apteryx wa: December 2006

moving along

now we are in melbourne.

simple materials

here is a close-up of the famous sydney opera house. the building is (apparently) made of only concrete with a simple tile skin. notice the moon just above the "horizon" on the left.

the windsock

we saw many memorable sights on our harbor cruise in sydney. our shipmights also saw quite a sight when della stood up aft and the wind took her dress up to her neck. I was busy taking pictures of the skyline and missed the whole scene, which lasted for a good 10-15 seconds during della's frantic struggle with her dress-become-windsock.

so here is the picture i took while everyone else was enjoying the onboard spectacle.

christmas eve dinner

in order to stay consistent with our thanksgiving day meal, we had thai food again for christmas eve dinner. this could become a ritual...

koalas

we went to a koala hospital in port macquarie the other day. koalas are awesome. we almost adopted one.

they are the coolest little bears i've ever seen. they are completely docile and super lazy; for an indication of how lethargic they are, think about the fact that they don't drink any water (unless they are sick or dying). so naturally, it takes them forever to do anything and it seems like they lose their concentration in the middle of whatever they are doing. whenever they go anywhere they take a couple steps, stop, look around, go a couple more steps, stop, look around, and so on...

this one's mother died while he was still in the pouch, and he was raised in a home stay by a volunteer. however, the volunteer had a small dog that the koala played with, and so since he's never had any contact with another koala he thinks he is a dog. he is at the hospital to learn how to be a real koala.

carbq

check out the carbq at one of our hostels in christchurch. the car is real.

a whole new new world

this morning we traded new zealand for australia, small for large, spring for summer.

no pictures yet.

imagine steam rising from hot concrete, the sounds of a circus, a slight breeze.

see shore

here's kaikoura, a wildlife wonderland. we squinted to just barely see the seals; wished for binoculars. at our feet, a beauty feast.

wine cools you down

we did another wine tasting tour in malborough. except this time we rented bikes and rode them around from winery to winery. as such, we added a healthy dose of exercise to our libationary afternoon in the sun.

honestly, i think libatious should be the adjective form of libation - but then again i'm not a grammarian. nor am i a librarian, fruitarian or vegetarian. i guess i just haven't mastered the discipline it takes to be an -ian anything these days.

here is a shot of della riding her bike through a vineyard.
here is a shot of the "smaller" champagne (er, sparkling wine) aging cellar at one of the vineyards we visited.

hot houses are hot

in the city of blenheim, we lodged with a nice family of six. they've got a tomato and cherry farm. here we tended the hot house tomatoes. we became very warm. we also listened to the radio; the daily lost-and-found cat-and-dog announcements were an interesting break from the traditional u-states practice of notes on trees.

later we stood on ladders and picked cherries. naturally, we ate a few.

new post

thanks to everyone who sent mail!

for future posts, please note that the address has changed:

Tyson Miklebost or Della Watson
Poste Restante
Cathedral North Postshop
736 Colombo Street
Christchurch
New Zealand

we'll collect our mail again on january 12.
most items take 1-2 weeks to arrive.

apteryx wa

moving along

simple materials

the windsock

christmas eve dinner

koalas

carbq

a whole new new world

see shore

wine cools you down

hot houses are hot

new post

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