Natural splendour, real musics, wines, wordpower
New Zealand’s South Island has a number of large, deep, glacier-carved lakes.
Each is jaw-droppingly beautiful…but all are far from pristine.
Only long after ancient Rome’s “fall” did Aotearoa/New Zealand first “enjoy” human presence; available evidence suggests that Maori settlement began a little less than 750 years ago.
Comments closedAll photos taken in recent days, from local footpaths, less than 10 minutes – by car, bus, or train – from Perth’s CBD.
It is often pleasingly difficult to believe that our metropolis is home to more than two million humans.
At least some things are flowering, at any time of year; the featured image’s eucalyptus was photographed just before sunset on 8 April.
Comments closed“My” local daily paper – The West Australian – has recently become relentlessly parochial and adopted inane journalese as its house style.
Its headlines especially grate: almost all are prime examples of what smug dullards consider “clever”, of what twits mistake for wit.
The West‘s editor may or may not be a bona fide idiot; perhaps he is just a bright young lickspittle, fulfilling a brief to “dumb everything down, cut every cost and cross-promote the linked TV station, endlessly”.
So, it was a particular joy/relief to encounter some actual journalistic flair…
Comments closedPhotos are copyright Doug Spencer.
Featured image shows New Zealand’s highest peak, viewed from its inland side, at 4.34 pm on March 27, 2019.
I suggest you zoom in on the high ridges to see the windblown fresh snow streaming into the air, like sand off a dune.
Comments closedSitting beside a very rustic little jetty in a hamlet on New Zealand’s South Island is a delightfully “unlikely”, internationally renowned restaurant.
Fleurs Place (pictured above) is a one-off.
Fleur (real person) serves teethsqueakingly fresh seafood, cooked simply and superbly, without pretension.
However, the “diner” closest to us preferred to catch and prepare his (or her) own lunch!
Comments closedThey are very close, as the proverbial crow flies – if the proverbial crow chose to cross New Zealand’s Southern Alps.
Equally beautiful, but quite unlike: the stark contrast between coastal side and inland side is reminiscent of Patagonia.
One CommentAfter days of almost-continuous rain the clouds suddenly lifted…and the nation’s two highest peaks revealed themselves.
One CommentWhat will happen is the system will crash faster than we realise. Yes, it will reassemble and there will be forests, but they won’t look anything like what we have now. We are going to see this transformation before our eyes…
Comments closedPropithecus diadema – the Diademed Sifaka or Diademed Simpona – is a large, utterly distinctive lemur.
It is critically endangered, but relatively easy to see in the (rapidly diminishing) wild, only a few hours away from Madagascar’s capital city.
The next image will explain why many people regard the Diademed Sifaka as the loveliest lemur.
Comments closedThe former is a popular street tree in Perth.
Generally known as a “Cape Lilac”, it is in fact originally from the Himalayan region.
The latter is an endemic local – a magnificent, endangered bird.
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