Dunedin, Ōtepoti, Wild Horses

Tom or Steve From Accounts

Leave a comment

Ancestral Figure – Carved from soft trachyte – Easter Island

I’d been rummaging through the shelves at a local bookshop. Not knowing what I was looking for or finding it, I departed out onto the footpath. I was due to meet my wife at 2:45 pm and with 30 minutes to spare, I decided to fill the time with a wander around a nearby museum. Once inside, for no particular reason I made my way to Pacific Island Gallery. I strolled around for a while, looked in display cases, read labels, mispronounced words written in other languages and generally tried to look knowledgeable and thoughtful. It was then that I came across a series of stone statues typically associated with Easter Island and other Polynesian cultures. Unfortunately, due to the display lacking an information sign, I didn’t know what they were. All it said was ‘Ancestral Figure – Carved from soft trachyte – Easter Island.’ They could be ancient fertility figures or figures representing masculinity for all I knew! Then again, it might be Tom or Steve from accounts. But, I really don’t know!

Beach, Dunedin, Ōtepoti, Wild Horses

Dune Protection at Smails Beach

Leave a comment

Dune protection at Smails Beach

While driving along the winding roads of the Otago Peninsula, I stopped at a number of scenic spots. One of them was Smails Beach. Nestled on the Otago coast near the start of the peninsula, it features long stretches of smooth white sand, great surf, sweeping views, and a variety of wildlife.

Apart from a few lazy sea lions and a gathering of overly aggressive red-billed gulls, I had the beach to myself. The tide had left large mounds of seaweed scattered across the sand from high tide. With time on my hands, I strolled to the far end of the beach, clumsily climbing a few sand dunes to get a different perspective on the way back. It was while descending one of these dunes that I spotted an old fence line, half-buried in the sand. Intrigued by the angles, I set up my tripod and camera. As I focused on the vista in front of me, lost in thought, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

I looked up to see a smartly dressed man in his mid-thirties grinning at me like he’d just won the lottery or on some really fantastic drug.
“Say, what type of camera have you got?” he asked.
“A black one,” I always think about replying.

I won’t bore you with the rest of the conversation, but seriously—why? Why do people feel compelled to interrupt me mid-photo just to talk about their own camera and its features? I don’t go around interrupting people on the phone, saying:
“Hey, I’ve got an iPhone 11 Pro. Mine’s space gray! Does yours have the Super Retina XDR display with a 5.8-inch OLED Multi-Touch screen with HDR and True Tone wide color?”

Thankfully, just as I began to think I’d be stuck in that conversation forever, a DOC ranger appeared, and suddenly sea lion pups became much more interesting to my new friend. I took this opportune moment to beat a hasty retreat or should I say escape.

Dunedin, Otago Peninsula, Wild Horses

Sandymount Recreational Reserve

Leave a comment

Sandy Mount Recreational Reserve walking track

I spent the morning exploring the Otago Peninsula. Eventually coming across the Sandymount Recreational Reserve. There used to be tracks that led to natural land features called the Chasm and Lover’s Leap but those old tracks are now closed and there are mean spirited warning signs that tell you so; ‘Warning significant falls exist.’ ‘High winds and falling trees – beware!’ ‘Unstable land and high cliffs-keep to marked tracks’ and ‘Brodifacoum Poison do not eat!’

Fortunately the new track leads to a viewing platform that offers a stunning vista looking out over Allans Beach, Hoopers Inlet, Mt Charles and inland to Harbour Cone, so you’re not really missing too much. However, on this occasion, the track was closed as the farmer was separating Lambs from Ewes or doing some other farm-ish activity I didn’t understand. So, I amused myself by walking through the trees trying to guess how old they were. My estimate was 376 years, 4 months and 17 days. Though, I’m willing to admit I might be slightly off!

Beach, Beach Life, Dunedin, Ōtepoti, Wild Horses

Summer Change At Lawyers Head

Leave a comment

Summer change at Lawyers Head

The warmth of the afternoon that had seemingly lingered forever, finally gave way late in the day. The clear blue skies had been engulfed by a dark, mood bank of cloud that had rolled in, bringing with it intense wind gusts that seemed intent on battering everything in its path. The once calm and peaceful blue ocean had been transformed into a brooding, angry mass that was beginning to churn and swell into the rocky shoreline of Lawyers Head and beyond to St Kilda beach. Far off in the distance the gathering clouds gave an ominous prediction of heavy rain. The once lovely summer’s day had suddenly changed, almost as if by the flick of a switch. 

Beach, Beach Life, Dunedin, Ōtepoti, Wild Horses

Dusk In The Dunes

Leave a comment

Dusk in sand dunes at St Kilda beach

The evening light set the ocean alight with warm hues of orange, yellow and blue as I walked through the dunes. Nearby the gentle swell rolling toward the shore. It was early summer, and the air, filled with salt, carried the last traces of the day’s warmth. Silhouetted hills loomed in the distance while sea grasses swayed lazily on the dunes. The quiet beauty of the sunset fading as the light dipped.

Beach, Beach Life, Dunedin, Ōtepoti, Wild Horses

Dunedin Evening Light

Leave a comment

Sunset beyond St Clair

The ocean, alive and golden, shimmered like glass as the sun sank behind the hills above St Clair. I floated, suspended in water that glowed with the kind of warmth only early summer knows. Waves rolled gently to the shore, while clouds blushed a deep, contented orange. The world, caught between day and night and for a fleeting moment as the last of the daylight  shimmered on the horizon.

Beach, Beach Life, Dunedin, Ōtepoti, Wild Horses

Sunset On St Kilda Beach.

Leave a comment

Sunset on St Kilda beach.

Here in Dunedin it’s getting to that lovely time of year when the sun rises early, the days are warm and the light lasts long into the evening. At this time instead of the sun setting behind the hills, it dips below the horizon far down the coast. Meaning from beaches like St Kilda, you can sit on the beach deep into evening and watch it fade from sight with the hypnotic rhythms of breaking waves acting as a backdrop.

Dunedin, Ōtepoti, Wild Horses

Flooding In Ross Creek

Leave a comment

Flooding In Ross Creek

Back in October Dunedin had its wettest day in over a century. Three times the usual rainfall expected in October fell in the city in just 48 hours. 38 roads were closed including State Highways to the north and south of the city, communities were cut off and suburbs were flooded. A state of emergency was put in place and all over the region there were landslides and rivers bursting their banks.