Don't eat that Jessica!

Why is it with weeds everywhere, she decides to take a nibble from my new plants?

Friends

Hanging out with a friend at the beach in Perth was my favourite thing to do.

Ruin by the sea

The boys went for a camping trip to climb Bluff Knoll down near Albany. B took my camera and captured this image of the old light house keepers house.

Perth Train Station

We caught the train into town today. This is the Perth Train Station. I can remember when it didn't have a roof when I was a child and now it has this amazing roof keeping out the sun which looks rather stunning. Things are continuing to change though, the train station is going to be sunk underground and the current station will become an open space linking Perth to Northbridge. I wonder what they will do with the current amazing building?

Adventure World

I took the two girls to Adventure World today. This was my view for most of the day before they dragged me on a couple of the rides.

Riding to the city

I borrowed mum's bike and went for a ride into the city today. Was a lovely ride along the Swan River. It is funny visiting a city once a year, you really notice the changes and improvements. Perth is much prettier than I remembered and much more runner/biker/walker friendly.

Early morning sun through clouds

They said there was a chance of rain! I think the amazing clouds were as close as we got to rain, and the clouds made for a glorious morning with the sun blazing through.

Skyscraper

We caught the train into Perth today to go for a look around. It was quite a good day to do it as it is a public holiday which meant that there weren't many people around. We had a nice walk around, visited the art gallery and then had lunch at the King Street Cafe. A nice day.

Happy New Year

Bella and Ashleigh make a love heart with sparklers.

New Years Eve at Hillary's Boat Harbour

A day at the beach with my nieces.

Chair on the Swan River

A beautiful early morning walk around the Swan River. I love how the twinkles in the water danced towards this chair.

Deborah's Chair

We went for a lovely walk around the Swan River today. Had to get a photo of Deb sitting on Deborah's Chair. I would love to know who the original Deborah was and what the story is behind her chair.

Kayaking on the Swan

Had a lovely day down by the river at Matilda Bay. The kids had fun in the Kayak on the Swan.

The tripods

One of my favourite books when I was younger was The Tripods by John Christopher. The huge powerlines marching across the barren fields always remind me of that book.

Happy Christmas

Some people really go to a lot of effort at Christmas!

Raffles on the River

This image is of the Raffles Hotel on the Canning River, which has a lot of memories for me as a teenager - there was a club at the back of the hotel where we could listen to local bands like Slim Jim and the Fatts, and they were really lax at checking ID so it was my underage hotel :) I'm sure it is not like that now. And if my kids are reading this... I'm making it all up, I never went to a club until I was the legal age.

The city of Perth

I took my camera on my walk around the river this morning. This image is the city of Perth framed by the Freeway sign on the Canning Bridge. It was another overcast morning with the sun streaming through the clouds, which made for some lovely muted colours. Spent the majority of the day in shopping malls again. I have been in Perth for three days and have been to three different shopping malls now - hopefully won't set foot in another one for the rest of the trip.

Sunrise on the Canning River

I went for a run around the bridges of Canning River this morning. My body clock is still adjusting the five hours difference between Perth and Dunedin, so I was out running at 5:30am. The sun was streaming through the clouds and took my breath away. Lovely way to start a day that was only going to go down hill fast with the task of last minute Christmas shopping at a huge soulless shopping mall ...

Another sunrise

I will be spending the majority of today on planes, so here is another image from St Clair beach at sunrise. I love the clouds in this one, wish I had made the foreground a bit sharper though.

Sunrise at St Clair

The possums were playing possum on my roof this morning and woke me at 5am. So I thought it was a perfect opportunity to go and watch the sun come up over the ocean. It was the most magnificent morning and it was very hard to choose just one image for the day.

A man and his dog

I went for a photo walk through Dunedin, with the task of capturing city life. I quite liked this image.

Delicacy

Through the grasses

On the way home from Middlemarch the other day I meandered home. Taking my time to take photos and appreciate the countryside. I laid down in the long grasses surrounded by wild flowers to take some photos. I quite like the hazy feeling of this photo.

Contrast

The contrast of this simple cross and the elaborate headstone struck me. In the end, the haves and the have nots still end up in the same place ...

Middlemarch

Driving back out to pick up 'the band' from their weekend in Middlemarch. I was struck by the subtle colours of the landscape.

Another St Clair Poles image

A beautiful sunny day in Dunedin. I took myself down to the cafe at St Clair to have a lazy cup of tea, read my book, and take photos. These poles fascinate me. One day I will get a photo I am happy with. Today I was trying to highlight the textures.

On the road

I drove 'the band' out to Middlemarch which is about 80km out of Dunedin. There is something about driving along the open road with your mind to keep you company that is quite alluring.

Duckling

A duckling I saw on my trip to Christchurch

Dramatic performances

Today was the end of year production for the Drama club that Z belongs to. He really stretched himself this time, in his role as a teenage musician, walking around playing his guitar.

View from the deck

This is the view from my deck looking out across South Dunedin towards St Clair Beach. That is where I take my lunch time runs, it is about 3km away.

Robbie's hand

Robbie Burns statue in the Octagon on a lovely Dunedin day.