VEHICLES !

Just some of the vehicles on the roads over here, that might give you pause for thought!






You get to guess this one...



A lawnmowing van..



I'm guessing Scottish tourers...



An orange juice van..

HOWICK HISTORICAL VILLAGE !

Howick Historical Village is a living museum which presents life in a Fencible village, during the early settlement of Europeans in Auckland.
The Fencibles were retired soldiers who signed up to emigrate to New Zealand, mostly from Ireland and the midlands of England.



They were offered a new life in New Zealand; a free passage with their families and a cottage with an acre of land to become theirs after a seven year term, in return for certain military duties including compulsory Sunday church parade.
In all, ten ships brought the Fencibles to Auckland from 1847 to 1852 and their decendants still live in the area (not in the village) today.



When you enter the village everyone there is in costume and events are enacted, like a courthouse trial. There are potatoes from Captain Cook’s era scattered over an old table in one of the cottages. There is peeling floral wallpaper, carefully pasted up over 100 years ago, which still clings to the wall.



Even dried cowpats sit by the fire, ready to be used as fuel on a cold day and seaweed hangs outside by the front doors — if it’s moist, it means rain must be on the way. There were gingerbread men baking over an open fire and Christmas pudding steaming in the embers; even Christmas carols were playing in the big house.

PUKEKO !

Engraving from Captain Cook's travels

The pukeko is a silly New Zealand bird, which is deep blue with a black head. When they walk they look quite cheeky with their white undertail flicking with every step.
The pukeko's bill and shield (on top of their head) are scarlet, their eyes are red and their legs and feet are orange – red. Talk about contrasting! The name's translation from the Greek means 'purple purple black', though they are more blue than purple.



Pukeko at Tiritiri Matangi picnic site Look at those feet!

Probably because of their boldness and beautiful colouring, their images are found on all manner of art and craft works here.
There are drawings of them on temple walls in Egypt, amongst the papyrus and the Romans kept them as decorative, pet birds - so they've been around a while. The guess is that they arrived in New Zealand about a 1000 years ago.



Having a bath!

The sound they make is a loud unmusical screech and sometimes also a ‘tuk – tuk’, (for hours).
Pukeko mainly feed on swamp and pasture vegetation, insects, spiders, frogs, small birds and eggs. This explains why they are also called 'swamp hens'.



The 'shield' on their heads.

Pūkeko are known for their bold scheming and determination. In times past they raided gardens for kūmara and taro and some people consider them a pest.
A stubborn, annoying person is compared metaphorically to the bird, and is said to have Pūkeko ears (taringa Pākura)[. They are also known to steal eggs from each other, so they're not very trustworthy!



Peacock and pukeko together!

As far as their culinary value goes, some say, to cook a Pukeko, you add a stone in the pot with the Pukeko, cook for several hours, throw away the Pukeko and eat the stone!

TAKAPUNA !

Picnic area by the beach

Takapuna is a recent discovery, we went there by mistake last year, in the winter, and thought, with the weather so lovely, we'd revisit. It is on the isthmus, poking out into the harbour. Gorgeous views and busy cafes right on the beach front.
One end of Takapuna is dominated by the large volcanic crater of Lake Pupuke and it has a kilometer long crescent shaped beach, with golden sand, which is a popular recreation area.



View of the Sentinel building & shops

The crater is filled with a freshwater lake and is only separated from the sea by less than 200 m at one point. When the lava flowed from it across the forest it became fossilised, so all along the coast line, the volcanic rocks have outlines and fossils in them. Makes rockpooling quite different.
It was fairly windy today and there were hundreds of sailing boats, wind surfers and kite surfing..



Windsurfing competition

One of the best things about it (for me and the girls) is that there are over 400 shops there (for Greg there are 60 pubs!) After sitting in the sunshine at the cafe, watching the windsurfing and dribbling ice-creams everywhere, we went shopping!

HOOD AND GOWN !

We are coming up to Prizegiving this week, wearing our gowns and hoods and presenting academic honours to students at a glamorous evening. Clearly a British tradition, it makes for an interesting evening when interpreted by kiwis.
The history of academic dress goes back hundreds of years to the chill universities where cap, gown and hood were needed for covering and warmth, particularly in the British winters in the dining hall! But it wasn't until the 18oos that colours were given to academic subjects.

Of course, the sleeves is the first place to look, because sleeves in the bachelor's gown are pointed, in the masters gown they are oblong and the arms project at the elbow, and in the doctor's gown they are bell shaped.
My subject is blue for education. Here's my nifty number!





The dentists get lilac, economists copper,journalists crimson, musicians pink and nurses apricot..the colour for commerce and accountancy is 'drab' (oh dear!)
Then there's peacock blue for the Foreign service, scarlet for Theology and lemon for Library Science - what a colourful lot!
The trimmings tell a tale too - rabbit fur for the Bachelors, coloured silk for the Masters .. we haven't gone as far as wearing a trencher, tam or mortarboard.
Well, here, if you go to Waikato Uni all the colours are the same.. no distinction.. and when I arrived I had a green hood allocated...oh well, hundreds of years of tradition .. and for what?

SCARY ROSE FAIRY !

Look closely.. does something seem wrong to you?

PARNELL ROSE FESTIVAL !

Parnell Rose Festival is an annual event; held when the roses are in full bloom. There are 5000 rose bushes growing here. The park sweeps down to Judges' Bay and makes for a lovely stroll on an ordinary day. The roses are amazing colours, some look like raspberry ripple ice-cream and others are straight out of Alice Through the Looking Glass.



The park, in Parnell, is named after the popular and longest serving mayor of Auckland (for 18 years). Sir Dove-Myer Robinson, served as Mayor the longest total time of any mayor so far in the city.

He was apparently a colourful character and was affectionately known across New Zealand as "Robbie". He was described as a "slight, bespectacled man whose tiny stature was offset by a booming voice and massive ego". He came from Sheffield - which might explain it.. Anyway, the gardens are lovely!




The weather was gorgeous and the craft and artists' market in full swing.
We had a picnic, ate giant ice-creams and listened to the jazz band. We also bought some lovely crafts for Christmas presents, so you can all look forward to those!



The park is also home to some remarkable native trees - the oldest manuka (and I hear Manuka Honey has arrived in the UK!) and the largest pohutukawa tree in Auckland. The photo doesn't do it justice, it is absolutely huge and awe-inspiring. There were fairies clambering all over it and old folk resting on huge branches, which were like benches.




There was a central stage with dancing from different ethnic groups and children running around dressed as flowers. We found a little fairy house in a corner of the garden.