7. Akaroa

This is on the approach to one of New Zealand's many one-way bridges. It's reasonable that trains should be exempt from right-of-way issues - I'm happy to defer to trains. But I love the g ...

2009-02-21T15:55:34Z

andrewg
This is on the approach to one of New Zealand's many one-way bridges. It's reasonable that trains should be exempt from right-of-way issues - I'm happy to defer to trains. But I love the g ...

This is a great sign. It tells you everything you need to know, and it also lets you know it's not kidding. This is just great graphic design.

2009-06-05T13:14:48Z

andrewg
This is a great sign. It tells you everything you need to know, and it also lets you know it's not kidding. This is just great graphic design.

The inside of the cab of an old coal-powered locomotive. This locomotive runs on a short track (about a mile) at a tourist attraction called Shantytown, which is a historical reconstruction ...

2009-06-05T14:19:53Z

andrewg
The inside of the cab of an old coal-powered locomotive. This locomotive runs on a short track (about a mile) at a tourist attraction called Shantytown, which is a historical reconstruction ...

Some of the controls in the locomotive.

2009-06-05T19:36:37Z

andrewg
Some of the controls in the locomotive.

A close-up of the coal-fired boiler.

2009-06-05T19:35:49Z

andrewg
A close-up of the coal-fired boiler.

I saw these little Dr. Seuss-like sculptures in a shop window. I think they're clay, but they're airbrushed rather than glazed.

2009-07-21T15:07:32Z

andrewg
I saw these little Dr. Seuss-like sculptures in a shop window. I think they're clay, but they're airbrushed rather than glazed.

A flower sunning itself on the west coast.

2009-06-05T12:52:10Z

andrewg
A flower sunning itself on the west coast.

Some trees enjoying the sun on the west coast.

2009-06-05T19:34:18Z

andrewg
Some trees enjoying the sun on the west coast.

Do toilets in the southern hemisphere really flush in the opposite direction than those in the northern hemisphere? Yes, if the water injector is placed on the other side of the bowl!

2009-02-21T15:58:25Z

andrewg
Do toilets in the southern hemisphere really flush in the opposite direction than those in the northern hemisphere? Yes, if the water injector is placed on the other side of the bowl!

Trees on the west coast and a small house far away on the beach.

2009-06-05T12:00:31Z

andrewg
Trees on the west coast and a small house far away on the beach.

This beach is at the end of the Truman Track. I took a picture of the sign because I thought it was funny. Hubris! This beach IS dangerous! But not the way I thought at the time.

2009-06-05T19:55:45Z

andrewg
This beach is at the end of the Truman Track. I took a picture of the sign because I thought it was funny. Hubris! This beach IS dangerous! But not the way I thought at the time.

Some rock formations carved by the water on Truman Beach.

2009-06-05T13:47:00Z

andrewg
Some rock formations carved by the water on Truman Beach.

Some rock formations carved by the water on Truman Beach.

2009-06-05T14:54:26Z

andrewg
Some rock formations carved by the water on Truman Beach.

Some rock formations carved by the water on Truman Beach.

2009-06-05T11:36:14Z

andrewg
Some rock formations carved by the water on Truman Beach.

This is the little cove where I sat for a half-hour on Truman Beach. Note the water line: the waves were just barely trickling up to that point. When I got up to return to my car, I rolled ...

2009-02-21T16:00:34Z

andrewg
This is the little cove where I sat for a half-hour on Truman Beach. Note the water line: the waves were just barely trickling up to that point. When I got up to return to my car, I rolled ...

A beach on the Abel Tasman Track. I'd call this the perfect beach, except that along the Abel Tasman there are lots of these, each as appealing as the one before, but perfect in its own way ...

2009-06-05T19:33:44Z

andrewg
A beach on the Abel Tasman Track. I'd call this the perfect beach, except that along the Abel Tasman there are lots of these, each as appealing as the one before, but perfect in its own way ...

An estuary along the Abel Tasman Track. This privately-owned boat isn't stranded. When the tide comes in, it will be floating high on 4 or 5 meters of water. Every day the estuary floods ...

2009-02-21T15:58:21Z

andrewg
An estuary along the Abel Tasman Track. This privately-owned boat isn't stranded. When the tide comes in, it will be floating high on 4 or 5 meters of water. Every day the estuary floods ...

Woods along the Abel Tasman Track.

2009-06-05T11:55:34Z

andrewg
Woods along the Abel Tasman Track.

The view out into the Tasman Sea from Bark Bay on the Abel Tasman Track. I spent Christmas Eve in the Bark Bay Hut. As evening fell, I joined some new friends around a campfire in the camp ...

2009-06-05T19:39:20Z

andrewg
The view out into the Tasman Sea from Bark Bay on the Abel Tasman Track. I spent Christmas Eve in the Bark Bay Hut. As evening fell, I joined some new friends around a campfire in the camp ...

An old tree trunk by the side of the road, carved into a watchful face.

2009-06-05T11:48:24Z

andrewg
An old tree trunk by the side of the road, carved into a watchful face.

Looking back across the estuary at Farewell Spit. I started at the land in the far distance. It's low tide in this image; at high tide everything to the left is flooded.

2009-06-05T12:41:50Z

andrewg
Looking back across the estuary at Farewell Spit. I started at the land in the far distance. It's low tide in this image; at high tide everything to the left is flooded.

Patterns in the sand on the west side of Farewell Spit.

2009-06-05T12:34:49Z

andrewg
Patterns in the sand on the west side of Farewell Spit.

Patterns in the sand on the west side of Farewell Spit. My little disposable camera was taking quite a beating from the wind and flying sand. The splotch in the upper right is probably a c ...

2009-06-05T19:40:28Z

andrewg
Patterns in the sand on the west side of Farewell Spit. My little disposable camera was taking quite a beating from the wind and flying sand. The splotch in the upper right is probably a c ...

The sand dunes on the west side of Farewell Spit.

2009-06-05T19:45:10Z

andrewg
The sand dunes on the west side of Farewell Spit.

The sand dunes on the west side of Farewell Spit. The dunes were carved by the wind into amazing and beautiful patterns and shapes.

2009-06-05T12:08:17Z

andrewg
The sand dunes on the west side of Farewell Spit. The dunes were carved by the wind into amazing and beautiful patterns and shapes.

The beach on the west side of Farewell Spit.

2009-06-05T11:41:54Z

andrewg
The beach on the west side of Farewell Spit.

I saw some people walking ahead of me on Farewell Spit. The land is very flat - these people are very, very far away.

2009-06-05T13:45:47Z

andrewg
I saw some people walking ahead of me on Farewell Spit. The land is very flat - these people are very, very far away.

The scrub that I had to cross to get from the west side of Farewell Spit to the east side. There was probably a path somewhere, but I couldn't find it. It's a much bigger distance than it ...

2009-06-05T19:31:50Z

andrewg
The scrub that I had to cross to get from the west side of Farewell Spit to the east side. There was probably a path somewhere, but I couldn't find it. It's a much bigger distance than it ...

The scrub as I bushwhacked across Farewell Spit. There were razor-edged plants, pointy plants, stinging plants, spiky plants, barbed plants, poking plants, and others that were combinations ...

2009-07-21T13:30:21Z

andrewg
The scrub as I bushwhacked across Farewell Spit. There were razor-edged plants, pointy plants, stinging plants, spiky plants, barbed plants, poking plants, and others that were combinations ...

Near the end of my bushwhacking I found this beautiful low woodland. It was like a prize after a grueling fight!

2009-06-05T14:36:08Z

andrewg
Near the end of my bushwhacking I found this beautiful low woodland. It was like a prize after a grueling fight!

A lone tree above Akaora.

2009-02-21T15:55:35Z

andrewg
A lone tree above Akaora.

Sheep! Have I mentioned that New Zealand has more than a few sheep?

2009-06-05T12:08:50Z

andrewg
Sheep! Have I mentioned that New Zealand has more than a few sheep?

On a trail above Akaroa, next to a sheep station, I saw this little sign all by itself, just hanging there.

2009-06-05T11:57:23Z

andrewg
On a trail above Akaroa, next to a sheep station, I saw this little sign all by itself, just hanging there.

The trail began at water level, but rose to this nice view of Akaroa.

2009-06-05T13:49:51Z

andrewg
The trail began at water level, but rose to this nice view of Akaroa.

The trail above Akaroa leads you around to the sheep and people of Tree Crop Farm, a small B&B/herb farm/sheep farm. Here are the happy hippies that live there. Lynne, second from the left ...

2009-06-05T15:38:03Z

andrewg
The trail above Akaroa leads you around to the sheep and people of Tree Crop Farm, a small B&B/herb farm/sheep farm. Here are the happy hippies that live there. Lynne, second from the left ...

Andrew with the swell ladies of Tree Crop Farm.

2009-06-05T12:40:50Z

andrewg
Andrew with the swell ladies of Tree Crop Farm.

A view of Akaroa from the trail.

2009-06-05T11:42:09Z

andrewg
A view of Akaroa from the trail.

In the Christchurch Botanical Gardens I saw this sculpture and loved it. I crossed over the nearby river to get a closer look. It's a water fountain! The bubbler is above the bird's head. ...

2009-06-05T19:46:35Z

andrewg
In the Christchurch Botanical Gardens I saw this sculpture and loved it. I crossed over the nearby river to get a closer look. It's a water fountain! The bubbler is above the bird's head. ...

A wire sculpture called "Echoes" hanging in mid-air in the Christchurch Center for the Arts. It's not planar - some of the wires extend behind the front face. As you walk around it the per ...

2009-06-05T13:52:20Z

andrewg
A wire sculpture called "Echoes" hanging in mid-air in the Christchurch Center for the Arts. It's not planar - some of the wires extend behind the front face. As you walk around it the per ...

The Cliff Walk on the Kaikoura Peninsula starts off along the cliff, and then descends to the water. You can walk back to the start along the water when it's low tide (as it is in this imag ...

2009-06-05T19:54:46Z

andrewg
The Cliff Walk on the Kaikoura Peninsula starts off along the cliff, and then descends to the water. You can walk back to the start along the water when it's low tide (as it is in this imag ...

You can indeed climb up Sugarloaf, though it's a bit of a scramble. Here's a view looking back at the cliffs and out on the water from the top of Sugarloaf.

2009-06-05T11:46:42Z

andrewg
You can indeed climb up Sugarloaf, though it's a bit of a scramble. Here's a view looking back at the cliffs and out on the water from the top of Sugarloaf.

As the tide recedes, the Kaikoura Peninsula reveals a surprising variety of creatures scurrying for cover, and an equal number of other creatures chasing after them, hoping to catch them bef ...

2009-02-21T16:01:24Z

andrewg
As the tide recedes, the Kaikoura Peninsula reveals a surprising variety of creatures scurrying for cover, and an equal number of other creatures chasing after them, hoping to catch them bef ...

These formations on the Kaikoura Peninsula reminded me of mountains. They're only about a foot high. In this image, the tide has been going out for a while.

2009-06-05T19:59:58Z

andrewg
These formations on the Kaikoura Peninsula reminded me of mountains. They're only about a foot high. In this image, the tide has been going out for a while.

More fascinating rocks on Kaikoura Peninsula.

2009-06-05T11:42:40Z

andrewg
More fascinating rocks on Kaikoura Peninsula.

This hearth is all that's left of an anonymous house on the Kaikoura Peninsula.

2009-06-05T12:43:09Z

andrewg
This hearth is all that's left of an anonymous house on the Kaikoura Peninsula.

A view of a piece of the Kaikoura Peninsula as the tide continues to recede.

2009-06-05T12:05:07Z

andrewg
A view of a piece of the Kaikoura Peninsula as the tide continues to recede.