Moon over Featherston

Glad I'm not working on the Ambulance or the prison anymore.

Full-moon madness ain't a myth!

Interesting

IN past years, hits have dropped at this time of year. You would expect that to happen as people get busy stockpiling cheap wine and crap from the warehouse.

THIS year, my site hits have more than doubled the usual rate.

Probably means something- like papers are now almost three bucks...

Sorry about the lack of pictures

I DID do a trip into new country with the young fellow, but due to heavy rain (as soon as we got out of the ute) the camera stayed in its ziploc bag!

Which was a shame, as we walked through some great and rarely traveled county.

I won't say where, as i want it to remain so.

A guest post from the top of Oz

Courtesy of Gecko with Canon

A book, nibbles and a nice drink out in the sticks

Friday fry-up

I was asked where the greens are.

The bottle is green...

More big tree pics

Toasty

All four seasons in a day

Friday night- summer to winter in a couple of seconds. The white spots are very big hail stones.

On the inside

Home away from home

Yet another tree

A rare NZ mistletoe

The bit that sticks out of the side of the trunk. The ONLY one that is easy to access for seeds.

Rimu trunk

more trees

Just another magnificent ancient tree

Garage in the sticks

The lake, to the north

Holiday home on a hill

The other side of the Orongorongos

Looking east over Lake Wairarapa

A more old-school hut

And the inside

Yes- it IS a hut (and it has a shower and inside toilet!)

Another view

Jan's Hut

The first hut I have encountered with a back door- to say nothing of an inside toilet and a shower!

Fancy Aluminium Bridge

Orongorono valley looking south

Orongorongo valley looking north

Another shot of the stream

Looking up the Atiwhakatu Stream

Old and new

Second chance

I have to go back in tomorrow to try and retrieve a pair of shoes left at the hut.

THIS time I will take the camera!

Bugger

I hoped to have lots of new pictures of the Tararuas but:

the weather was foul

the wife forgot to pack the camera- having said she would.

So I will paste some pictures from government websites, as I have already paid for them!

The top one is the Mitre Flats hut- about 4 hours up the valley from where we stayed. The track is classic Tararuas tramping (absolute ankle-twisting shit)

The second is Jumbo Hut- an uphill grunt of 2-4 hours depending on your fitness and ability to take pain.

Going back next week

Hopefully without the white stuff!

X-file from the outback

The instrument package from the weather balloon

Mystery object found in the sticks

It's the radar reflector and the remains of a met balloon found about 900 meters up a mountain.

Swamp

Bog in the backblocks

Camping ground out in the sticks

Death by tree

A Rata strangling it's host tree

And another

The Atiwhakatu Hilton

It's frickin' freezing, Mr Bigglesworth

Heatpump in the hills

The new alterations at Holdsworth Lodge. Note the new heatpump!

Waiohine Gorge footbridge

On the way to Cross Creek

Not the best day for a walk