Old Posts and some photos of 2016

Here is one link to an old post I made 3 years ago

An Early Morning Preen

Now I am not sure of how good these posts were but I am still in the learning stage as I was then. 

The thumbnail is from Stratford a holiday we had near New Plymouth in 2016. It was our first and only trip. 

Where I stayed there was a walkway through bush that led to this park. You crossed 3 bridges.

My husband could not come because he cant walk far. Especially down the stairs that were at least 20 – 30 downhill and up hill.

This is a grandparent of my present Blackbirds and it was taken in 2016, as a fledgling. It is one reason why I was very sad about having to leave our present home. They become so tame they come up and eat the cat food and follow you around in the garden. They seem to smile.

I think it is now a Grandmother and mother now. 

This is a Muriwai Yellow head bird by the Gannet Colony. I rarely see this bird, lucky to see it once a year. I took heaps of photos this day as it sang. It was taken in 2016.

If you come as a tourist to New Zealand, Mount Taranaki other wise known as Mt Egmont is a must visit. You can hire a car and drive half way up the mountain. It is an active volcano and a fascinating place. It is like a person with a cloud as a cape. 

People sometimes go missing up there, I met someone with memories of this place and she used to see the lamps go up Mt Taranaki going and seeking missing people. You can die here easily, and get lost in a mist in seconds and you would die of hypothermia. The wind is as cold as knives and the rain and wind together is strong. I wondered around here on a set path and took the safest ways. 

The plant life is like another world and fascinating.

This is Mt Taranaki as it was from the road. That is cloud and snow around it. 

Snow topped Mt Taranaki

This is Mt Taranaki in Black & White . All of these were taken by the road side near farms. The very road leads to the mountain. 

This is Mt Taranaki half way up the mountain. On a fine day you can drive up and take a thermos of coffee and sit and over look the view from the car park.

Bird behaviour in 2016 and nothing much has changed. A Sparrow got too cheeky for their own good trying to pinch this Blackbird’s food. 

To be honest I try to find something different when we go on driving trips but it has been good to go back and see this journey.  We have been very fortunate to be able to drive and see nature in it’s finest in all seasons right here in New Zealand.