Is it Autumn yet ?

There are some towns with reputations or attractions that just need to be visited. Stanthorpe is one of them.

It is in the Granite Belt, a little further inland and south from Allora where we went once before to see the sunflowers. The region is known for its microclimate and winemaking, but there are also microbreweries and an abundance of fruit and vegetables.

It also gets quite cold there in winter. Well cold for Queensland anyway. It seems to share the competition for the title of coldest town with nearby Applethorpe where for many years 100% of the apples in Queensland have been grown.

We went to see if autumn might be hiding there – if it gets frosty and sometimes even snow, you would think there might be some colour in the foliage.

We found some, but not as much as we had wished for. So renown for the chilly winter temperatures is the town, there is a giant thermometer in the park.

Then it was time for the drive home and to continue the packing and organising for our upcoming move. Only weekends and evenings available for those tasks since we were both working. 

#52Stories, Week 51, What do you look forward to as each new season approaches ?

Spring

I’ll start here since I have a spring birthday. Blue skies, trees and shrubs bursting into leaf, blossom buds appearing – sometimes even before the leaves, spring showers and soft breezes. Slowly lengthening daylight hours. Cool nights. Birdsong. Baby animals and birds.

Summer

Sunshine, dappled shade, trips to the beach, lake, river. Barbecues. Warmth. Water play. Christmas, holidays, salads. Blue skies and sudden downpours. Stone fruit and berries – picked fresh if possible. Crickets and cicadas singing. Gentle breezes.

Autumn

Cooler mornings. Changing leaves, red, green, orange, yellow, brown. Dew lingering on leaves and flowers, first frosts. Clear skies. Indian summers. Cool breezes, surprise showers.

 Winter

Shorter days, longer nights, cosy evenings, comfort food. Stormy days, stormy nights, rain, frosty air, maybe snow ? Woolly hats and scarves. Camellia, Magnolia, Rhododendron, Daffodil braving the chilly air, a sign of what is to follow.

Christchurch: Autumnal Glory and an Air of Renewal

After the frenetic pace of the last few weeks at work, a long planned weekend away was suddenly upon us.

Christchurch has to be one of my favourite New Zealand cities. I really enjoyed living there, even though it was just for 12 months. Returning to visit is always enjoyable. In it's current rebuilding phase, there is always something new to see, always stark reminders of the pain and suffering the city and it's people are still working through.

The autumn colours are much more vibrant than in Auckland where it still feels too warm to be called autumn. The rivers and parks provide opportunities to be amongst nature and to enjoy walking in the fresh air.

Two days was just not long enough really. Time to meet up with friends for meals, and family too as Mum and Dad had come down from Blenheim to see a show. Time for a wander about some of our favourite places - even a drive over the hills to the hidden gem which is Lyttelton, Charteris Bay and Diamond Harbour.

Flowers at the airport

Gorgeous wallpaper at Little Poms - reminiscent of the airport flowers

Street Art is always amazing in Christchurch

 Some houses are still hurting

 Where once there were homes and streets, now there are pathways

 and signs only visible to those in the know - boundary planting and 

 clues on fences where letterboxes once stood, and telephone cabling at the "kerbside"

 Stoddarts cottage - Diamond Harbour

Sunset, back in Auckland

Winter is coming....apparently

Well we've been at our new place almost a month - I know this because we have our first inspection coming up,  There are still boxes in places there shouldn't be, but never mind. We will get there in the end.

Today we decided to go for a drive and see if we could find some autumn colours. There are some around up here, but not en masse like you get in other parts of the country. So we decided to go to Hamilton and do a spot of shopping on the way. Chartwell Square Farmers - I don't like the way your floor moves for no apparent reason - we both thought it was an earthquake or five, until we remembered that we were in Hamilton and not actually in a seismic zone.

Anyway shopping done we headed for the Hamilton Gardens which I ashamed to say I have never visited before, despite having spent the first 13 years of my life and then a couple more later on in that city. To be fair when I was younger the site was still a quarry, and the gardens themselves were just getting started. We didn't find as much autumn as we had hoped, there were patches but often in hard to stop and photograph spots. However I enjoyed the wander around the gardens and we didn't see everything, so I am sure there'll be another trip sometime soon.

I have just made a spectacular jump in technological accessories and purchased an iphone. So there is lots of learning happening there. I took the opportunity today to start getting to grips with it as a camera in readiness for our upcoming holiday.