Keep off the grass

Preparations are on the way at the Basin Reserve for the cricket season.

MPs busy as bees

The Beehive is the nickname given to the Executive Wing of the New Zealand Parliament, the photo below is a miniature replica of the building, on display at the Museum of Wellington:

and this is the actual building:

Have your say

These posters were scattered all around the city centre. The local council is calling on the population to take part in a special project: developing a vision for the city centre, find out what the Wellingtonians like or don't like about it and how it can be improved. You can only hope that the council will listen! Before 2040 would be nice too :)

If this was happening in your city, what would you like? As far as I'm concerned less traffic would be a good start!

Boat sheds

Chaffers Marina

Tripod

Continuing on the sculpture theme, this bronze Tripod stands at 6 metres tall in Courtenay Place and was created to celebrate the local thriving cinema industry... Peter Jackson anyone??? The city has even gained another nickname: Wellywood (combination of Wellington and Hollywood). Sounds more glamorous than the Windy City :)

Light at the end of the tunnel

Wellington has an impressive number of sculptures around the city and this work by Andrew Drummond called Listening and Viewing Device on Druid Hill at the botanic gardens, is probably one of the most puzzling pieces I've seen.

Listening to what?? Not the sound of the waves, just the echo of your voice. Viewing what? The sky?? Hmmm.. bizarre..oh, it swings as well. Really not sure what to make of it.

Cable car

I was very excited to go to Wellington as I had never been there, didn't really have any expectations, maybe just to see another great rugby battle, and now I am under the spell! I enjoyed it so much I want to go back :)

Always on my list of things to do and see while in a new city is the botanic gardens. In Wellington, it only takes a short cable car ride to get there (from Cable Car Lane off Lambton Quay in the heart of the city). As you can tell from the photo, I was blessed with blue skies and a bit of sunshine.

Red dust storm

First of all apologies for not posting yesterday, I flew into Sydney in the morning from Wellington where I spent a long weekend then went straight to work and finished the day very tired and couldn't get round to post a little something.

What a day it has been in Sydney!! I woke up this morning to the news that the city was shrouded in a blanket of red dust. I opened my curtains and wow! What a sight!! I got ready very quickly and left as I knew my walk to work would be a long one because of the photo stops I would make!

From top to bottom: Taylor Square, ANZAC Memorial Hyde Park, Martin Place, Opera House, Harbour Bridge

Maori garden

Through the hole

Chinese garden at the Hamilton Gardens

Peace memorial

Worley Place
Peace memorial to commemorate the International Year of Peace 1986

Lake Rotoroa

Brick caravan

‘Holidays in Huntly’ is an eye-catching art piece created by ceramic artist Peter Lange.

“Holidays in Huntly is an extension of a body of work that I have undertaken over the last couple of years that has referred to parts of my life which I recall with some affection – in this case the year or more that I spent living in a caravan while looking for minerals in New Zealand and Australia in the 60s,” he said.

“The shape has the curving lines of post-war homemade caravans and there is reference to the stripped-down brick skeletons of abandoned buildings.

“Driving through Huntly is a mixed experience: out of the corner of your eye you catch the iconic cream and brown brickwork which has become a recognisable and nostalgic local building style, but then the road to Hamilton (or Auckland) always seems to take priority. However if time is taken to explore inland and away from the river you'll find some beautiful spots, rural and lakeside, which might have been holiday destinations for families of the 50s.”

Riff Raff

Where we stand is the birthplace of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. On this site stood the Embassy Theatre, the home of Hamilton's late night double feature show, and the barber shop where Richard O'Brien cut hair and daydreamed from 1959 to 1964.

Kiwi TSB

I'm back from my long weekend across the ditch: a bit of rugby, a bit of rain, a lot of sunshine and countless steps around the pretty city of Hamilton, my feet still hurt!

In Sunday's post I was telling you about my appreciation of Brisbane's TSBs.. little did I know I would meet their kiwi cousins! Much to my delight, there's a few here and there around town. This one was snapped at the corner of Bryce & Barton St in the city centre.

Ferry map

Hopefully Blogger has been kind to me and posted the photos I scheduled as I have been spending a long weekend in Hamilton... not Hamilton the Brisbane suburb (shown here on this map) but Hamilton.. New Zealand!

TSBspotting

If you happen to be a Brisbane Daily Photo follower, you will be familiar with these painted traffic signal boxes. I absolutely love them!!! and I wish idiots would stay away from them. More info on this TSB snapped in Paddington here.

To Hell and back

Now I can say I've been to Hell and back :).. and they serve some deliciously yummy pizza there. and I'll share the address with you: 232 Given Terrace, Paddington.

Kurilpa Bridge

The last time I was in Brisbane this bridge was a work in progress (see my post here) and I was hoping I'd walk on it on this trip.. well I didn't! It's not quite finished yet. Ah well.. next time!

The mystery behind yesterday's photo

Yesterday's photo was taken up there at Brisbane Town Hall's Tower Clock. On the way down the lift attendant saw my friend's impressive camera and mine (a little less impressive) and stopped at the clock's level for us to take a shot!

Behind the scenes

Beads and sequins

The Museum of Brisbane currently holds an exhibition called In Fashion: Dressing up Brisbane, showcasing local talent and this is where you can see this dress on display. It was created by Hwa Sook Lee Bora, a Korean Brisbane-based designer, and worn by Jennifer Hawkins the night she was crowned Miss Universe in 2004.

Trophies

I was up in Brisbane at the weekend, the purpose of this escapade was to catch some live rugby action on Saturday night! Australia (aka the Wallabies) beat South Africa (aka the Springboks) 21-6 but South Africa having won the two previous encounters this year were awarded the Nelson Mandela trophy (on the left) and the Boks are likely to get hold of the Tri Nations trophy (on the right) should they beat New Zealand (aka the All Blacks) next Saturday in Hamilton (NZ). If only the Wallabies had played earlier in the competition the way they did on Saturday, the silverware would be found at the Australia Rugby Union headquarters!

Veg out

Welcome to Veg out, St Kilda's own community gardens! When I was walking around I thought that this could be the best spot in St Kilda! I loved the concept of having veggie patches in the heart of a the city and the quirky way they were decorated by recycling bits and pieces. Needless to say my camera got a little bit carried away!

Green building

When I laid my eyes on this building in St Kilda I remembered Julie's comment about the windows of the Jane Foss Russell Building at the University of Sydney. THIS is a wasted opportunity. Methinks the architect has a fascination for reptiles or a fishnet stockings fetish . What do you think?

St Kilda pier kiosk

The St Kilda Pavilion is an historic kiosk located at the end of St Kilda Pier built in 1904, originally known as Parer's Pavilion and later renamed Kirby's Kiosk but locally known as St Kilda Kiosk.

An accurate reconstruction of the fire-destroyed heritage St Kilda Pier Kiosk building has been reopened and is welcoming new friends and old to the St Kilda Pier once again.

Original kiosk plans from 1903, historic photos and surviving iron lacework from the arson-destroyed kiosk were used as guides to faithfully reproduce the look of the original historic and much loved structure. The original kiosk was devastated by fire on 11 September 2003.

Additions include a café out back and an observation deck up top. Along the length of the pier interactive panels tell the pier's history. The kiosk complex now sits on a concrete slab supported by 29 new timber pylons, to ensure minimum wear and movement. Here's to another 99 plus years.

Source: Only Melbourne website