Staglands

Just a couple of pics after our visit to Staglands, a wildlife park north of Wellington. I wasn't expecting too much, but it's actually a well-set up place. There a lot of birds, including the very cheeky kea and their rare cousins the kaka parrots, as well as a lot of Aussie imports, as seen in the photos! Also some kune pigs (with a face only a mother could love!), a few shetland ponies for the kiddies to ride, a couple of donkeys, a massive Scottish Clydesdale horse, lots of ducks/geese/chickens/pheasants/turkeys/peacocks (!), rabbits and guinea pigs and of course a couple of sheep...needless to say, Ben was there for the trout pond! See me here with my new-found friend in one of the aviaries - scratch cocky! Note also I had a hair cut last week! While I'm here, I'd like to welcome Sarah (http://phototas.blogspot.com) and Lauren (http://laurenhelgen.blogspot.com) to the wonderful world of blogging! Also go to http://mick.keira.fotopic.net to see my cousin Mick and his lovely wife Keira's new baby Natalie.

My new friend in one of the aviaries at Staglands...

Scraaatch, cocky!

Just a quick hello!

Hey everyone, sorry I've been slack, had a lot happening so the blog has taken a backseat. Have posted a photo of Mt Ruapehu as we're driving up from Wellington and one of me at the snow (which I e-mailed to a lot of you). Apologies for the quality, they were taken on my mobile!
For those of you hadn't heard, my second weekend on the mountain was not as successful as my first. While they had a fair bit of snow meaning some powder on the upper mountain, it turned quite icey and therefore lethal on the lower slopes, particularly the beginner's area. That combined with a completely different board that caught an "edge" all the time meant I spent a lot of time on my arse, and did some pretty spectacular but unfortunately not deliberate mickey flips. I ended up hurting my shoulder, so it didn't end up being a very good day. Haven't completely given up, but with season ending in 2 weeks (some fields have already closed down South), I will have to wait till next season to improve my skills. The best thing about the day was the weather - it was so clear and you could see all the way to Mt Taranaki, very spectacular!