Quiz Night at The Brew in Thames, New Zealand

Posted on May 18, 2012 by davecman

Last night I joined Andrew for the weekly Quiz Night at a local pub called The Brew Cafe & Restaurant Bar.  Andrew and four of his work mates gather every Thursday night, along with another seven or eight other teams, and try to answer all kinds of questions about all kinds of topics.  I intended to simply watch, but it was WAY too much fun to not join in.

The emcee has a set presentation broken into ten groups of ten questions each, and one ongoing progressive question.  The winners receive a bar tab Continue reading →

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The Birds are Returning Home

Posted on May 17, 2012 by davecman

With Autumn comes a reduction in the amount of green plants, at least in most parts of the world.  Here, however, things never seem to get more than just slightly less green, or a lighter shade of green.  But it is true that some trees lose their leaves.  We are certainly seeing that here at our home, as well as along the highway.

Since some trees are no longer supplying food to birds, the birds are coming back home to us.  Continue reading →

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Passion Vine Hopper – Dave’s Question and Photos Published on whatsthatbug.com

Posted on May 11, 2012 by davecman
Passion Vine Hopper in Thames, New Zealand

Passion Vine Hopper on Globe Artichoke

This past summer, one of our greatest challenges (we’ve had many!) were a small insect that flew like a moth.  They were EVERYWHERE, on nearly every plant in our yard.  I spent an hour or so trying to find photos online of this bug, but how does one search for an image of a bug when one doesn’t even know what it is?

 
 
 

So, I wrote to one website and sent photos, asking Continue reading →

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New Zealand Planning Institute 2012 Annual Conference Field Trip

Posted on May 4, 2012 by davecman

Wind Farm

Andrew had a choice between eight field trips to attend during the last day of the New Zealand Planning Institute’s Annual Conference in Blenheim.  He chose the “Southern Explorer” option, which took him to four places of development or proposed development.

Wine Vats

His first stop was at a farm where the farmer and consultant explained many aspects of farming in the local area, including the search for water for irrigation (Marlborough is a very dry region), the use of wind turbines for electricity, protection of their lake and wetlands, and changes in products and livestock grown.  The views were amazing from the top of the hill at the windmills. Continue reading →

Posted in Living in New Zealand, New Zealand South Island, New Zealand tourism, New Zealand travels | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Our House Sitters Are Having a Great Time, Too.

Posted on May 2, 2012 by davecman

Mike and Emily with Andrew at our beach

Our housesitters, Mike and Emily, are having a wonderful time enjoying our home and gardens, as well as their time with our dog, Tazmin.  It sounds like they are taking Tazmin for long walks at the beach at the end of our driveway.

Tazmin loves walking to and along the beach.  Andrew and I think it is probably her favorite thing to do.  When we walk her longer Continue reading →

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Blenheim, New Zealand

Posted on May 2, 2012 by davecman
Blenheim Conference Center and Andrew J. Wharton
Andrew receives his conference pass and materials

We arrived in Blenheim yesterday at noon, and our first stop was for Andrew to pick up his registration at the Blenheim Conference Centre for the New Zealand Planning Institute Annual Conference.  He’ll be attending four days, while I sit in our hotel room working on editing articles and overseeing the forums for International Man.  I’ll also get some time to tour Continue reading →

Posted in Living in New Zealand, New Zealand South Island, New Zealand tourism, New Zealand travels, Proof Reading by Dave Clingman | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Kaikoura, New Zealand

Posted on May 1, 2012 by davecman
Andrew J. Wharton points out seal at Kaikoura, New Zealand

Andrew points out our first seal spotting

After checking into the Dolphin Lodge Backpackers Hostel in Kaikoura, we headed to the point to see if we could spot any seals.  We did.  Dozens of them.  From one spot in our two hour walk, we counted 52 seals, mostly all sunbathing on the rocks.  But that was not to be the most we would see in any one spot.  (More photos below)

Andrew J. Wharton at Maori Leap Cave, Kaikoura, New Zealand

Andrew and tour guide inside Maori Leap Cave

After our hike, we drove south a couple of kilometres to the Maori Leap Cave and Continue reading →

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Day Two at Hanmer Springs, New Zealand

Posted on May 1, 2012 by davecman
Hanmer Springs' Queen Mary Hospital

(click to enlarge any photo)

Our first stop for our second day in Hanmer Springs was the Queen Mary Hospital, an historic reserve in Hanmer Springs.  We read in the paper this afternoon that the buildings of Queen Mary Hospital, long lain empty, are soon to be opened to leasing by businesses.  The buildings are set in a gorgeous grounds, worthy of any business, as well as having been therapeutic to the previous patients of the hospital.  (More photos below)

AMazeIng Maze at Hanmer Springs, New Zealand

Andrew writes down a word clue

Our next stop was the A-Maze-N-Golf‘s Maze and Continue reading →

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Horseback Riding at Hanmer Springs, New Zealand

Posted on May 1, 2012 by davecman

 

Andrew J. Wharton at Hanmer Springs, New Zealand horseback riding
Andrew and Katie

Andrew had been wanting for several weeks prior to our trip here to South Island to be able to go horse riding, but I was fearful the hour or more of straddling a horse and trying to keep my weight up (as you’re supposed to do) with my bum leg might make my foot hurt too badly to enjoy later walks and activities that we were planning.  When we got to Hanmer Springs, we found that there is an outfit here, so that Andrew could go and have his fun ride while I could stay at our room.

He purchased the hour and a half horseback ride with the Hanmer Springs Continue reading →

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Hanmer Springs, Southern Alps, New Zealand

Posted on April 28, 2012 by davecman

The drive from Arthur’s Pass to Hanmer Springs was pretty much uneventful.  During long drives like that, we usually listen to one of our Audible stories.  This helps the time to pass, as well as being interesting.  We often stop the story and discuss what has been said, as well as stopping the story to share about our surroundings, some of which is pretty amazing.

We checked into the Le Gite Backpackers for Continue reading →

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