Sunsets, glow worms and a rather fine bull

[anteros_lmc]

Hmm well, I went through the photos I took in New Zealand and I barely have a dozen that don't feature kids, cows or members of partner's family. So if anyone wants photos of exciting things like glaciers and rain forests I'll have to scan the pics I took last time I was there :}

You'll have guessed that we spent most of our trip catching up with family. Last Sunday we entertained 26 of partners clan for lunch. I cheated and hid in the kitchen which meant that a) I got lots of brownie points and b) I didn't have to make too much polite conversation. Meanwhile the kids (of which there appeared to be millions) entertained themselves by constructing a precipitous waterslide down a hill beside the house. This slide had the added thrill of ending just short of an electric fence. These kiwis are mad.

The following day we drove down to Waitomo to see the famous limestone cave formation which are home to millions of tiny glow worms. We only had time for a short tour but the caves were beautiful and the short boat trip on an underground lake to see the glow worms was truly stunning. It really did look like the stars had fallen into the earth. The other high point of the trip was when the local guide sang a traditional Maori song to demonstrate the acoustics of the cave known as "The Cathedral". Unfortunately you're not allowed to take photographs inside the caves so I've linked to a couple of CC stock images below.

We also spent a very pleasant afternoon at the salt water thermal hot pools at the foot of Mount Maunganui, the extinct volcano on the coast of the Bay of Plenty. The Bay of Plenty is a gorgeous and aptly named part of the country as there are farms, orchards, vinyards and things growing everywhere you look. Sadly with the crappy exchange rate everything, and particularly food, was eye-wateringly expensive.

We didn't go to the Maritime Museum in Aukland as it was too far away but I did discover that the SS Puke is not named after a queasy midshipman at Spithead. Puke is the Maori word for "hill" and is pronounced poo-kay.

All in all it was a reasonably peaceful trip. Family responsibilities were fulfilled without too much drama, daughter got to spend time with grandpa and cousins and we got a chance to chill out and not do too much. Still, it's very nice to be back indeed :)

The view from the farm	A very spoilt pedigree bull
Mills Reef Winery	Spectacular sunset over Hamilton Rugby Stadium
Sunset over Mount Maunganui	More sunset
Waitomo Caves	Waitomo glow worms (Yes they really do look this amazing!)
Waitomo Caves Visitor Centre	Wainou River (previously called the Thames)
Wainou River	Wainou River
Prints from Titles of Aongatete	Daughter got a plot bunny for her birthday ;)

Comments

[nodbear.livejournal.com]

photos just ideal -enough to be fascinating but enough to take in = prints look fabulous and eager to hear more about them
glow worms amazing and beautiful
scenery somehow like I imagined
and bull very handsome -= just make sure there aren't any neighbours who try to sell him off by mistake ...
forgot to say plotbunny rather nice too

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

just make sure there aren't any neighbours who try to sell him off by mistake
Now what kind of scoundrel would do a thing like that eh?!

I'll post proper pics of the prints when I have a chance. Most of them are obviously book plates but one or two seem to be original prints though I have no idea how old they are.

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

Wow. So beautiful and green! The bull is fabulous. He looks very pleased about something.

Family can be exhausting. I have certainly done the hiding in the kitchen thing myself. (I am already planning to avoid MIL's for Easter!

I've been a little slow on the writing lately, but there should be more after tomorrow. Tomorrow I have to go to the DMV which I have been dreading for ages.

Once I have that done, I think the stories will be in reach for me.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

The bull is looking very pleased with himself because he has just been shampooed and brushed!

Hiding in the kitchen, preferably with the wine, is the only place to be at family gatherings I find ;)

For once I am glad your writing has slowed down a little as it gives me a chance to catch up! I haven't wanted to read your latest piece until I can give it the attention it deserves which I hope will be later tonight :)

Hope your DMV thingy goes okay. (What is it?!)

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

The bull reminds me of an old friend I had years ago whose family raised giant beef cattle. They were always washing them and spiffing them up and taking them to shows and things. I am sure the bull liked being groomed on all his itchy spots that he could not easily reach!

The DMV (I did not mean to be cryptic,) is the Dept. of Motor Vehicles. I had to go in today to get my drivers license switched from Florida to New York. One of those deals where you take a number to wait in a line, and then they send you to another line...

It went very badly, as I feared. I had old traffic tickets from years ago, which had been mailed to the wrong address. I have to pay them before I can go any further. (I am not a bad driver really, but sort of absentminded, and traffic here is insane!) Dumb life stuff, nothing interesting.

But I am working on the next chapter. Horatio is a great comfort. His troubles are so much more dramatic than mine!

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

This is FiL's first attempt to raise a pedigree bull so he is being pampered beyond belief. He has still to prove he is up to the challenge though!

I don't drive myself but you have my sympathies. I know folk here who have had terrible trouble with parking and speeding tickets that have gone astray and never been paid. Sorting out that kind of thing saps your soul :/ So here are some happy boys to cheer you up again, they are both a great comfort in many ways :)

[lady-branwyn.livejournal.com]

Are the glow worms on the ceiling of the cave?
The bull is very handsome and seems to know it!

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

The bull was outrageously pampered! And yes the glow worms are on the roof of the cave where they suspend sticky threads to catch flies and other insects.

[azdak.livejournal.com]

The view of the hills across the Wainou (is it pronounced Wino?) River is very Lake District-y, and then in the next photo there are suddenly palm trees and it doesn't look like England at all.

The glow worms are spectacular. They've gone right to the top of my trips-to-go-on-when-I-win-the-lottery list.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Parts of NZ look very like England, and Scotland too further south. The ponga fern trees are a dead give away though. I think Wainou is pronounced something like whynoo.

The glow worms are definitely worth a visit if you ever win the lottery, they really are breathtaking.

[stevie-carroll.livejournal.com]

Lovely photos there. That bull definitely looks well spoilt.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And yes the bull it thoroughly spoilt!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_likimeya/]

So much lush green, it's so lovely! And the glow worms are so pretty! How can they give off that much light? There's got to be millions of them!

I love the bunny, too. :D

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

I think there are millions of the glow worms, each one giving of a tiny pin prick of light.

Thought you would appreciate the green stuff :) And the bunny ;) Have to confess I bought the bunny for daughter's birthday, I couldn't resist it. If you wind it up it hops rather apathetically!

[charliecochrane.livejournal.com]

Want those glowworms! (like the bull, too!)

Fab piccies - thanks for sharing.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Want those glowworms!
Even if I told you they're actually maggots? Actually, knowing you, you probably would wouldn't you?! They're the larval stage of a fly that spends its entire life cycle in the caves and both larvae and flies emit light. The stringy bits are sticky threads the larvae suspend to catch insects and other flies. They're very, very beautiful!

[charliecochrane.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, I knew they were larvae. *hugs them*

Actually, I have a new animal love, the Mimic Octopus. Almost as lovely as Jamie Bamber.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Wonder if you'd glow if you hugged enough of them?

I have googled your new love an he is indeed wonderful though I was somewhat distracted by the discovery of Wunderpus photogenicus. Sounds like Bond girl to me!

[mylodon.livejournal.com]

I like Wonderpus, too, but he's not quite as stellar as the Mimic. You and 'herself' will laugh at this but among the furry toys I sometimes take to bed are a pterodactyl, a mandrill and a squid. I must keep an eye out for a furry mimic octopus...

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Is there a Glamourpus octopus too? ;) Sounds like you have a menagerie to rival my daughter's! Where on earth did you mange to find a furry squid?!

[mylodon.livejournal.com]

Boston Aquarium. I ummed and ahhed between him and an octopus but squiddy won.

[essayel.livejournal.com]

Fabulous pictures. Those glow worms!! Oh and the prints! I like the sunsets and landscapes too. Did they shampoo the bull?

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Rofl! Yes! How did you guess? The bull had just been shampooed and combed before this pic was taken. I thought FiL was joking when he said he was going to shampoo the bull!

The glow worms are less pampered but equally spectacular ;)

I'll post pics of the prints later in the week. The military gentlemen are outrageously camp!

[essayel.livejournal.com]

I've helped shampoo a bull! Being raised in Herefordshire has its benefits.

I love outrageously camp military gentlemen. Good fodder for drawings too.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

I guess I don't need to tell you what kind of bull it is then? ;) I must say I never remember any bulls being shampooed in the Outer Hebrides!

I'll post some pics of the camp gentlemen for your delectation tomorrow.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

They really were amazing. Gliding over the water in the pitch black and seeing them glittering on the roof like that was quite an experience.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

This might help :)

[esmerelda-t.livejournal.com]

I think Hatuma the bull looks very dashing!

Bartholomew thanks you for his postcard, he's spent the evening deciding which one he'd eat first, beast that he is.

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Hatuma is very debonair isn't he?

My goodness has Bartholomew got his postcard already?! That was quick, I only posted it on Wednesday!! Tell him not to eat all the lambs at once, or he'll get sick as a middy at Spithead.