New Zealand - More of The Amazing Milford Track

Crystal Clear Water

Little duckies in a row....



Waterfalls glarour!



These birds are so clever and sneaky, they will go right in your knapsack and take out your food!

Gotta Court Date?

I was scheduled to work at Queensland (QLD) Police. And, no, this was not court mandated “Community Service”, QLD Police is one of our clients. Since driving to work and paying for public parking requires a small chest of gold coins, and public transportation from where I live now is a major pain in the ass, I decided to walk to work, as usual. Because Brisbane is bloody hot in the summer, and I had a 50 minute walk and nowhere to change before getting to work, I decided to dress in the minimal amount of clothes for my walk in and was wearing a skirt with a singlet (“tank top” for you Americans) and then would put on a decorative top over the tank top, replace my tennis shoes (“runner’s” for you Aussies) upon arrival. As I neared the QLD Police headquarters, I stopped to get dressed. I was just pulling the top over my head when I heard someone speaking to me. As I tugged down the shirt, careful to check that I had not put it on backwards or inside out, as I am quite frequently prone to do), I turn to see who is speaking to me. A scrappy looking gay guy repeated himself, with, what I thought was going to be a variation of “brother can you spare a dime”, or more like “sista, can you spare a $20?”, but instead, he said “Gotta court date?”


It took a moment for me to register that:


     a. we were standing in close proximity of the QLD Police headquarters and
     b. that there was some sort of Magistrate court there.


I responded with:


     “No, I am actually going to work, although, I must admit, I have been to court a few times in my life, just not in Brissie.”


His earpiece buzzed and he response to someone on the other end:


      “I am on Roma Street and heading your way now”, and then clicks off the call.

      “Girl!” he flicks his wrist at me, “I been to court more times than I can count!”

      “A home away from home, ah?” I respond.


About this time, we see a group of coppers (“Cops”, for you Americans), heading toward the entrance. My new companion says:


      “Ohhhhh, look what’s headed our way! (When did he and I become a “we”? fleetingly crosses my mind).
     “That’s ok”, he continues his monolog. "I am just carryin’ a box. A box wrapped in brown paper, that’s all. They can’t stop me and search me for carryin’ a plain ole box wrapped in brown paper.”


It then registered that, indeed, he was carefully carrying a box, wrapped neatly in brown parcel paper. We walk on in silence for a few moments, and I say:
     “A box, ah? I bet it’s a special box.”

     “Yes”, he responds, “it’s a special box”.


As we continue to walk, directly towards the cops, I say: “I bet it s a very special box….”

He responds:
     “Yes, it is a very special box”.

     “And I bet that very special box, contains some very special magic fairy dust”.

     “Yes, this very special box does indeed contain some very special magic fairy dust”.
We looked at each other and grinned.
As we were all nearing the entrance, the cops from one direction, us from the other, I wished him well.   He continued down the street carefully carrying his special box, speaking to his connection on his earpiece, and I headed inside and then stopped to ponder:


      • Why do only gay men approach me and not the straight ones too?


      • Do I really look like a criminal on the way to a court date?

 

New Zealand - The Amazing Milford Track Post #1

Having internet troubles again... more pictures coming soon...

Amazing flora - that was along the path above....

More amazing flora

Moss forest

Everywhere you look, there is another waterfall....

The lovely tea tree, or, as the Maori people call it:  Manuka. The name"Tea Tree" This name arose because Captian Cook used the leaves to make a 'tea' drink.  The common name "Tea Tree" is also shared with the related Melaleuca tree of Australia suggesting that both were used to make tea by Captain Cook. 

Captian Cook also made beer from the tea tree.   Today, in New Zealand, you can purchase Captian Cook Spruce Beer.   It is Based on Captain Cook’s orginal recipe as first made in Dusky Sound, New Zealand, 1773. Flavoured with ’spruce’(rimu) and tea tree (manuka). Brewed for Heritage foods http://www.heritage%20foods.co.nz/

Manuka products have high antibacterial potency for a limited spectrum of bacteria and are widely available in New Zealand. Similar properties led the Māori to use parts of the plant as natural medicine.




Kakariki parakeets (Cyanoramphus) use the leaves and bark of Manuka and Kanuka to rid themselves of parasites. Apart from ingesting the material, they also chew it, mix it with preen gland oil and apply it to their feathers.



Manuka honey, produced when honeybees gather the nectar from its flowers, is distinctively flavoured, darker and richer in taste than clover honey and has strong antibacterial and antifungal properties.  The finest quality Manuka honey with the most potent antimicrobial properties is produced from hives placed in wild, uncultivated areas with abundant growth of Manuka bushes.

All this from one plant.....

 

Queenstown, New Zealand

Our cheap hotel for the night....

The enterance to the Thai restaurant that we ate at...looks pretty cheesy, but, the food was awesome!!

On the drive out of town - taken through the bus window

Brisbane Flood - more pictures

Kayaker's paddling down the street in New Farm, where I use to live.

The enterance to our underground parking deck...(of course, i am not special enough to actually HAVE a parking space...but, if I had one, I wouldn't be able to park in it for the time being...

Buses waiting to take us off to volunteer street clean up....

Look at the line of voluneers!   We were pushing and shoving to get on the buses!  23,000 people volunteered that weekend...

Bus jam packed with people - not even standing room left....

everyone wants to help out!  it's really great!

Story Bridge

You can see that the water is almost up to the sidewalk..

City Cat ferries were out of  service...

Our building was evactuated around 12:00 on Tuesday, January 11th and we still are unable to return to work.  Unfortuantly, I do not have internet access at my home due to circumstances beyound my control, so, I am at the public library using the computer.   Reminds me of being a student!  I only get an hour a day.  The city is blocked off so, and this is where most of the internet cafes are, so, library is pretty much the only choice.

TV News reporters ready to do a report....notice her bare feet!

TV New reporter...

Just a 1/2 block from my apartment...the water had risen from the creek and poured out into the street!

I am very fortunate, no problems here. The city is still shut down and many people are without electricity and some people have lost their homes. It is very tragic for them as most will not have flood insurance because the insurance companies refuse to offer it. Can you imagine loosing everything?

This creeks is just a few meters from the back of my apartment!

Neigbhor's gathered round for a discussion...

Needless to say, I wasn't able to take many pictures due to the rain. 

Keep up the prayers ..

Donations are now being accepted through the Red Cross.  I am off to do some volunteer clean up work.