Lmst

- You are not supposed to smoke that!
Having a Monty Python moment at Rakiura
The strict stare og 2,6-meter wingspan of the white-capped albatross certainly reminds us of the great John Cleese and the Monty Python classic.
This Aotearoa albatross is a regular of the southern New Zealand islands. Rakiura / Stewart Island itself has observed visits from 11 variants of this bird species with the giant wingspan. Probably because Rakiura is surrounded by large undisturbed ocean with great fishing, and the island has large areas with hills and cliffs and not too many humans.
Probably for the best. Observing, or being observed, by albatrosses several times both at South Island and Rakiura, this bird is obviously very curious. And they should be separated from too much human interference and disturbance.
But then you walk and suddenly feel watched…

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-capped_albatross

#albatross #looking #stern #montypython #hollywoodbowl #rakiura #Aotearoa #stewartisland #stewart #islandlife #newzealand #kiwi #visitnewzealand #respectwildlife #bird #NikonD800 #D800 #Nikon #Nikkor #300mm #f4 #VR #PF #seabird #birdlife #HalfMoonBay #Bay #New #Zealand #2016CE #albatross #bird #birdlife #bluesky #f4 #Half-Moon #johncleese #pacific #respectwildlife #roadtrip #sea #seabird #stern #TeWaipounamu #SouthIsland #visitnewzealand

Photo shows a frontal shot of a large bird with a large wingspan. The wings are in diagonal from upper left to lower right. The large bird body is white, and wings are black. Front view shows grey shoulders, eyes with a strict type of eyebrow and a large yellow beak. The bird is staring directly at the viewer. In the background there is a blue sky but just behind the bord is a white cloud.

How to get away from Cape Foulwind
With a name like Cape Foulwind, you may understand why you want to get away. And how far you must go.
Here the Europeans, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, anchored in Aotearoa (and later naming it New Zealand), for the first time in 1642. The weather was probably good, and he called the outcrop Cliff Rock.
Then the English Captain James Cook found this place in 1770 under probably worse conditions. He named it Cape Foulwind. Since the English won the competition of ruling Aotearoa, the name stuck.

Signs, and what to do
This signpost is close to the fur seal colony in Tauranga Bay, on a windy, salty and fresh spot to get a good outlook of the area. On this track going south from Cape Foulwind Lighthouse there are stiff cliffs down to pebble beaches and the Tasman Sea, and low rolling hills towards the mountains in east.
This area is a nice spot to stop, relax and enjoy the outlook and beach, especially if you are a surfer. Or hike along the trails and exhibit some coastal flora and fauna of the West Coast Region in South Island. And some fresh, varying weather conditions.
Included an old, secluded track-and-bowl-system near the lighthouse.
The seal colony is well protected, but easy observable from a safe distance from the walking track. The closest town is Westport, and they have all necessary amenities from lodging to food, drinks and hiking equipment.

https://westcoast.co.nz/visit/operators/cape-foulwind-walkway/

#2016CE #20mm #Aotearoa #AotearoaNewZealand #beach #bluesky #CapeFoulwind #D800 #green #Kiwi #kiwiexperience #newnewzealand #Nikkor #Nikon #NikonD800 #nz #westcoast #roadtrip #sea #SealColony #signpost #southisland #sun #tasman #tasmansea #TeWaipounamu #visitnewzealand #westport #cliff #countryside #dangerous #europeanfirst #heavyweather #Trekking #westport

Photo shows a signpost placed in a coastal landscape with bushes, gras and other greenery plants typical for New Zealand in the lower background. The signs point to places a long distance from this spot, like London 16 266 km, Sydney 1719 km and Zurich 16 093 km and local cities like Christchurch 190 km and Dunedin 397 km. The pole is solid fasten in a concrete flat area, with a walkway leading off to the right. The upper background is a lightly clouded blue sky.

Unfinished business resulting in a Clock Tower
Mining demise gave Westport its municipal Clock Tower
Out west at Westport, South Island, New Zealand, this fantastic building symbolizes ambitions for a mining boomtown and the sudden demise when history turns.
It is like a story of the Wild West, 50 years later and 11500 kilometres southwest of the more well-known stories from the western US.
Optimism and recession
Planned in the 1930 and built during the Pacific War of WWII, the Clock Tower Chamber was meant both for public and private business affairs. It was meant to be a front for a business building complex ready to serve a growing and thriving local community.
But the mining business went dry, and the market changed dramatically after the last big war. Westport become more of a lazy port town for the surrounding farming and fishing community.
In later years a natural tourist place, being a hub to explore the nearby sights and outdoor nature marvels of the West Coast region.
But still an architectural wonder, and important part of West Coast cultural heritage.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clock_Tower_Chambers

#Aotearoa #AotearoaNewZealand #architecture #bird #bluesky #building #classic #clock #cultural #golden #green #Kiwi #living #nz #pacificroadtrip #sea #TeWaipounamu #SouthIsland #tower #Westport #newzealand #roadtrip #western #architecture #clock #tower #municipal #building #bluesky #golden #classic #2016CE #westcoast #historic #cultural #heritage #Kawatiri #Westport #Municipal #Chambers

Photo shows a large yellow two wing building with a tall clock tower in the centre. It is a warm day with a lightly cloudy deep blue sky. In front of the building there are a concrete area with some small. The change to the sidewalk are marked with colourful small poles. To the left there are a green turf with some garden furniture, and a palm tree frames to the left side of the photo.

Tern with catch of the day over elvish landscape

There are several reasons why New Zealand are used for adventure films.

Light and colours are two obvious reasons.
Flora, fauna and landscape are others.

Personally, when watching the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, I am a bit disappointed they do not really shows how awesome New Zealand is.

Better visit Aotearoa in person.

#NZ #Dunedin #Otago #taiaroahead #birds #birds #childfeeding #chicks #countryside #trekking #seabird #pacific #trees #New #Zealand #kiwi #NikonD800 #Nikkor #D800 #Nikon #300mm #f4 #OtagoPeninsula #2015CE #tern #sea #pacific #green #bird #roadtrip #Aotearoa #NewZealand #birds #sun #birdcolony #beach #moment #zen #mindfulness #TeWaipounamu #Te #Waipounamu #SouthIsland

Photo shows a white, black headed sleek sea bird, a tern, with some small fish in its beak. It is flying over a landscape in pastel, soft colours. The sky is slightly clouded with light blue morning colour.

A beeeeeeeeeautiful album by an awesome Oamaru gal!
https://marlajean.bandcamp.com/album/nocturne
#folk #music #nz #aotearoa #oamaru #otago #tewaipounamu

an unexpectedly funny story: https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/21-01-2025/a-serious-and-urgent-briefing-for-the-first-minister-for-the-south-island #TeWaiPounamu #SouthIsland #NZ #Aotearoa

Ok, somebody helpfully published alt text for all the images posted on Instagram so I have used that. Details below

#hikoimotetiriti #nzpol #teWaipounamu

1/3

brilliant - a Pasifika focused mental health service Mapu Maia has opened in Te Waipounamu/the South Island, in Ōtautahi/Christchurch (my hometown):

https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/533234/pasifika-focused-mental-health-service-mapu-maia-opens-in-christchurch

#Pasifika #Aotearoa #TeWaipounamu #Ōtautahi

With some minor tweaks this could be the rallying cry for #teWaipounamu #CutTheCable
#FreeTheSouth
#NZPol

https://youtu.be/7RczSHbghxE?si=ESyc-EL-LTNtSXsL

In my misspent youth, during my irresponsible tweens, as Tolkien's hobbits would have called them, I took to the open road for what I termed a wanderjahr. When I was rich, I saw the sights; when I was poor, I would take a job until I was rich again.

This one is about the South Island in 1985. It was mostly written back then, all I had to do now is to brush it up.

It's about 10,000 words, a 50 minute read.

https://winterknell.net/travel/_trav_1985/_trav_1985_south.html

(reposted with ogimage.)

#travel #newzealand #tewaipounamu

Garden bird survey 29 June to 7 July 2024.

1. Choose an hour on one day during the survey period and find the perfect bird counting spot.
2. Use the tally sheet to count the number of birds you see or hear.
3. Report your count.

https://gardenbirdsurvey.nz/

#EHiaNgāManu #HowManyBirds

#Aotearoa #TeWaiPounamu #Rakiura #AndOtherIslandsTooNumerousToName

#NewZealand

Having a lovely weekend getaway at Fox Glacier.

#NZ #FoxGlacier #SouthIsland #TeWaipounamu #selfie #glacier

Selfie of a gay couple (Mark and Dee) with mountains, snow, and Fox Glacier in the background. Mark squints at the camera with a force smile, while Dee has an effortless look of contentment and long hair swept to one side that almost seems carried in the breeze. Both are wearing tortoiseshell-style glasses; Mark's are pinkish and Dee's are bluish. Both are wearing red coats. Undearneat Mark has a colourful jumper while Dee has a pinkish collared t-shirt.

Photo of Fox Glacier which runs down a steep mountainface between snowy peaks. In the foreground are some smaller, tree-covered mountains, a grassy plain, farm buildings, and cows.

@BjornIdle Thanks for sharing! Seeing them for the first time was a highlight of our trip down the West Coast of #TeWaiPounamu last month

Pun addiction can be painful. Having recently travelled through #TeWaiPounamu and been grateful to have been in a car and not towing anything, I thought of this song - a bad pun.
Then I checked my copy of the lyrics and saw red lines everywhere because of the nukta - enough to drive me dotty😈 😂 #TooEasy #SorryNotSorry
#Puns #HindiFilms #Urdu #Qawwali #Aotearoa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVmOqJKmxQA

Image shows the lyrics of a filmi qawwali in devanagri. Because the lyrics are largely Urdu and because Hindi orthography has changed since the user saved the lyrics, the spllechecker has redlined most words - many for adding a dot called a nukta to some letters, a practice no longer standard in Hindi

Told 3 different friends we've just got back from 2 weeks in #TeWaiPounamu & all 3 asked "where'd you go, Queenstown?" All 3 also looked confused when I said "no, actively avoided it. Closest we came was Wanaka, that was bad enough" The idea that anyone could choose not to go there apparently incomprehensible.
For me, Queenstown is the McDs of #TeWaiPounamu, yrch! Also, not very likely to see a takahe crossing the road, there as we did, twice, on the road from Haast to Jackson Bay #aotearoa

For my first ever helicopter flight, Kā Tiritiri o te Moana was probably not the ugliest of all possible options. #Aotearoa #TeWaipounamu #Aoraki #NewZealand

#Wordle866 3/6*

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WordleBot
Skill 86/99
Luck 86/99

Restarting not because I got one wrong but because Kā Tiritiri o te Moana & the glacial lakes of Te Manahuna are very literally distractingly gorgeous. 😍 #Aotearoa #TeWaipounamu #Aoraki #NewZealand

West Coast Monday 3/3

1 .Heeding the famous advice to not go chasing waterfalls, here's a nother lake - Lake Paringa 😊

2. Knight's Point Lookout On the Haast Highway - included as rebuttal to the "Wet West Coast" narrative☀️

3. Sunset at Haast Beach, 20:17. A magical end to the day, despite also being midgical🦟

#Aotearoa #TeWaiPounamu
#WestCoast #KāTiritiriOTeMoana
#RoadTrip #NZ