Crikey !

So then I got a job.

It was a temp role, 500 people all at once to assist in the recovery after the Townsville floods. What a system and organisation ! There are many countries which should look at this model and find ways to implement it in the event of natural disasters. Holy cow. It lasted about 4 weeks or my team did, smaller teams probably stayed on for a couple of weeks after that tidying up loose ends. It was shift work 5 on 2 off and I worked the afternoon/evening shift. It was a great bunch of people from all walks of life and with such a variety of skills and a willingness to help out.

My team even had a couple of team lunches – the luxury of starting after lunch that the morning team missed out on.

It was fun though and I missed it when it ended. The money too with all those penal rates !

On one day off we went to Australia Zoo, the brainchild of Steve Irwin "The Crocodile Hunter" and a legacy continued by his family. I was technically just the driver as Lauren and her visiting Welly friend had planned to go then discovered they would lose most of the day travelling on buses and trains.

If you haven’t been – you should go. Mid week is best I reckon – if you can do it – and not school holidays. Enjoy the photos – there are lots #sorrynotsorry

On the way back we took a detour for fish and chips by the sea to catch the sunset at Woody Point. All the seagulls wanted in on the action too !

Sunday Funday

It was a glorious day last Sunday - quite a contrast to today. We went for a walk to check out the wildlife and soak up some rays.

TURTLES !! There are turtles in the lake - can you see the one photobombing the ducklings ?

Then on the way home - love the patterns from the wrought iron fencing on the footpath

Bird Spotting

You might remember that we spent some time trying to spot birds and other wildlife while we were in Suffolk (and the UK as a whole).

There are times when Christchurch and Canterbury remind us of Suffolk - flat farmland, rolls of hay dotted across paddocks, (what are those called ? they aren't hay bales - maybe they are hay rolls) haze across the water and lots of rivers.

Yesterday evening we decided to go to Southshore to see if we could spot any Godwits. I read about an event to be held there later this week to farewell them as they leave Christchurch for the winter. Seems they are a pretty big thing here.

They spend the summer in Alaska and make the trip back here to Christchurch every year, arriving in September/October. Theirs is the longest non-stop migration route, about 11,500 km (7145 miles) over about 8 days. Around 2000 of them make their summer home on the Avon/Heathcote estuary and on other waterways like Lake Ellesmere. They "summer" in other parts of NZ as well, but Christchurch seems to make a real big deal about them arriving and leaving.Their trip back to the north takes them up through eastern Asia with the opportunity to stop and rest on the way.

While we were wandering across the reserve toward the estuary we were reminded of the day we spent at RSPB Minsmere minus the "hides" that were placed there to sit and watch and wait, and spot birds.  It occurred to me that while councils and DOC do a great job providing and maintaining open spaces and access to them for residents and visitors - we could be doing this better. Why don't we have an organisation like the Royal Society for Protection of Birds or a Woodland Trust ? A little more information about what species we might encounter would have been great too.

Turns out we didn't see any godwits - just pied oystercatchers. Oh well, maybe next time. Hope you can see them in the photos. According to NZ Birds online, they are declining - I thought there looked like there were masses of them there feeding yesterday.