From: Conor Wall

Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2012 9:49 AM

To: mailasail blog

Subject: 35:47S 174:20E

This page is a follow up to previous entry as we are restricted by file size when updating.

 

 

Not Easter Island but taken in New Zealand and the light house is the most northerly point of NZ ‘Cape Reinga’.

 

 

A 40,000 year old Kauri Tree to the right of the walkway and a worker from more recent times. The Kauri tree secreted a resin which was fossilized along with the forest some 40000 years ago. In the last century or before this resin was dug out of the ground and sent to Birmingham to make varnish. It was New Zealand’s biggest export at the time. Today they still export the Kauri Tree and the buried forests from 40000 years ago are being dug up and made into furniture and jewellery etc.. These photos were taken at the Gum Diggers Park.

 

 

Hot Baths and sulphur pools abound throughout New Zealand and is a very nice way to spend a few hours relaxing in supposedly health giving waters.

 

 

One of these is a killer whale.

 

 

These brave young lads are jumping off the tree into the water only yards upstream of this waterfall.

 

Country Music Festival Dargaville.

 

Lord Of The Ring Country, North Island.

 

 

 

Mount Egmont, New Zealand’s largest at over 2.5 kilometres high, we didn’t climb that one but wee know people who did and Mount Tongararo which we did climb or at least part of it as part of New Zealand’s best one day hike. Took us 7 hours but worth every minute some more photos to follow.

 

Some shots of the big walk. Some days there are as many as 1000 people doing this walk and you can see the line of people like ants in both directions.

 

90 Pilot whales stranded on the beach at the top end of the South Island, they only managed to save about 25 of them. Apparently  this is a regular occurrence.

 

This is the yellow eyed penguin, an endangered species with only about 4000 birds left and all live on the very south of the south Island. They come ashore early evening to feed their young at this time of year and we were fortunate to see them. Low tide and sitting on a 40000 year old stump of petrified forest some of these little (not so little) chaps just strolled past some stopping to groom themselves. A magical moment and worth coming half way round the world just for the time spent here.

 

This flightless bird the Weka is a relative of the Kiwi but not endangered, I think he is a little faster on his feet.

 

 

 

Driftwood Sculptures made from the driftwood found on the beach at Hokitika. Almost all beaches we visited had tons of driftwood presumably coming out of the many rivers. A reminder of what is floating around in the seas when we are sailing.