Trip pics - will post a link later

[RWood]

Have heaps of them. Some are quite good.

[RWood]

Here's one of them.

52-Vision of Aorangi small.jpg

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

Can't wait, Rupert, to see the shots

JohnGaul
NZTS

[RWood]

They are here: http://s186.photobucket.com/albums/x199/RWood07/

May be rather "old hat" to many Mainlanders.

[David]

Nice job RWood
I like the ones of Lyttleton Harbour the most, and some of the mountains too. Great how hardly any of the photos have the grey gloomy feel to them as a result of cloudy grey days. You're lucky the weather went your way.

[RWood]

All planned of course

The Oct NIWA summary shows many parts of the country were sunnier than usual last month, courtesy of the last fortnight or thereabouts being very sunny over a large area. None of the systems affecting the SI did a lot during my travels. But there was enough action in the mountain zones proper for a couple of days to find rain if one wanted it - one of the reasosn I went lake Ohau. Wonderfully peaceful there post-ski season!

[spwill]

Supprised at the lack of greenery on the deciduous trees. Trees are so full and lush up here.

The drive from Chch to Mt Cook is one of the best in NZ but you need fine weather.

[RWood]

Mainly a matter of temps. I expect. But lack of humidity and freshness are invigorating. I also like the characteristic "dry rain" the the inland zones just east of the mountains get - rainfall events generally free of mist and cloying humidity.

[janewaystv]

Excellent pics Rwood, really like the one of Aorangi - snow-capped mountains with a calm sea of water and peaceful - void of people, I feel like going there right now on my own and taking it all in - NZ sure has some excellent scenery, I showed the pic to some of my family who are here for dinner, they oohhed and aahhed over it , also that rock at Sumner Beach - was it called Shag Rock? I went there years ago on holidays with my brother who is Deaf, visited the School for the Deaf there (Sumner School for the Deaf I think it was called), had a look around the school & Sumner for the day, very nice to walk on the beach and look around but too cold for a swim, I found Sumner to be a very "quaint" village, quite “English” and marveled at how high the hills were around Sumner with houses perched on seemingly precarious positions, I bet they’re pricey nowadays, we walked up to the top of the hill overlooking Sumner/Taylors Mistake Beach and boy that was a walk Also liked the pics of Lyttelton, it's a port town like Bluff in Southland but of course with much higher hills & less wind, did you go through the tunnel or over the hills? One of my teachers at school (ages ago now) came from Lyttelton.

Hamner Springs – love the hot pools there, it was a hot day when I went there, got an ice-cream and it fell off the cone as the sun was quite hot, but dry. Can imagine it would be nice to dip into the hot pool on a winter’s snowy day.

Also liked the Mount John ones (so that’s what it looks like), Tekapo Foreshore and Pukaki pictures. Looks really good & sparkling in blue skies / sunny weather. Surprised to see it’s quite green in various areas of Canterbury, must be a wetter than normal year so far?

Well done, you’ve done a very good job there Rwood with the pictures

[RWood]

Excellent pics Rwood, really like the one of Aorangi - snow-capped mountains with a calm sea of water and peaceful - void of people, I feel like going there right now on my own and taking it all in - NZ sure has some excellent scenery, I showed the pic to some of my family who are here for dinner, they oohhed and aahhed over it , also that rock at Sumner Beach - was it called Shag Rock? I went there years ago on holidays with my brother who is Deaf, visited the School for the Deaf there (Sumner School for the Deaf I think it was called), had a look around the school & Sumner for the day, very nice to walk on the beach and look around but too cold for a swim, I found Sumner to be a very "quaint" village, quite “English” and marveled at how high the hills were around Sumner with houses perched on seemingly precarious positions, I bet they’re pricey nowadays, we walked up to the top of the hill overlooking Sumner/Taylors Mistake Beach and boy that was a walk Also liked the pics of Lyttelton, it's a port town like Bluff in Southland but of course with much higher hills & less wind, did you go through the tunnel or over the hills? One of my teachers at school (ages ago now) came from Lyttelton.

Hamner Springs – love the hot pools there, it was a hot day when I went there, got an ice-cream and it fell off the cone as the sun was quite hot, but dry. Can imagine it would be nice to dip into the hot pool on a winter’s snowy day.

Also liked the Mount John ones (so that’s what it looks like), Tekapo Foreshore and Pukaki pictures. Looks really good & sparkling in blue skies / sunny weather. Surprised to see it’s quite green in various areas of Canterbury, must be a wetter than normal year so far?

Well done, you’ve done a very good job there Rwood with the pictures

Thanks for the comments! Ch'ch people would be more informed than I, but I think it's called Shag Rock. Sumner does seem to be a popular weekend spot, in particular. There are some quite pricey areas out that way now. I drove over the hills, hence the good vantage point for the first harbour pictures.

Not actually a wetter year, just some extra rain earlier in October I understand. Ch'ch Aero stats showed more than usual rain in Oct but a moderate deficit for YTD. Wellington's high Oct total still left it about 95 down on YTD. The green tones in parts of Marlborough were more prominent than I've usually seen them. Spring can be a lovely time to see these places, hadn't been near some of them in over 15 years. I liked the fact that it was so easy to find spots that were totally quiet, not to mention virtually empty roads. Had to be a bit careful near the Tasman terminal viewpoint as the approach is a steepish hill climb with biggish rocks - wouldn't have been a good place or time to turn an ankle or the like. Hanmer has quite a bit of development going on.

[spwill]

lack of humidity and freshness are invigorating

bloody cold in other words

I also like the characteristic "dry rain" the the inland zones just east of the mountains get

Your obviously not into gardening.

But it is a tough climate to live in RWood.

[RWood]

lack of humidity and freshness are invigorating

bloody cold in other words

I also like the characteristic "dry rain" the the inland zones just east of the mountains get

Your obviously not into gardening.

But it is a tough climate to live in RWood.

I didn't feel cold at any stage. Certainly in the more southern and inland locations you need good winter heating - and so do a lot of underheated NZ houses, including thousands of them in Auckland...

I don't care for gardening. The perception of "tough to live in" is completely subjective in this case! In no sane context could it be applied to say Nelson & Blenheim at the warmest end of the island. Fortunately for them hundreds of thousands of NI-ers haven't figured that out yet. I find dampness and humidity much more annoying.

[spwill]

I didn't feel cold at any stage.

Try living down there RWood.

In no sane context could it be applied to say Nelson & Blenheim at the warmest end of the island.

Just the most boring and not just the weather.

[RWood]

I lived in the south for about 18 years - when it was certainly colder than it is now. Continued to take holidays there for many years afterwards.

You can have your brand of "excitement" in Auck. None of my trips there has persuaded me that I'd want to live there, even if I had an open chequebook.

[spwill]

Fair enough RWood
I have experienced a little bit of SouthIsland life, I was born and raised in Otago , 22 years down there.

[RWood]

I've spent quite a lot of time in large cities, but prefer quiet places, especially now. Having weekend or short holiday breaks on hillsides south of Alexandra and hearing no human sounds was always a tonic for the nervous system. I lived a year in Chicago and mean to look in briefly one day for nostalgia reasons. Also want another visit to San Francisco which had a Pacific "feel" and special vibe about it.

[janewaystv]

The "summer" fog is amazing to watch, the speed & way it rolls in, yet on the other side of the bay (Freemont, San Jose, Concord etc) sunny and much warmer than SFC, summer (June/July) is quite cold in San Fran because of the fogs & the wind coming off the Pacific, autumn is warmer than summer in San Fran. Also looks/feels simliar to Wellington come to think of it in terms of layout, topography (very hilly) and wooden housing as well as the cable car (in San Fran - runs in the city).

[tgsnoopy]

Nice collection, well done.

Makes me want to go down there again.

[RWood]

Thanks!

Re SF, despite the fogprone parts nearest the "Gate" and coast SF gets 65% of possible sun in the downtown area. Value are lower on the Eureka coast north of the city (50%), and higher in the hinterland (78% at Sacramento, 88% (!) at Redding). In the seasonal "splitting" scheme I mentioned in an older thread, the SF "autumn" lasts only 34 days because of the late extension of summer.

[mikestormchaser]

Nice photos from what i see Rwood my computer is being slow at the mo so wont go through and check them all out, im surprised jasestrm hasn't commented on these, you like photographs and places like that jason.

[RWood]

Thanks Mike - It was a bit of a nostalgia trip through some favourite places. The Photobucket site seems to be very overloaded and I'm going to put some pictures on my own site (which doesn't exist yet) later.

[RWood]

I had the images much too large - , so acessing them was very slow. have resized them now, if anyone wants to try again.

http://s186.photobucket.com/albums/x199/RWood07/

[Andrew Massie]

GREAT set of pics, RW! Looks like you had a fantastic holiday!

AND.... FYI, you got the house I grew up in! Spent my first 23 years here! Well done! In Cass Bay.

023-LytteltonHarbour6.jpg

[RWood]

Thanks Andrew! I had a really great time, caught up with brothers in Ch'ch and Nelson and a friend in Motueka. Scenery was at its absolute spring best. Lyttelton harbour was really sparkling that day. Years ago I had a Met Service calendar with an attractive and unusual shot taken a little further round in the Cass bay area, looking northwards past some foliage. Wish I still had that picture. When passing through West Melton later I tried to track down John Gaul but the people I spoke to didn't know where he lived - I wonder if they were members of the local chapter of the Society For Prevention Of Morris Dancing?

[Andrew Massie]

Thanks Andrew! I had a really great time, caught up with brothers in Ch'ch and Nelson and a friend in Motueka. Scenery was at its absolute spring best. Lyttelton harbour was really sparkling that day. Years ago I had a Met Service calendar with an attractive and unusual shot taken a little further round in the Cass bay area, looking northwards past some foliage. Wish I still had that picture.

I could probably get you one, but the quality wouldn't be as good as yours.. We are in dire need of a new camera, that has a really good macro setting, as well as water resistant and reasonably rugged for my chasing!

When passing through West Melton later I tried to track down John Gaul but the people I spoke to didn't know where he lived - I wonder if they were members of the local chapter of the Society For Prevention Of Morris Dancing?

Where do I sign up?!!!

You realise it wasn't the english raping and pillaging Scotland that made William Wallace invade... It was William trying to stamp out morris dancing forever! He was betrayed, unfortunately, by the bagpipers union, which is part of ATW (Annoy The World) arts union!