Te Ika-a-Maui

It has been about five years since I bought my current camera and it's functioned admirably the entire time. It has many positive attributes. It's terrific for sunrises, and with a great deal of zoom available on demand, it's good for the Moon, Jupiter, and when pushed to the limit, for Saturn and Alpha Centauri A and B. However, It's a bit large to carry around.  

It is for that reason that I did not take it along when friends Evan and Ruth invited us for an overnight sightseeing trip some time ago. My phone fits so nicely in a pocket and generally does a passable job, as long as the light is good. I found that on this trip, my phone did perform adequately at all but one of the sites we visited. Unfortunately, that one site we visited had sights so remarkable that my phone just wasn't up to the task of recording them as accurately as I would have liked. Even my Nikon would have had trouble showing you the reality of the wonder we were walking through.  

Nevertheless, I do have some photos for you that will at least give you a taste of what we saw.  I guess the rest is up to me to describe as best I can. 

Here we are, walking along a boardwalk in dense forest on a sunny day. 

We're about to cross the stream you see at the bottom of the chasm we're in to the other side.  

As you can see, the boardwalk is built at the base of sheer walls of rock.  

Lush, sub-tropical plant growth is everywhere.  

This next picture defies logic. At least, I couldn't quite imagine what I was seeing as I reached this spot.  I need to explain a little before we go further.  

The history of this place began millions of years ago.  The rock that you're seeing along both sides of this stream is limestone. For millions of years it slowly accumulated and compacted  from sea shells and corals growing in the sea that covered this spot in those days. Then, through more millions of years, this bed of limestone was lifted ever higher as tectonic plates moved, finally breaking the surface of the ocean and rising to it's present height above sea level.  

Cracks in the limestone next allowed surface water to seep into the ground and it begin eating away at the limestone. Over time, this trickling water became the steam you see today. It continued over millennia  to eat away at the stone and eventually formed an enormous cave. At some point in the past, most of the roof of this cave collapsed, leaving behind the chasm or gorge we've been walking along.  

What you see  up ahead is the last remaining roof of this cave that has not collapsed.  Beyond this short section the roof is gone and the rift continues. I was told the roof of the cave is about 50 feet above us.  

As I said earlier, I stood here speechless. I'm sure my mouth was hanging open as I processed what I was seeing.  The bright afternoon sunlight and deep shade below made it hard for my phone camera to take good pictures, but I'll show you what I have.  

 

We climbed the steps.  

Our higher vantage point

This is the roof of the cave. You can see some stalactite-like shapes.

One last look from down near the stream level again at the remarkable rock shapes.  

I hope that you've enjoyed this look.  I won't soon forget it.    -djf

Road Trip, Auckland to New Plymouth

We were recently invited by friends Evan and Ruth to take a trip with them down to New Plymouth, NZ. They had both grown up between here and there and promised to show us the sights. 

The weather cooperated, and the sights proved amazing.  I'll show them to you over the course of three or four posts.  I'm showing them to you out of the actual order we did them, just because.  

The areas we passed through were very hilly. I can't quite call the landscape mountainous, but the hills are impressive.  They're steep-sided and run between 300 and 900 feet high. All limestone that was laid down under shallow seas ages ago, and then lifted to their present position over the eons.  

Travel through such country takes time. The roads run only in the narrow valleys between the hills and  wind back and forth interminably.  The average driving speeds are in the 30 to 40 mph range. So you don't get anywhere quickly.  

Today I'm showing you a tunnel that was cut through one such hill that was blocking access to the sea for a number of sheep ranchers.  

Back in their day, it was even harder to travel through the hills. Instead, sailing ships moved up and down the coasts, picking up wool from the ranchers who would haul their wool down to the beach and wait for the ship. These particular farmers would have had to haul their wool in wagons a long way, so they got together and dug a tunnel instead.  

Here it is.  It's at a place called Wai Ku Au.    

Here's the beach where the ship would load up.  As I stood here, I imagined all the work it would have taken to haul the wool through the cave, load it onto rowboats, and carry it out to the ship in deep water.  

Notice the black, volcanic sand.  It's high in titanomagnetite, a magnetic iron-titanium oxide. 

Here is a shot of the entrance from the beach.  

I have always loved caves and tunnels, so this adventure was especially fun for me.  I hope you enjoyed seeing it.    -djf

Battlestar

While I was a freshman in college, an eight o'clock class was something to be avoided. That was an unsuitable time to have to be up and at it, especially in the winter when the sun wasn't even up yet.  I found it much more to my liking to stay up late and start my day at a 'reasonable' hour. I would have preferred 10, but 9 a.m. classes weren't bad.  

I bring this up today because I think I may have been showing the beginnings of being a 'night person.' Of  course, I was still just a kid back then, relatively, and what kid wants to go to bed or get up early?

And then the real world hits. To earn a living and support a family, one does all sorts of crazy things. One gets up at previously unheard-of hours, and puts in long days. It becomes routine and somehow, getting up early becomes the norm and then the preferred way of living.  Looking back, I don't think Jeanne and I would be in the position we're in now if we hadn't 'done what we did.'        

All this reminiscing serves to explain my photos today.  I've told you in the past that our apartment's balcony faces East. We are on the second or third floor of the Atrium, depending on what country you live in, and so are positioned to witness some really impressive sunrises.  

Since we still rise relatively early, even in our retirement, they are not often 'wasted,' especially during our summers.  A coffee and sunrise is even better than a coffee and donut.  

While taking these shots, I was imagining the Sun being in battle (hence the title) with the clouds.  They seemed to be trying to hold it back as it tried to start its climb. The story has a happy ending though. I swear that it almost looked as though the Sun bounced upwards, just a tiny bit, when it finally broke free. (Has to stay on schedule, after all)   

Take a look.  In fact, stare all you like. You won't need to shield your eyes, or squint, or apply sun screen to view this sun.  This is a de-UV'd Sun.  Totally harmless to the optic nerve and skin cells.  Although I'm glad that the picture also limits the intensity of visible light you see, I do wish I could somehow retain a bit of the IR (infrared, heat) radiation you feel. It'd be nice as you view it to feel a little warmth on your face, especially since you're having the winter you are. 

As it breaks free at last, even the birds celebrate.  

The previous photos were taken on Jan. 12th.  The next was taken on the 13th, and the last three on the 14th.  It's amazing how the sky changes from day to day.

It's also interesting how the sky changes depending on how much I zoom in.  These last three illustrate that perfectly.  

The palm that borders the picture on the left is about 35 feet from our balcony. Look at the diversity of clouds we have today.

I'm going to zoom in for the next one.  

This one allows us to see the wild, lower left side under the blackness better. 

We finally get a close look at the diversity of clouds, even within this small part of the sky.  When I showed this several days ago to my sister, Mary, she commented on how many animals she 'saw' among the clouds.  I agreed.

That's it for today.  I hope you've enjoyed looking at what I prepared.  My posts have slowed considerably of late, but keep watching, they will continue to pop up now and then.     -djf