Ta ra New Zealand

Auckland airport gets less awful every time I visit.

Time for me to go. Cheers New Zealand, it's been good. Back for kisses in December, stay cool.

Things I am looking forward to in Bangkok:

• Getting a massage
• Getting more massages
• Horrendous, outrageous warmth
• Food
• Meeting travellers and locals
• More food
• Bettering my Thai
• Finding and doing cool stuff that doesn't involve girly bars

Wellington Photoblog 1 of 2: The Good Pics

4.5yrs in NZ. 87+ photo albums. That's a lotta pics. First up: best shots.
Feel free to share this with people interested in New Zealand or just pretty photos.
Prepare for some outrageous eye candy!

Hong Kong airport, who knows o'clock.

Spacious Lambton Quay on a sunny day.

THE classic Wellington photo.

Sums up Wellington pretty well.

Golden sunset over Wellington.

Wellington from Mount Victoria.

Downtown Auckland and the Skytower.

Sunrise in the Marlborough Sounds, from the 3am inter-island ferry.
This was the 2nd of 3 sunsets over the ridges as we pulled into Picton. Beautiful.

Sunrise number 3 in Marlborough Sounds

Dawn space and light.

Sunrise number 3 in Marlborough Sounds

The moon gets freaky

Sculpture on Courtenay Place

Dive.

Dusk on Lyall Bay.

Flags on Waitangi Day at One Love Festival: Reggae, Tino Rangatiratanga (the Maori flag), and New Zealand

Tongariro crossing. The travelling zoo stops for lunch in the clouds.

Hanging out above the clouds on Mount Tongariro's peak.
Mount Taranaki's peak is somewhere in the background, 400km away.

Fancypants Chateau Tongariro, next to Mount Ruapehu.

Devil's Staircase, the hard way up.
High up? Look left, those coloured dots are people.

Light and clouds above the snowline

Trekking into the cloud.

Ice crystals.

Blazing sun and Easter snow.

Chilling on Mount Tongariro peak, with my buddies Mount Ngauruhoe (Mount Doom) and Mount Ruapehu.

Feeling excited with the Emerald Lakes.

Blue, green, desert.

The desert awaits.

Sunrise amazes. Almost as colourful as my stripy polyprop.

2 moons, dawn, and an extinct volcano.

Sunrise from Oturere hut, above the river and the cloud line.

I don't know this couple, but they sure looked cute.

Me, my pack, and Mount Ruapehu.

Mount Ngauruhoe and the Southern Crater.

Fire swirling at a rave.

Moonrise in Northland.

Cicada, up close and detailed.

Ship's Mast in Russell.

Pōhutukawa and blue sky.

Puriri Bay, Northland.

Dusk. Reflection.

That day we went to Big Day Out and saw Muse.

Wine camping in Martinborough.

Rocks at Cape Palliser.

Dusk in Nelson.

Football on the beach.

Solstice sunrise at Mount Victoria summit. Not a spaceship landing pad.

Glow over Wellington.

Dead cow on fine black sand? Where else but Taranaki.

This lady had to relocate soon after this photo. Sorry lady.

Pink sky at solstice sunrise. Summer, apparently.

Baby mantis.

Drainage channel in Orewa.

Lily.

Beach reflection.

Ferns, palms and blue skies.

Ohope Beach and Whale Island.

Summer.

New Year's morning.

More reflections on the beach.

Fire, beach, guitar, and the coming dawn.

New Year's morning.

Layers.

Inside the Jellyfish.

Cricket at the Basin Reserve, a beautiful day and hearty polite crowd.

The camera tripod, Wellington.

Dusk after a photoshoot.

My old camera wasn't great, but on a long exposure it made these great live gig shots. This is Monroe.

Modern stained glass at the Te Papa National Museum's marae (Maori meeting house).

Historic crane on Wellington waterfront.

Little critter on my sunglasses.

Monarch butterflies, beautiful residents of NZ.

View out of the wonderful Listening Device, Wellington Botanic Gardens.

View from "table tree". Bring wine. Don't break your ankle.

Cloud and the Sevens crowds marching on the stadium.

Inside the stadium at the Wellington Sevens. That's a lot of people in fancy dress.

Island Bay Festival.

Island Bay at sundown.

The Tongariro track.

The true gradient of Ngauruhoe, Mount Doom.

Looking over the desert.

Descent for some, desert in the distance.

INSIDE MOUNT DOOM.

The Southern Crater.

Flora.

Scape of land.

The Red Crater. I love the space-like curvature of the blue horizon.

Rays in the lagoon, Wellington.

Britannic Bedlam Morris Gentlemen, on their yearly Day of (Drink and) Dance.

Oriental Beach, on a beautiful day.

Summer continues.

Surf skipping.

View East from Mount Victoria, my running route.

Skywater.

Dusk.

The classic whale tail bronze sculpture.

Another gig shot, this time The Lucid Effect.

Sunset over Wellington.

Pouwhenua (Maori totem pole) and Wellington.

Landscape from the Mount Vic lookout - the other lookout, the one without a ladder.

Silver "Ferns" sculpture above Civic Square.

Symbols on the City To Sea bridge, Wellington waterfront.

Sailing in the sun.

US Antarctic memorial, Mount Victoria, summer solstice dawn.

The huhu beetle.

Wellington awaits in the dawn.

Daybreak.

Panorama at sunrise.

Someone's leaving, on a beautiful morning.

Paragliders, with Rangitoto Island.

Ohope Beach.

Ohope Beach continues to reflect.

Sky. I'm a sucker for photos of beautiful sky.

Wellington lagoon.

Sundial in Wellington Botanic Gardens.

From the Miramar peninsula to Rongotai and the airport.

(Ad)venturing into the land of the Ewoks.

Rainbow, East of Wellington.

Crisp clear morning.

Hi Wellington.

Geometry.

Space.

Where do you live?

Wellington.

It's true you can't live here by chance. You have to do and be, not simply watch or even describe. This is the city of action, the world headquarters of the verb —

Pōhutukawa in the city.

Live music at the Botanic Gardens. Here's Disasteradio finishing his set.

Nelson's coast from the air.

This sky and water in Abel Tasman.

A dead spider. Which had been watching us the whole time, then scuttled away.

Sea kayaking in Abel Tasman.

If you like beer, well, this happens a lot in NZ.

Toadstool.

Te Waikoropupū Springs, the clearest cold springs in the Southern hemisphere.

Flatlands.

Wellington harbour.

Spla-

Railtracks in Wairarapa.

Road to Cape Palliser lighthouse.