Saturday Walk About

A shining sun, blank calendar, and membership to Zealandia provided the impetus for this morning's adventure. We visited the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary to walk the trails a bit and enjoy the singing of the local residents.

King of the odd song, the Tui was out keeping taking care of business, never missing a chance to show off his fabulous neck feathers. (Callie thinks they look like misplaced cotton balls.)

This Tui found a tasty snack in the form of some grapes. While the signs posted instructed me not to eat the berries in the reserve, the Tui got to enjoy them undisturbed.

This little bird was participating in the much loved past time...basking in the sun.

These are a new addition to Zealandia. A pair of Takahe have recently taken up residence here.

These flightless birds number in the hundreds and while most of them are living on islands where they are safe from predators, these ones are sterile or over-represented in the gene pool. This has given them the opportunity to become ambassadors at Zealandia. (No, we're not quite sure why they have been laden with antennae. An alien abduction prevention system, perhaps?)

Nothing like these giant ferns to make you feel like you have gone back in time.

View of the reservoir and the hills beyond from a very nice picnic bench along the Valley View trail.

I call this one "March of the Ents....200 years too early". I am not sure what type of plant these are, but they certainly seemed to like this hill.

Here's to many more autumn weekends like this!

Solar Powered Kiwi Bach on Display

The southern hemisphere has decided to join in the party in a big way. Callie and I were out for a stroll to enjoy an appropriately blustery day on the waterfront and saw people queueing up. What for? Other people seemed intrigued and you know what they say about curiosity....it helps you learn new something new!

Turns out that Victoria University with the support of more than 37 sponsors are sending the first house from the southern hemisphere to the Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C. For those unfamiliar with this event (myself included) according to the board out in front of the home "every two years the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon challenges 20 universities to design, build and operate energy-efficient homes powered exclusively by the sun."

Much better pictures and descriptions can be found at their official website here. Solar Decathalon has been a big part of my extended family, as Jason, my brother-in-law spent several years deeply involved in the same event while he was a grad student at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. You can see his gorgeous home here (it seems to Callie that this NZ house may have "borrowed" some architectural inspiration from Jason's home). Regardless, it's exciting to see this country looking to expand its realm of innovation and getting representation on an international stage, even if they are displaying a traditional kiwi beach holiday home!