Watery Wednesday: Ripples at Whatipu

http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/

It's been wet wet wet and cold cold cold. I stay snug warm in my house. Last summer, I went for a long hike at Whatipu.

watery wednesday: boats and tourists

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Great that my friend Choon Ming takes his lovely wife to places for holidays. The conical hats worn by the Vietnamese boat rowers.

In my ESOL lessons, when I draw a Chinese person, I draw a stick figure with a conical hat.

When my late son Andrew was in hospital, his eldest sister D drew Andrew wearing a conical hat and told everybody that Andrew was a Chinese baby.

Thank you Choon Ming for this photo.

Watery Wed/Sky watch Friday: Wet and wild In Auckland

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http://skyley.blogspot.com/

http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/

Auckland weather gave us a beating today. Driving to school with our lights on, I remind myself to turn them off The sky was dark, the squall was wild. On Wednesday, I first went to my ESOl Class at Mt Albert Church. Then I went to School. The gale was so strong that it turned my umbrella the other way. The legs of my long pants were wet.

Combining this two memes as I couldn't during the week.

watery wednesday: Control tower

http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/

I was surprised to see a control tower at this Half Moon Bay mariner. I think this is for sea planes. The tower was where the beach was, and not far away I saw a wind sock.

Addition:

I think Windsmoke is right. While this is a small marina compared to melbourne, there is a ferry service. Half Moon Bay Marina has operated one of the South Pacific's most comprehensive and advanced haulout facilities for boats up to 35 tonne displacement since 1970.

I asked my husband, the water engineer who designed part of the mariner and a shelter. The Tower controls all sorts of traffic like the ones in airport does. Usually a big mariner would have one. We joked yesterday while we were there, that while he designed mariners, he was too poor to be a sea dog. It is just as well, I get sick sea, otherwise I would nag him to get a boat.

The haulout facility at Half Moon Bay Marina employs a dedicated team utilizing the latest technology in boat handling equipment and procedures ensuring your vessel is lifted from the water with great care, high pressure washed, transported and supported on the hardstand with the minimum of fuss.

Once your boat is safely positioned on our sealed yard, fresh water and power is at your disposal close to hand.

The hardstand at Half Moon Bay Marina can accommodate over 100 boats at any one time and during the busy season (August-December) Travelift bookings through our Customer Service office are essential.

watery wednesday: The Bells tolled in New Zealand

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Today, the bells of New Zealand tolled for our twenty nine lost miners.
The country stood still for two minutes as we remembered them.

I was with a teacher who prepared her five year olds. It wasn't easy as we had two special needs kids. But when it came to the silence, the kids were very good, even the two special needs kids. Then not too far in the distance, we heard the bells tolling, they chimed twenty nine times.

Watery Wednesday: Water World,

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This was where I was in January, Water World Australia. The weather was hot, the water was inviting.

My second daughter is in the Gold Coast to attend her cousin's wedding.

watery wednesday: Too much water

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Storms have dumped tonnes of water on to southeast Queensland in the last three days, flooding low-lying areas and causing homes to be evacuated.

On the Sunshine and Gold Coasts, traditional favourite holiday spots for New Zealanders, gale force winds lashed the resort towns.

Waves offshore rose to 7m while wind gusts over 100km/hr were reported.

I saw this shag at a private jetty on a private island on the Gold Coast. It took off as soon as I got near.

watery wednesday: reeds

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I went to the Winter garden at the Auckland Domain. There is a formal courtyard with a pond with statues and fountains. When I see these reeds, they bring me back to when I was a child in tropical Borneo. These reeds grow wild in our creeks. Here in temperate Auckland, they are ornamental plants.

watery wednesday: Will I be rich?

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I used to sing," que que sera, what ever will be will be? The future's not ours to see, que que sera"

My future is not to live in a mansion with a private jetty and a boat. I did visit some one living there and had a glimpse of how people on the other side live.

Watery Wednesday: Penang

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From the snowy Southland of New Zealand, and the hail storms of Auckland, I dedicate this post to http://rainfield61.blogspot.com/ of sunny Penang. "The Pearl of the East aka "The Pearl of the Orient", "东方花园". I love visiting the Botanical Gardens and didn't mind the humidity and the heat.

Watery Wednesday: Jet boat

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New Zealand: land of extreme sports. Thirty years ago, we went on a jet boat ride. Here we were after an awesome and thrilling ride. We pretended to drive the boat.

Twenty years later, in Queenstown, I refused to go on the Shotover jet. The husband and daughter went.

Addition: Ginny asked how I became cautious;
The ride was very fast and almost dangerous. We were sitting at the back, and our friend D was sitting in front. The driver made 2 360 degrees turn. D went into the front part of the boat (That triangle part) and bump his head. Exhilarating as it was, right there and then, I decided not to go on another ride ever.

Recently there was a serious accident.
Five people flown to hospital after a jet-boat accident on the Waiau River, south of Hanmer Springs, were "very lucky" to escape with their lives.

Mechanical failure is thought to have caused yesterday's accident.

Twelve people, mainly tourists, were on board the Thrillseekers Canyon Adventure jet boat when it ran aground about 600m south of the Ferry Bridge, 7km from Hanmer.

The jet boat hit a rock and spun out, grounding on a shingle bank in the middle of the river.

watery wednesday: Pier

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My niece Olivia and Nephew Thomas were so cute. We walked out to sea to the the end of the pier. I asked them if there was any fish. They bent down the grills to see if there is any. You see, they are experienced fishermen.

watery wednesday: Water closet

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This is a different kind of water post. I am a teacher, and I encourage my students to put on their green thinking caps and be creative. So i am doing the same. I am posting a water closet which is otherwise known as a toilet.

In this post in my other site, I said
http://annsnowchin.blogspot.com/2010/08/ruby-red-tuesday-toilet-in-west.html I will post a photo of a very elite toilet, where you don't need loo paper and it even massages you. LOL

When I gave birth to my first daughter in Auckland, my hospital room had a bidet. All the women who had given birth would tell you how tender your bottom is. It was heavenly to use the bidet. I could just sit on the bidet the whole day long. How clever the French were.

This water closet supercedes the bidet. It is in the house of someone rich and famous and is known as a Japanese High Tech Loo. As you can see from the colorful array of buttons on the complicated control panel, there are a lot of functions. I don't mind having ten babies if I have a toilet like this. The jet of water can spray you clean and massage you. You save from toilet paper as the warm air will dry you. All in all, a wonderful experience without using your hands.

watery wednesday: rain

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It's raining, it's pouring.
I am stuck behind a heavy vehicle which is traveling very slowly.
Just as well, I am going home and not rushing off to work.

We didn't have a good winter, there were not many days with sunshine. In Christchurch, they actually had 2 days of sunshine in the month. We are always blaming the weather office for not predicting accurately. Now they ( National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa),)have brought in a new $12.7m computer which they say will yield more accurate rainfall predictions.

It is not so important for ordinary people like me to know whether I should hang the laundry out or go to the beach for a swim. Or I can't see our famous Sky tower from school. But for the commercial fishermen, the accurate prediction may mean life or death of his life and business.

Storm lashes Auckland's waterfront
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/weather/news/video.cfm?c_id=10&gal_cid=10&gallery_id=113208

watery wednesday: Mathex Casio

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You can't see the rain, but it was drizzling the whole day. But rain was the last thing on the mind of my son Sam. For Sam and his three friends and another two hundred 14 year olds were taking part in the annual Mathex Casio Secondary Schools Competition.

As I drove to the ASB stadium at Kohimarama, it was also a test for me as I don't normally drive to a new destination in the rain.

This competition was an eye opener for me. They have the various teams, two from each school seated on the floor round a school desk. The bell rung, and the destinated runners ran to the judges to get the question, run back to the competitors, and run to the judges with the answers, back and forth, the poor runner ran twenty times. I really pitied Sam's runner.

The commentator was announcing the school that was leading, and with the scorer flipped the marks. It was quite exciting like going to the horse races.

This is a fiercely competitive mathematical race. Under extreme pressure, the teams managed to cooperate and perform to the best of their abilities. Three teams managed to solve all the questions and scored 100 points. Sam tells me that it was a tactical battle using strategic passes on very difficult questions.

In the end, Sam's school Mt Albert Grammar didn't win. Sam's team got 85 out of 100. I am a proud horse owner. I drove my iron horse home in the dark, and singing in the rain. LOL

Watery Wednesday:Statues

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Tucked in one corner of Auckland Domain,
Where almost nobody goes,
And nobody could see,
And nobody knows.

Is this man made lake,
and three statues.
Built to commemorate Auckland's 100 years.

In the middle, is Auckland finding strength.
On the right, is Wisdom presenting a Bay leaf.
On the right, is fertility, offering a Cornucopia.

I wish there are more signs, to lead people to see this sight.

watery wednesday: Heavy fog

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August 4th 2010

June 12, 2010


Some of you may remember my June post, where I show you this photo I took from my school. We have been having so much rain these winter that it is not funny. Yesterday, the fog blanketed the whole day, and planes were canceled.

Yesterday, when I looked towards the same direction I took the June photo, it seems an ogre had descended from the skies and escape with our city icon, our Sky City tower. As I took the photo, my colleague asked me what was I photographing. In jest, I said," The Sky Tower." He laughed.

Today, on my way home, the heavy downpour caused an almost zero visibility. All the cars were driving at a snail pace, and parts of the roads were flooded.

June 12, 2010
View from my school at Pt Chevalier. The Sky Town is the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. Some days we have a beautiful view, some day, it is shrouded with clouds.

A truly captivating experience awaits visitors to Auckland's Sky Tower. At 328 metres, it is the tallest man-made structure in New Zealand and offers breathtaking views for up to 80 kilometres in every direction.

Travel up in the glass-fronted lifts to one of the three spectacular viewing platforms, or for more thrills and excitement, SkyWalk round the pergola at 192 metres up or SkyJump off the Tower!

watery wednesday: ice needles

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My cousin Alicia visited me. She had been in the mountains skiing at Mt Ruepehu. She took this photos. Looking from the thumbnail, I thought they were icicles. But when I looked at the big picture, I thought they looked like ice needlea and when I went to ggogle search, I wasn't wrong. They were called ice needles.

I have not seen ice needles before in Canada or in New Zealand http://annkschin.blogspot.com/2008/11/winter-in-mt-ruepahu.html. Neither have I seen them on the blogs. Is this phenomenon quite rare? It has a characteristic filamentous appearance with individual needles extending independently and in fascicular bundles.

Thank you Alicia for this eye opener.

Addition:
Jama asked if it is dangerous, it makes me think of the Indian Gurus who lie down on a bed of needles.

My Cousin and her friends were very curious about the needles. Initially they thought there were grass or twigs, upon examination, they were shards of ice needles.

Needle ice is a phenomenon that occurs when the temperature of the soil is above 0 °C (32 °F) and the surface temperature of the air is below 0 °C (32 °F). The subterranean moisture is brought to the surface via capillary action.

The ice needles are typically a few centimetres long. While growing, they may lift or push away small soil particles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needle_ice

watery wednesday: Lovely weather for ducks

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The rain came down the whole day. In my adult ESOl class, we had a question," Who likes driving in the rain?"

I arrived in school, and guess who visited us? A drake and a duck. It reminded me of this song.( You can see the puddles in the photos)

***I added this because some of you have asked if the ducks were crossing the road.***
These ducks HAD cross the road at some stage. They were inside my school compound. When I took the photos, the kids were inside the ir class rooms. As it was raining, I didn't hang around to see the kids' reaction, and the ducks' reaction.

I am pretty sure the kids were happy to share their lunches, but the ducks would be overwhelmed.

My school is about 3 kilometers from Western Springs park. This couple must have left to get some privacy only to meet 660 children. LOL



http://ann-mythoughtsandphotos.blogspot.com/2009/03/ugly-ducklings-became-beautiful-swans.html
Rosemary Clooney - Lovely Weather For Ducks

When the good life seems to have missed us,
And there's no kick thinking of Christmas
Just keep your chin up, brush your troubles away.
There is always some cheer in every shower;
Think of the good it does a flower!
So let's find the bright side
To every stormy day.

When it's pouring rain and people complain
And things aren't worth a shucks,
Don't you yell, just say, "Well--
Lovely weather for ducks!"

When it's freezing snow, about zero or so
And the icy sidewalk glares,
Don't get cold feet, just repeat:
"Lovely weather for bears!"

Though all your cares seem double,
There's good in every bad.
So sneer at old man Trouble,
And he'll go away mad.

When your shoelace breaks and your toothache aches and you need a few more bucks,
Don't you pout. Just sing out:
"Heavenly weather for, what could be better for, lovely weather for ducks!"

Though all your cares seem double,
There's good in every bad.
So sneer at old man Trouble,
And he'll go away mad.

When your shoelace breaks and your toothache aches and the ballgame costs two bucks,
Don't you yell. Just say, "Well--
Heavenly weather for, what could be better for, lovely weather for ducks!

"Heavenly weather for, what could be better for, lovely weather for ducks!"

And this funny video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8yx4k4tzqE&feature=related