Photographs Taken March 5, 2007 in New Zealand

At the Agrodome near Rotorua we were introduced to many different breeds of sheep.



The MC was a very entertaining person who asked the audience to participate in lamb feeding, cow milking, and so on. Three dogs raced over the backs of two lines of sheep, which were arranged in two pyramids. They dogs finally ended by crouching onto the backs of three sheep who were unphased by all of the activity and noise.



We visited Rainbow Springs and saw ducks, geese, mute swans, reptiles, kiwis, plants, etc. and these trout.



An interesting tree trunk at Rainbow Springs



A sculpture of a Moa, a bird that became extinct in NZ about 500 years ago. It is related to the emu. See March 4 for a skeleton of this bird found in a cave.



A lizard



NZ bird



White swan

Another white swan

These are intricate decorations found on a Maori meeting house. The carvings tell the story of the history of the Maoris.

Maori house carving

Te Puia Thermal Reserve. We never saw any huge geysers, just many small ones. At the reserve, artists learn carving and weaving skills.

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Photographs Taken March 4, 2007, Around Waitomo

Mother and Chicks!!


Stone Formations in Second Cave



An opening from the field above to the second cave. Animals sometimes fall through these holes to the cave floor below.

The skeleton of a cow that apparently fell through a hole like the one above to the cave floor.

A moa skeleton. The moa was a very large animal that looked somewhat like an emu. They became extinct in NZ around 500 years ago.

Glowworms on the ceiling of the first cave. The lights of the worm aren't evident here. These long strings are filaments that enable the worm to catch prey for food. The glow comes from the excreted food being burnt. The glowworms looked like the myriad stars in the sky. The water below reflected the lights from above. It was a very calming and reflective experience looking at the lights on the cave ceiling.

The entrance to the first (glowworm) cave. We travelled down the river in a raft and looked at the glowworms until we could hear a waterfall. Then we returned to the mouth and explored another cave close by.

A close-up of vegetation.

Landscape Around the Waitomo Area

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March 3, 2007, Photographs of New Zealand

These are prize-winning Jerseys who are fed a special diet (including molasses-laced feed) and have won prizes world-wide. They are such gentle creatures with kind eyes and soft features. These cows are special to Queen Elizabeth who visited this farm in 1990 and even acquired some jerseys from this farm, which is called Ferndon Farm in the Waikato Valley on the North Island. We stayed one night at the farm and watched some of 240 cows being milked.



This owl lived in the Aviary at Otorohanga Zoological Gardens where the largest collection of New Zealand's rare native kiwi bird is in captivity and being bred.



The Kiwi fruit or Chinese gooseberry growing on the farm.

These are live shots of the Kiwi. They live in dark conditions on the floor of the forest and eat worms and bugs by sticking their long beaks through the debris on the forest floor. They are very shy and nocturnal. The photo had to be enhanced because of the dark conditions of their captivity when the photo was shot.

When the Europeans came to the Islands of NZ, there were no mammals to be found. They introduced rabbits and possums in hopes of selling their fur and products made from the fur. The rabbits started to proliferate and to control them, the stoat was introduced. The stoat killed rabbits but also killed kiwis who cannot fly to get away from such vicious animals. The possum also is a problem because it breeds well and eats the fruits that the native birds and animals rely on. It eats the kiwi eggs and the young kiwis. So all over NZ you see poison traps for stoats and possums. New Zealand also has a large industry selling the products made from possum skins.

A stuffed Kiwi!!

The symbolic fern of New Zealand used in every way possible from advertising to artistic work.

Sunrise from the hotel in Auckland.

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Photos taken March 2, 2007 New Zealand

Some photos taken on Fullers Ferry travelling from Auckland across Waitemata Harbour and on Waiheke Island. We explored the vineyards, tasted wine and visited an eccentric artist's studio (he sells his surrealistic work with no problem) and an art gallery and marvelled at our breath-taking surroundings.




Islands on the way to Waiheke Island



On the Way to Waiheke Island




On the Way to Waikeke Island (2)




The wine was lovely!

Shimmering distant Auckland from the Island

Leaving the harbour of Waiheke Island

(Back to Sketch of Waitomo Area)

My New Zealand Trip, March 2007

This sketch is one I did near the Waitomo Caves on March 4. I found that I didn't have much time for art as our itinerary was very full.

These are photos I took on March 1.




Our hotel (on the right) from the Sky Tower



Looking toward the Sky Tower from the Hotel




Auckland skyline




An Interesting Dome




A car as seen through the fountain at the Auckland Art Gallery


We arrived in Auckland at 7 am and were briefed by our travel agent at the airport and given our vouchers for our full stay in New Zealand. We were driven to our hotel which is located on a wharf in the harbour and, in fact, looks like a large ship in dock. We decided to walk around Auckland and agreed with each other that the city looked like any other in the world: we could have been in Toronto or Vancouver or New York. We bought tickets to the Sky Tower (very similar to the CN Tower in Toronto) and we dutifully took pictures from high over Auckland and marvelled over the beauty of the harbour.

We had a huge salad at Salad Works where you choose all the ingredients in a large or medium salad. That restaurant was one of the highlights of our stay and we returned to have another salad on our last day in NZ.

We visited the Auckland Art Gallery for a short period of time as we were beginning to get very tired from the combination of a 13-hour plane ride and a rather long walk around Auckland so we retired early.

(Back to Waitomo Cave Area)