We've had some unseasonably late snow in the central North Island this last week. I needed to get down to Hawkes Bay on Tuesday and as the Taupo - Napier road was closed, had to go the long way - through Opotiki and the lovely but disected country of the Waioeka Gorge to Gisborne and then south to Napier. It's a beautiful wild bit of New Zealand, but it was a long day's driving as the road goes through the hills covered in rainforest and is very twisting and turning, following the river for much of the way. Coming back, the Titokura pass north-east of Napier still had a sprinkling of the white stuff. I stitched this view together for you.
That's a great panorama. I hope spring shows up very soon!
ReplyDeleteStrangely, the street that connects with ours is called Gisborne Road. there is also a Napier Street in Sheffield. Are you okay Katherine? Or is it just that you are so busy these days?
ReplyDeleteThank you Bettyl. Actually we've had plenty of spring, like over your way. THis is just hopefully a temporary aberration!
ReplyDeleteWhat a coincidence YP. Actually, lots of names in New Zealand are taken from England/ English personages.
For example, I was born in Hastings and went to university in Christchurch...
And thank you for your concern. I am fine! Since the end of August, my old school friend 'Bobby' and her daughter have been staying here with me. (They are from Germany). In between my hard-out work at tech, and our touristy tours, there's been time for little else. But I have material for about a thousand posts!
I must make time to catch up with all your posts since your retirement. I was delighted to hear about your proposed Easter Island trip!
Some of your New Zealand names look straight out of Polynesia (Waioeka, Taupo, Titokura, Opotiki) and must sound beautiful.
ReplyDeleteMy geography skills are atrophying rapidly. Is NZ considered part of Polynesia?
Hi Katherine,
ReplyDeletethat sounds like a lovely drive to me, it is so beautiful where you live. Is it winter there now?
Robert, the places you mentioned are Maori place names. The Maori are considered to come originally from east Polynesia in a number of migration canoes (usually singly, and some accidentally) between 800 and 600 years ago.
ReplyDeleteNew Zealand is considered a Pacific country but we call ourselves part of 'Australasia', rather than Polynesia. Doesn't seem much wrong with your geography.
Lori - nice to have you pop in! The southern hemisphere has its season the reverse of the northern. So as you are heading to autumn, we are going into summer. It's late spring here, all the daffodils and rhododendrons and camellias are pretty much over already. That's why the 20cm of snow in an hour last week on the central hills was a bit of a shock to all. Including the newborn lambs, I guess.