While I was in Melbourne, the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show was on. It’s like Chelsea but without Titchmarsh, what would be not to like?
I bought myself a ticket, the weather held out and I took some pictures of the beautiful flowers and displays that were on show.
Since I have limited picture upload on here, I’ve put together a flickr album with some of the highlights, so if you’d like to take a look, follow the link!
I’m aware how slack I’ve been, so let’s have some retrospective mini-ish posts while I wait for my washing to get done here at the Base Hostel in Wanaka, New Zealand.
A little over 6 weeks ago I landed in Melbourne and started my Australian sightseeing by taking a trip to Melbourne Museum.
I had a few great surprises there. Firstly, because I have a student ID card, I got in for free! Brilliant, there’s nothing more I love than free entry to museums. It’s something that we have in Britain, but not everywhere else has the same great opportunity.
Part of the Great Barrier Reef as knitted and crocheted by Australians for a display on its protection from pollution and climate change.
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/work-of-art/
My bus drive brought me to this magnificent site – Franz Joseph Glacier, on the west coast of the South Island.
The Glacier itself is constantly on the move, slowly edging down the valley, carving out more structure as it goes, carried by the weight of ice and snow that pile up on the top and by the force of Gravity.
At the moment, however, the Glacier is receding, which means it is melting at a faster rate than the ice is being created. In 2008 the Franz Joseph Glacier reached down to the bottom third of this photo, but global warming has seen its melt rate increase in the last 6 years.
The melt water runs down the oceans, increasing the sea level. If the sea level rises many, if not most, island nations will be affected, leading to whole communities and countries being ‘on the move’ to find safe homes.
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/01/31/rising-sea-levels-prompt-relocations-fiji
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/on-the-move/
A little late for this week’s photo challenge, as I’ve been on the move with Kiwi Experience, travelling through the South Island of New Zealand.
I’ve been sitting in the front seat hoping to be able to take some good driving pictures. This is a bridge originally built around the time of New Zealand’s gold rush.
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/on-the-move/
My garden in Newcastle, I can take no credit for the flowers.
At 8 o’clock this morning I sat bleary eyed in the waiting room for the InterCity bus station in Auckland. I’d left at ten to seven to catch two buses in and I was sipping on a mocha frappachino in an attempt to wake myself with caffeine. It wasn’t working in the slightest. My massive headphones were on and a McFly selection was playing. A lady with long blonde hair walked into the room and started chatting and laughing with the ladies behind the desk. They started comparing hairstyles and I closed my eyes and listened to the music.
Waiting by the bus to load on the backpack I watched the other passengers, trying to work out who was due to be travelling and who was there to see them off. I guessed correctly for the most part – there’s a weary resignation for those due on a 5 and a half hour bus trip. There were some wry smiles and sniggers as our driver came up to open up the bus – it was the same blonde lady from the waiting room.
She put the bags in the hold, checked our names and destinations off her list and we boarded the bus.
After leaving Auckland the driver introduced herself as Rachael and explained the rules of the bus and that she would be giving us an occasional commentary as we drove along. She told us that she wanted to clear up the misconception that many people have about bus drivers being moody and miserable. It’s more a case of being efficient and assertive, because there are working time regulations that they have to follow and being prompt is an important part of that. She said that she’s a little different but no-one in the world is the same, even identical twins are different so it’s actually normal to be different.
I am fascinated by body art in many forms. In 6th form for my Sociology A Level my main project looked into why people chose to dye their hair, get piercings, tattoos and body modifications. I’ve been dying my hair since I was 12, got the top of my ear pierced at the same time, nose pierced at 15, ears at 18, which is also when I first bleached a section of my hair and used a non natural looking colour. I got my lip pierced for the first time when I was 25, took it out because I was told by a school I didn’t get a job with them because I had piercings. I re-pierced it after Dad died and dyed my hair back from gingery blonde to dark auburn as I already had a job in a school then.
I don’t yet have a tattoo. I was very, very tempted to get one in Asia, but I’ve not been able to get my Hep B booster, so I thought I’d better not. My main problem, however, is that I’m too indecisive. There are things that I’d like as a tattoo but I’m not sure I’ll still like in however many years. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and get something done.
Over hills and far away... 