Birthday Retreat

Fiona and I had a magical time away in the Hokianga. We began our four day retreat- horse riding in Whananaki with Stewart. Stewart and his horses were great. The four hour ride through the river along the beach and through the forest was full of adventure. I'm keen to become more confident around horses though Chaquitta Banana provided me with some challenges, eventually I found it in me to ensure I had some of the control. Fiona's horse was called Chicko and he was a real gentleman. It has been over 20years since Fiona rode horses to school - she looked like a pro!! It is great that Stewart's horses are not the kind that plod nose to tail but will walk alongside eachother and you and your horse can have as much or as little excitement as you wish. The setting was magical. We also enjoyed Stewarts company and accepted an invitation to dinner for the evening. It was a great surprise to find Lobster on the menu.
The next day Fiona and I drove to Mimiwhangata - stunning! There are also cottages you can hire which we will find out about some other time.
Our final destination was Pickering Cottage in Rawene. A rustic, charming seaside bach - flooded with sunlight in the afternoon. An inside toilet would cost around $200, a shower $150, a simple life experience - priceless!! We enjoyed doing nothing - except a meander through the village, a walk along the broadwalk in the mangroves, and pleanty of magazines and sundowners. Here are some the the memories in slideshow format...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Jupiter and Mars?

We were told we would be able to see Jupiter during the eclipse but I didn't see it with my naked eye or while bent double looking through the zoom from the bath (see pics below). After making the movie (see below) I reviewed my many photos and found two with these dots - Jupiter and Mars? (might need to clean your screen - they are as big as dust spots).








BUT Hang On!!!... It can't be Jupiter or Mars INFRONT of the moon!!!!! - Can it?

Fiona At Work

Oh the glitz and the glamor. Fiona hard at work with 'Donny', as - the Game Show Host.....

Eclipse of the Moon

Wow - what a great sight. We were lucky to have the clouds scatter long enough to watch this spectacular event. I should have read the article in the DPhoto magazine in more depth - but I really thought it was going to be cloudy. So I shot from the hip with a dodgy tripod - from inside the bath!!!! Fiona and I spent time outside in the howling gale to also just enjoy the event (I have a habit of enjoying events through the eye of a camera - not always a good idea). Anyway here's what we saw...

Out of Storage

Animals of Africa

Our journey through Kruger National Park was an absolute highlight. The animals of africa are awe inspiring. This is a country of it's own, the size of Wales - "Where nearly 2 million hectares of unrivalled diversity of life forms fuses with historical and archaeological sights – this is real Africa. The world-renowned Kruger National Park offers a wildlife experience that ranks with the best in Africa. " (http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/)

The Sentinel - South Africa

Well it has been a long time coming but here is a collection of our experiences from our trip to South Africa. We kick off first with our climb up the Sentinel. The Sentinel is part of the spectacular Drakensberg escarpment. This hike took us 3000m above sea level and was estimated to take 5hrs from the carpark. We started with a 12km zigzag UP the mountain 'meadows' and then came to the shear rock face. Check out the chain-ladders we had to climb - stretching 40m vertically! Once we had overcome our fears and had our feet back on stable land - we wandered another half hour across the top of the mountain to the awesome amphitheater, waterfall and rock pools. By this time the cold mist had cleared and we were able to marvel at the spectacular views, mountain flora and fauna, and enjoy the feeling of having conquered the Sentinel.