Porters Ski Field

An hour and a half from Christchurch by car is the Porters Ski field. With a couple of drag lifts and a few intermediate runs it is definitely worth the journey. What's more is the lift passes are 2 for the price of one on Mondays!

Above, apparently the only alpine species of Parrot - the Kea. Contact with humans has led to this bird becoming a pest and they are known to hang out near National Park visitor centres. Often they pick at anything including car weatherstrips, unattended walking boots, camping gear etc.
View from the top of Porters Heights - 1980m. Looking roughly North. Thumbs up to that view!
View West. Coleridge Lake is in the distance.



A few of us from the hostel made the trip out of a drizzly day in Christchurch to the sun soaked pistes of the Craigieburn range. Snow chains were not needed but were brought along just in case.
We had the last run of the day to ourselves - a 680m vertical descent as the sun was going down and the ice was forming. Unreal. It's been around 5 years since I was on the snow with a board and I got right back into it. Can't wait to go again.

Dunedin and Carisbrook

I said farewell to Melbourne and the faithful Corolla - left in the hands of Cookie to enjoy many more adventures I am sure.
I headed down to Dunedin to watch Wales vs All Blacks at Carisbrook - the last ever All Blacks match at the 'House of Pain'. This is St Kilda beach and I spotted a distant helicopter approaching. Was it remote controlled? IT wasn't very large and was very close to the water.
No it was a home made chopper hovering over the surf while it's pilot enjoyed the fresh sea air.

So off to the match and we were entertaied by Maori dancers...
All Black tries...
...and hurling of bottles (luckily only plastic) towards anything / anyone who wasn't wearing black!
It was a memorable game - shame we couldn't score in the second half. Well there's always next weekend.

Melbourne and Sorrento

Sorrento Back Beach

Sphynx rock. Just as I took the photo a beam of light penetrated the clouds and pointed to the head of the Sphynx. What a moment!

Sundown. Went for a chilly swim - more just a dip actually but was refreshed all the same. Afterwards spent a few hours in the Peninsula Hot Springs where baths simmer bodies in up to 42 degrees of heat. There are plunge pools and a Sauna too - a contrast from the wild Ocean beach.

Below are some of Melbourne Uni buildings. It is the second oldest university in Australia - founded in 1853.

Below - Botany dept. (this is not my picture - it is now winter so the green is less visible - although I saw it during Summer without my camera)

Medical Sciences

Old Arts building and Quad

Old residential buildings overshadowed by modern blocks.

Welsh Church, LaTrobe St

Street performer - instrument that detects the position of hands and changes the frequency of pitch and tone. I saw one of these on Tomorrows World a few years ago but this is the first time in real life. Quite strange and novel but not much beats the guitar for street music in my view!

Here it is - ACDC Lane.

...and some great pop art - album artwork recreated in oils on the wall of basement discs.

Russian and European dolls - a shop full of them.

Flinders St Station completed circa 1909. Around 1500 trains per day pass through with 100'000 people.

The MCG (Melborne Cricket Ground, or 'The G' to the locals) shared between Aussie rules football and cricket. It is the largest stadium in Australia and has the world record for tallest light towers of any in the world! (Thanks wikipedia!)

We watched Aussie rules football with Collingwood Magpies versus Geelong Cats and it was almost capacity crowd with around 90'000 people. Beer and soup! Immense.

Royal Arcade, Melbourne. Gog and Magog have been striking the bell since 1869.

High rise.

The Block arcade, completed 1893.
Here ends the mini photographic tour of Melbourne!