Dave "whstler" Clingman

Worst Drought in New Zealand History

Posted on March 22, 2013 by davecman

New Zealand is experiencing very dry weather this summer, and the North Island has been enduring the worst drought in the 71-year history of such records. This summer, there has been persistent high pressure over New Zealand and in the Tasman Sea west of New Zealand. The high pressure pushes the moisture-containing low pressures away from New Zealand’s North Island (and the northern part of South Island).

Green hill before the 2013 New Zealand drought

Hills this spring, before the long, dry New Zealand summer

Last year, everything was green all summer long, and I thought Continue reading →

Posted in Living in New Zealand, New Zealand North Island, New Zealand weather | Tagged Drought declared in New Zealand, New Zealand dairy industry suffers from record-breaking drought, New Zealand drought worst in history | Leave a comment

Monarch Butterflies on Our Swan Plant (Milkweed)

Posted on March 4, 2013 by davecman

Female Monarch Butterfly, freshly hatched

This year, our swan plants have grown, and they were very attractive to the monarch butterflies which pass through our yard, so much so that the monarch larvae (caterpillars) devastated our two swan plants. It was fascinating watching their life cycle.

Swan plants are a type of milkweed, and milkweed is the favourite (some say, only) food source for the monarch butterfly caterpillars. There are very few other plants that can Continue reading →

Posted in Living in New Zealand, New Zealand Wildlife | Tagged Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar Larvae, Monarch Butterfly Cocoon Chrysalis, New Zealand Monarch Butterfly | 2 Comments

2013 Auckland Gay Pride Parade

Posted on February 27, 2013 by davecman

Auckland New Zealand's Gay Pride Parade, February 16, 2013

Auckland's Gay Pride Parade Begins (Click to enlarge)

We made a day out of our trip to Auckland on 16 February 2103, but the main reason we drove the hour and a half to the city was for the first gay pride parade in a dozen years. And it was well worth the trip. It was fun and colourful and sexy.

Baloons Galore

There were all the things one might expect from a gay Continue reading →

Posted in Auckland New Zealand, gay New Zealand, Living in New Zealand | Tagged Auckland's Gay Pride Parade 2013 | Leave a comment

Napier and Greater Hawkes Bay

Posted on December 6, 2012 by davecman

We spent three days in Napier area, visiting various towns and spots, and enjoying several activities, including a few Grab One things. We found some fun things to do and some wonderful places to enjoy the views.

Andrew J. Wharton tasting wines at Hawkes Ridge Winery

Hawke's Ridge Winery (click to enlarge)

Our first stop was Hawke’s Ridge Winery in Hastings, where we sampled some wines before choosing one glass each to Continue reading →

Posted in New Zealand North Island, New Zealand tourism, New Zealand travels | Tagged Faraday Centre Napier New Zealand, Hastings New Zealand, Hawke's Bay Farmer's Market Hastings, Hawke's Ridge Winery in Hastings, Mata Peak Havelock North New Zealand, Napier Art Deco Tours, Napier New Zealand, Napier Prison, Napier's Centennial Gardens | Leave a comment

How We Keep the Wild Birds From Eating Our Chook Food

Posted on October 31, 2012 by davecman

Chook house, Chicken House in New Zealand

Our chooks in their house

We bought two chooks (chickens) a couple months ago. I was surprised that less than a week after bringing them home, our two Brown Shavers (very similar to Rhode Island Reds) began laying eggs, and they’ve been amazingly regular, giving us one egg each every single day since they began, missing not even one day.

All was fine until a couple weeks ago when the wild birds Continue reading →

Posted in Life in New Zealand, Living in New Zealand | Tagged Constructing a Chicken Treadle Feeder, Keeping Wild Birds from Eating Chicken Feed, Wild birds are eating our chook food | Leave a comment

Boating at Coromandel Town, New Zealand

Posted on October 30, 2012 by davecman

A few months ago, we sold our sailboat since we couldn’t use it much, and bought ourselves an inflatable boat with electric motor. We’ve taken our boat out a few times at our own beach. Since we were up at Coromandel Town (about an hour north of home) when we went to The Waterworks, we decided to go boating in the harbour there, as well.

The problem with the sailboat is that I get seasick. When the water was calm enough for me to be out on it, the winds were pretty much non-existent. When there was enough wind to make sailing fun, the swells were too much for my stomach. So, a motorised boat seemed to be the answer.

Groupy Inflatable Boat with Electric Motor

Our new inflatable boat

We bought our new inflatable boat from
one Continue reading →

Posted in Firth of Thames New Zealand, Life in New Zealand, New Zealand North Island, New Zealand travels, New Zealand Wildlife, New Zealand's Coromandel Peninsula | Tagged Boating in Coromandel Harbour New Zealand, Boating in Coromandel Town New Zealand, Boating in the Firth of Thames New Zealand | Leave a comment

The Waterworks in Coromandel Town, New Zealand

Posted on October 29, 2012 by davecman

The Waterworks

One place that we’ve been wanting to visit since we arrived here in Thames one and a half years ago is The Waterworks. This is like nothing else I’ve ever seen or even heard about. This is not your usual water park where you float along a river or shoot down slides. The Waterworks is a place with many innovative (Kiwi ingenuity) contraptions for water fun.

One Exhibit at Theh Waterworks in Coromandel Town, New Zealand

Pumps and Hoses

There are many Continue reading →

Posted in New Zealand South Island, New Zealand tourism, New Zealand's Coromandel Peninsula | Tagged The Waterworks in Coromandel Town New Zealand, Top Must Do in Coromandel Peninsula New Zealand | Leave a comment

Wanaka Puzzling World and Wanaka Beer Works

Posted on October 28, 2012 by davecman

We stayed the last day of our South Island holiday in Wanaka, north of Queenstown, at the Wanaka Bakpaka. After checking in, we drove out of town a ways to the Wanaka Beer Works, and the following morning, before flying back home, we played a bit in Puzzling World. We also played a round of mini golf at Pembroke Putt.

Andrew puzzling at Puzzling World

The biggest reason we wanted to visit Wanaka during this trip is Puzzling World, a place of great fun Continue reading →

Posted in New Zealand South Island, New Zealand tourism, New Zealand travels | Tagged Wanaka Bakpaka hostel New Zealand, Wanaka Beer Works, Wanaka New Zealand, Wanaka Puzzling World, Wanaka's Pembroke Putt mini golf | Leave a comment

Milford Sound, Fiordlands, New Zealand

Posted on October 19, 2012 by davecman

Andrew J. Wharton and Dave Clingman at Milford Sound, New Zealand

Mitre Peak in background

We had an amazing cruise on Milford Sound in New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park, with good weather and plenty of space on the cruise ship (few people). The water was smooth, other than for a few minutes as we turned around in the surf at the end of the sound, which greatly helped me enjoy the trip Continue reading →

Posted in New Zealand South Island, New Zealand tourism, New Zealand travels, New Zealand weather | Tagged Milford Sound cruise, Milford Sound Fiordland National Park New Zealand, Mitre Peak Milford Sound New Zealand | Leave a comment

Te Anau, Manapouri, and Native New Zealand birds

Posted on October 18, 2012 by davecman

We stayed three nights in Te Anau at the Kingsgate Millenium Hotel, and from there we explored the surrounding area including Milford Sound (next blog topic). We had planned to spend our first full day exploring Doubtless Sound by kayak, but the kayak company postponed their opening this year by one week. So, instead, we had a mellow day exploring by car. Continue reading →

Posted in New Zealand South Island, New Zealand tourism, New Zealand travels | Tagged Lake Manapouri New Zealand, Lake Te Anau New Zealand, New Zealand Fiordlands National Park, Takahe endangered bird of New Zealand, Te Anau Wildlife Centre New Zealand | 1 Comment