb 2008 04:52:06 -0500 45Below...or a new life near Antartica in Dunedin,N.Z.

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Dunedin, New Zealand

We heard of Tunnel Beach when we first arrived,bu it was closed as the entry crosses private land and was closed until lambing season is over.So one fine day we went, after checking tidal charts as it is not the place to go at high tide. THe descent is steep,about a 30 story building and the climb out is horrible...but all worth it as you will see.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1230195120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1230195120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1230195120/tpod.html Thu, 21 Feb 2008 04:46:55 -0500 45Below...or a new life near Antartica in Dunedin,N.Z.

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Dunedin, New Zealand

FIrst of all Christmas is not celebrated in NZ. Xmas is. It may not seem like much to you,but in the Antipodes, things are quite different.This country is, by and large a secular nation, and religion is held very privately...and many people are professed, without shame, atheists. Bill O'Reilly would shudder and make it into an editorial akin to the godless San Franciscans. If one goes about even mentioning religion,much less street preaching...one is regarded as a nutter.Further,this is the Southern Hemisphere 45degrees south and Xmas occurs in the summer,in fact at nearly the longest day of the year. It doesn't get dark till about 11PM...try hanging out decorative twinkle lights under those conditions...FOrget it.No creches...and the good news...no endless jingles for 6 weeks in stores and on the telly.No fights about who has the right to display whatever...makes for slower news days. Only a few Xmas trees...and shabbily but simply decorated...the women of Dallas would be lost.Kiwis are also more frugal than in the states...presents are exchanged, but are simple very sincere,often handmade,and are not found in vast heaps. It is the time of summer vacation and all schools are out for 2 months or so...businesses close for a couple of weeks and everyone goes on holiday.. XMas day is for a big party with lots of people, a barbie is lit with lots of lamb, people share dishes ,games are played and MUCH alcohol is consumed...it is the way to go.Candy did prevail and introduce our friends to our usual dinner with pasta,sauce meatballs...and yes, persuaded everyone to go to a midnight service for carroling.We went on Christmas day to our friends...20 people or so...got there at noon or so and got home at 3AM...got into a drunken Texas Hold'em game...ate at regular intervals and drank steadily. A smashing good time.Need to mention we had a second Xmas in January when Nick came to visit.Further info...the day after Xmas is a holiday too..Boxing Day. In England in times past it was a set aside for the upper classes to box up left overs and give them to the servants and the poor...here it is a day for big retail sales...we all went to the beach to clear our heads.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1199179860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1199179860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1199179860/tpod.html Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:48:24 -0500 45Below...or a new life near Antartica in Dunedin,N.Z.

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Waikouaiti, New Zealand

These Kiwis are always on the go..they love to be outdoors and do like to bet and love horse racing. thus we accepted an invitation to go north up th coast to a small town that has a race track. Small,but proud and always a friendly ,social family event with picnics, beer and blankets on the grass. Our hosts were Adrian and Cynthia. They are famous for the Pavlova... cynthia is an expat from San Francisco...Adrian a Full On Southern Man Kiwi. Meaning he hikes, sails and hunts> they had us for tea(dinner) and served venison that Adrian Hiked in 75 Km over 3 days and swam his pack across a river to shoot the critters. Fantastic venison...very different than in North America.Had a great day at the races...had a winner in every race...made a little money took a few pix.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1199437860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1199437860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1199437860/tpod.html Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:29:19 -0500 45Below...or a new life near Antartica in Dunedin,N.Z.

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Dunedin, New Zealand

SOo many celebrations in New Zilland. Our friend Jay had a birthday...not a notable passage in terms of a special milestone, but an occasion for a great dinner. We went to a new place Scotia...featuring the cusine of Scotland....was good except for the obligatory haggis. The big deal at this fine resturant is the bar which has an entire wall of single malt Scotches...maybe 300 or more. Really a classy place...had a great time at the train station where the eatery is located and taxied home...no driving that night.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1199260440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1199260440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1199260440/tpod.html Wed, 02 Jan 2008 03:15:54 -0500 45Below...or a new life near Antartica in Dunedin,N.Z.

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Tairora Head, New Zealand

I never understood the significance of THE RHYME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER until I came to Dunedin.In the poem an old sea dog kills an albatross and for this act,the corpse of the bird is hung around his neck as proof of his crime and the focal point of the ship"s bad fortune that follows.Dunedin has an active albatross colony at the end of the penisula wherin the land stops and only Antartica is beyond. It is wild,rugged and prone to severe cold wind. People run from it but the birds soar in it. This is the only place in the world where they nest outside of remote frigid and inaccessible islands much further south in the Pacific.They are incredible birds.They are the Royal Albatross. Huge.Majestic. Soaring. Stately. Intelligent.They migrate overwater 12,00 miles....without mean-spirited stewardesses and stale peanuts. You can drive out of Dunedin on a winding road for 45 minutes and watch them as much as you like...for free!WIth a huge lens and a tricky tripod head called a Wimberly Head I snap their pix as they soar. THese are some of the ones I like of perhaps 600 images...they fly fast,the lens must be hand focussed....sooo...lots of blurry images and shots of empty sky. Very hard work in cold wind at about 40 mph.Hope they thrill you too.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1199256180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1199256180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1199256180/tpod.html Wed, 02 Jan 2008 02:52:41 -0500 45Below...or a new life near Antartica in Dunedin,N.Z.

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Otago, New Zealand

Birds are in abundance here in Southern New Zealand. Songs fill the air in the morning,the is always a gull or two nearby and marshlands and wet lands are just a few hops away. Yet more beauty to consider...ho hum. Just a selection of the ones I like so far...it is cloudy today so I chose to work on pix and the blog. My hard drive is filling up fast have taken 4000 pix or more...losing count.Hope you like the birds...none are ill-natured.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1199254320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1199254320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1199254320/tpod.html Wed, 02 Jan 2008 01:42:08 -0500 45Below...or a new life near Antartica in Dunedin,N.Z.

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Otago Region, New Zealand

I have fallen head over heels in love with the penguins of New Zealand. I search out an ever expanding network of locations to watch their antics and photograph them. They seem very humanlike with poses, ponderings, solving the problems of life...especially locomoting on land. They are not just down the street...these pix represent long waits, lugging large,heavy telephoto lenses and tripods over soft sands...the penguins and I both struggle with the same obstacles. Hope you are amused and enjoy...there will be more to follow...just a sample now.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1199256900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1199256900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donjohn/n_zed_2007/1199256900/tpod.html Wed, 02 Jan 2008 01:11:49 -0500 45Below...or a new life near Antartica in Dunedin,N.Z.

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Aramoana, New Zealand

Dunedin is a coastal town and surrounded with beaches everywhere. All are different due to rocks,dunes,cliffs or sands that have eroded from various rock types. There are shells everywhere. Just a few for now as am getting into photographing yet another category of stuff from nature. THese were taken one sunny Sunday on a beach that is tragically famous. The little village here is the site of New Zealands worst mass murder...one afternoon a young man snapped and walked down the road and killed 13 folks. One of my work mates lives there and missed it by an hour...the police took down the killer next door to his place. He still has a bullet hole in his wall. The event was recreated in a well known NZ movie,OUT OF THE BLUE.
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