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Winter: Upper Hutt: NZ
Tag: nature
Photo Challenge: EARTH
Fruit from the EARTH
Left to right: quince and pear on the same tree, grapes, two different pumpkins.
Wonderful earth around us.
Blogging from A-Z: Letter Z
ZOO
Wellington
ZOO
These are only a few of the animals at
Wellington ZOO New Zealand
Wellington Zoo was the first in New Zealand to house Meerkats in 1991. Today you can spot our mischievous mob in the African precinct, run by an alpha female and her chosen mate.
Meerkats are carnivorous and mostly eat insects. Our mob also get cat biscuits, small mice and birds, and corn as a treat. On hot days they sometimes get frozen corn iceblocks as a treat!
Did you know that each Meerkat has a special duty that benefits the group? The babysitter stays close to the burrow, with youngsters under their care. The sentry scans the sky for predators, and the hunters dig for food. The teacher shows juveniles how to hunt.
Blogging from A-Z: Letter X
XYLOPHONE
Xylophone made from wood horns and “kalbasse”
Photo was taken in Zambia next to the Zambezi River on our way to the helicopter that took us over the Victoria Falls. 2005
The term xylophone may be used generally, to include all such instruments, such as the marimba, balafon and even the semantron. However, in the orchestra, the term xylophone refers specifically to a chromatic instrument of somewhat higher pitch range and driertimbre than the marimba, and these two instruments should not be confused.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylophone
Extra “X”
https://hesterleynel.wordpress.com/2016/04/28/x-xmas/
Blogging from A-Z: Letter W
WEDNESDAY/WOENSDAG
WATER/WATER
WATERFALL/WATERVAL
It is WEDNESDAY and we do the letter “W”
Waterfall
Follow-up of Victoria Waterfall.
Opvolg van Waterval
IGUAZU WATERFALLS
1971: My first ride in an aeroplane! My sister and I visited South America. We had an awesome time there. One of the highlights was the trip to Iguazu and the Iguazu Falls.
I took the following photos. They are not the best but they are precious to me. I took them with a Kodak asthmatic camera. The photos are slides that I copied onto my computer.
My sister and I
At the hotel, they had these very tame parrots. We did not trust them at all!
Waterfall from the aeroplane.
Iguazu Falls are located where the Iguazu River tumbles over the edge of the Paraná Plateau, 23 kilometres (14 mi) upriver from the Iguazu’s confluence with the Paraná River.[1] Numerous islands along the 2.7-kilometre-long (1.7 mi) edge divide the falls into many separate waterfalls and cataracts, varying between 60 to 82 metres (197 to 269 ft) high. The number of these smaller waterfalls fluctuates from 150 to 300, depending on the water level. Approximately half of the river’s flow falls into a long and narrow chasm called the Devil’s Throat (Garganta del Diablo in Spanish or Garganta do Diabo in Portuguese).[1] The Devil’s Throat is U-shaped, 82 metres high, 150 m wide, and 700 m long (269×492×2,297 ft). Place names have been given also to many other smaller falls, such as San Martín Falls, Bossetti Falls, and many others.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls
Extra “W”
https://hesterleynel.wordpress.com/2016/04/27/w-water/
Blogging from A-Z: Letter V
VEGETABLES
Fresh vegetables are very delicious.
I had the opportunity to work in a community garden for about a year and a half. There were lovely veggies and I enjoyed them a lot.
I used them to cook fresh food for a centre for toddlers.
VICTORIA WATERFALLS
VICTORIA WATERVAL
2010
Lots of water
2005
Very dry year!
While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, it is classified as the largest, based on its combined width of 1,708 metres (5,604 ft)[7] and height of 108 metres (354 ft),[8] resulting in the world’s largest sheet of falling water. Victoria Falls is roughly twice the height of North America’s Niagara Falls and well over twice the width of its Horseshoe Falls. In height and width Victoria Falls is rivalled only by Argentina and Brazil’s Iguazu Falls.
There are two islands on the crest of the falls that are large enough to divide the curtain of water even at full flood: Boaruka Island (or Cataract Island) near the western bank, and Livingstone Island near the middle—the point from which Livingstone first viewed the falls. At less than full flood, additional islets divide the curtain of water into separate parallel streams. The main streams are named, in order from Zimbabwe (west) to Zambia (east): Devil’s Cataract (called Leaping Water by some), Main Falls, Rainbow Falls (the highest) and the Eastern Cataract.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Falls
Ekstra blogs met “V”
https://hesterleynel.wordpress.com/2016/04/26/v-veggies/
————x
https://toortsie.wordpress.com/2016/04/25/j-k-l/
https://toortsie.wordpress.com/2016/04/26/o-staan-vir-overal/
Blogging from A-Z: Letter T
TEAPOT/TEEPOT
TRAIN/TREIN
TOMATO/TAMATIE
TWO/TWEE
New Zealand names:
TUI
http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/tui#bird-sounds
Tūī are unique (endemic) to New Zealand and belong to the honeyeater family, which means they feed mainly on nectar from flowers of native plants such as kōwhai, puriri, rewarewa, kahikatea, pohutukawa, rātā and flax. Occasionally they will eat insects too.
They are important pollinators of many native trees and will fly large distances, especially during winter for their favourite foods.
Tūī will live where there is a balance of ground cover, shrubs and trees. They are quite aggressive, and will chase other tūī and other species (such as bellbird, silvereye and kereru) away from good food sources. http://www.doc.govt.nz/tui
TUATARA
They are the only surviving members of the order Sphenodontia, which was well represented by many species during the age of the dinosaurs, some 200 million years ago. All species exept for the tuatara declined and eventually became extinct about 60 million years ago.
Tuatara are therefore of huge international interest to biologists. They are recognised internationally and within New Zealand as species in need of active conservation management.
http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/reptiles-and-frogs/tuatara/
Blogging from A-Z: Letter R
RED/ROOI
Jacket/ Baadjie
RED/ROOI
Orchid/Orgideë
RAINBOW/REëNBOOG
RED/ROOI
Bus
RED bus with a ROSE
ROOI bus met n ROOS
Blogging from A-Z: Letter P
PAUA SHELL
PEACOCK
PUKEKO
PAUA SHELL
I asked my son to send me a Paua Shell while still in South Africa. He sent me two beautiful shells.
I wanted to explain how life is, just like the shell with all the rough sediments on it. We are always polishing our lives. As soon as we find things that we can sparkle in it is like the shell that gets cleaned and polished by people and circumstances all around us. In the end, our shining beauty comes out, and it makes a difference, it makes life worth living.
People are always in interaction, and we learn from each other
Pāua is the Māori name given to three species of large edible sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs which belong to the family Haliotidae, known in the United States and Australia as abalone, and in the United Kingdom as ormer shells. Wikipedia
PEACOCK/POU
Photos taken at Staglands a nature resort.
Staglands Wildlife Reserve & Cafe offers visitors the unique and exciting opportunity to connect with nature in a beautiful, natural environment. Feed and freely interact with wildlife in this very special place – the product of one man’s passion and vision to experience nature at its best. Located in the scenic Akatarawa Valley near Upper Hutt, Wellington, Staglands is a ‘must see’ attraction for local families and tourists visiting the Wellington region. Looking for things to do in Wellington, look no further.
PUKEKO
Each class at the school where I am doing the after school care has an NZ bird or animal name.
.
The pukeko is a widespread and easily recognisable bird that has benefitted greatly by the clearing of land for agriculture. In addition to its brilliant red frontal shield and deep violet breast plumage, the pukeko is interesting for having a complex social life. In many areas, pukeko live in permanent social groups and defend a shared territory that is used for both feeding and breeding. Social groups can have multiple breeding males and females, but all eggs are laid in a single nest and the group offspring are raised by all group members.
http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/pukeko
More “P”s
https://hesterleynel.wordpress.com/2016/04/19/p-elysium/
Silent Sunday: Magnolia…
