Come Fly With Me - To New Zealand

**Runmonty** · 04-12-2012, 07:21 PM

Great set MA - Love the colours in the first few. Those pine cones are pretty cool.

Lake Taupo is beautiful and you have captured in nicely. I was there a few years ago for work, and enjoyed walking around it (part of the way at least).

The shots of the balloon are fun, but I cant help but feel the location of the basket is unfortunate, hanging where it does under the tail

As for that flag, I wont even start to think about smart comments about a kangaroo with a Brazilian.

Looking forward to seeing more of your trip

**Mad Aussie** · 04-12-2012, 08:23 PM

Originally Posted by Runmonty

The shots of the balloon are fun, but I cant help but feel the location of the basket is unfortunate, hanging where it does under the tail

As for that flag, I wont even start to think about smart comments about a kangaroo with a Brazilian.

Hilarious! You know Iggy found the photo on Flickr and made a comment about the basket but he wasn't nearly as eloquent as you were

'Brazilian' ... I missed that thought at the time ... very clever

**Runmonty** · 04-12-2012, 08:35 PM

Originally Posted by Mad Aussie

Hilarious! You know Iggy found the photo on Flickr and made a comment about the basket but he wasn't nearly as eloquent as you were

'Brazilian' ... I missed that thought at the time ... very clever

Just read it - Very funny

**Mad Aussie** · 04-12-2012, 09:42 PM

I found this web hanging off the bridge as we crossed.
New Zealand has 2500 species of spider, only 3 are considered dangerous to humans. 1 is the White Tailed Spider but recent Australian research has shown these spiders to not be responsible for the necrosis it was being blamed for. The native spider of concern is the Katapo which is very closely related to the American Black Widow. The last one is the Australian Redback which is found only in two small areas in NZ. The Redback is also closely related to the Black Widow but a bit more robust.
NZ also has a few larger spiders in remote areas that can cause a lot of pain if bitten.

A cool tree by the river

My wife Leanne walking through a section of trail guarded by 'Toi Toi' .... a plant with sharp grass that can easily cut you open. As a kid we used to through the Toi Toi stalks around as spears, rockets or whatever our imaginations came up with. We'd even jam them on the back of our bikes so the small bits of Toi Toi would float away as we rode along.

We saw loads of trout in the river and there was no shortage of men chasing them with their fly rods.

**kat** · 04-12-2012, 11:01 PM

Wonderful wonderful set!

**Barefoot** · 04-12-2012, 11:24 PM

Some amazing stuff in there. You found a wonderful web.

**Mad Aussie** · 04-12-2012, 11:45 PM

Originally Posted by kat

Wonderful wonderful set!

Thanks Kat ... I'm just getting started

Originally Posted by Barefoot

Some amazing stuff in there. You found a wonderful web.

Cheers Barefoot

**theantiquetiger** · 04-13-2012, 12:12 AM

The image of the balloon over the houses is awesome and very thought provoking. I didn't realize what it was until the following image. It is just something very strange looking. Nice capture!!!

**Mad Aussie** · 04-13-2012, 12:26 AM

Originally Posted by theantiquetiger

The image of the balloon over the houses is awesome and very thought provoking. I didn't realize what it was until the following image. It is just something very strange looking. Nice capture!!!

Cheers Tiger

**Mad Aussie** · 04-13-2012, 12:32 AM

As we walked on the far bank of the river we encountered more feathered friends. This is a very common little bird in New Zealand called the Silvereye, and sometimes called Waxeye. We have them here too but they are far less often seen.

We came upon a stretch of trail with a heap of these plants

It was still early and cool this morning. We found this Bumble Bee sleeping on a thistle.

Finch species have established themselves well in NZ too ...