Pause

Is anyone still out there??? Well, from my stats I can see that a few lost souls landed on this blog :) All my apologies for not posting these days, life has become a teensy bit hectic and I'm just about to go on holidays. I will do my utmost to resume my photoblogging activities upon my return. Please stay tuned!

Paddleboats

Torrens River running under the Adelaide Bridge

Waterlily

Amazon Waterlily Pavilion at the Botanic Gardens, Adelaide

Stack

Rundle Mall

I guess I was too busy admiring the reflections on these giant balls to pay attention to the scary shadow!

What's the name of that street again??

Oh yes... Leigh Street

The Big Rocking Horse and its baby

Yesterday's photo was taken at the Big Rocking Horse in Gumeracha, in the Adelaide Hills! I had a great time in Adelaide and can't wait to share with you the highlights!

Where was I?

Yesterday was Labour Day in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and.. another state where I spent the long weekend. Can you guess?

Aerial view

Flying North of Wellington before
making our way across the Tasman to Sydney.

Words set in concrete

Writers walk on the Waterfront

Yellow bus

Bad case of chicken pox

I didn't get a chance to check out the treasures inside the City Gallery, as you can see from the fences it was closed for expansion! Ah well.. this will give me an excuse to go back :) Loved those coloured spots though.

Kowhai

I had seen those flowers while walking around in Hamilton and after my trip to Wellington, now I know their name! And thanks to the page on Wikipedia, I know that the bark and seeds are poisonous.. glad I didn't touch it!

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.”