On that last day in New Zealand, I got up early and photographed the mist burning off ... just wandering.
Then later, Peter and Christine, Michael too, dropped the boat in the water and took us out on Mercury Bay.
A stunning day with good people.
Otago Peninsula, New Zealand
I used to live out here on the peninsula. There are so many stunning stories to tell of the Albatross Colony, of penguin and seal colonies, of beaches and birdlife, of a coastline that leaves you looking out across an ocean that doesn't stop until it reaches South America ... some 6,000kms away.
Loved it.
The Road ...
I love this kind of view ...an empty road opening up in front of me.
Gert informed me that this song is mine, in those days as he watched me fill with the joy of that South Island roadtrip in the little red car.
I hate leaving, dislike saying goodbye, right up until that moment I'm on my way and then I am happiness-filled.
Leaving is one of those things I do best. And out there, I usually stretch myself to the limit of what I can stand and beyond sometimes, then it's okay to come home again.
I'm not a wild thing, I'm just a smalltime wanderer who doesn't like to stand still for too long.
A Favourite Scene, New Zealand
There are tracks like this, leading to the beach, back home in any New Zealand summer.
That place where the delicate scent of the yellow lupin merges with the smell of the sea is fairly close to heaven ... or that's my idea of it all.
Favourite Flowers, New Zealand
Of all the flowers in the world, so far, these are the flowers I would fill my garden with ...
The humble yellow Lupin. Colour-specific because no other lupin smells like the yellow lupin, otherwise known as L. luteus.
In Dunedin, they mostly grow in that place between the land and the sea, in the interstitial zone.
Following the sandy tracks that led to favourite beaches around Dunedin, the yellow lupins filled my soul with something that felt like joy.
L’Art'e Cafe and Gallery, Taupo - New Zealand
There is so much to write about L'Art'e Cafe and Gallery ... so much.
The mind-blowingly beautiful location, the friendly service, the truly sublime food, the superb coffee, the exquisite artwork ... and nowhere do I exaggerate.
It's that remarkable!
This was brunch on that first day back in New Zealand.
