I spent this morning at the Orana Wildlife Park with my photo club.  The highlight for me was watching the tiger being fed. What impressive animals they are. I also really like the NZ native bird display as you are right in with the birds (wood pigeons, tuis and parakeets) and they swoop past and land right in front of you. The Kea’s were also fantastic, and my friend Angeline had one land on her back! She was not happy, and appealed to us to ‘get if off’. Kea’s have quite sharp beaks and rather cheeky personalities so none of us were game, but a few photos were snapped instead!  Well, I did kind of try to shoo it away… (there’s a snap with my hand in it!).

This is a lovely spot right by the Heathcote river. It’s popular for dog walkers in particular as there is a large park on the left side of the river.

A display of early Maori life at the Canterbury museum.

Snapped today on my mobile phone – this is one of the new ‘No Cruising’ signs that have gone up around the four avenues that run around Christchurch’s inner city. Christchurch is well known for ‘boy racers’ cruising en masse around the inner city streets. If you live within a 2 km radius of the 4 avenues you will have been kept awake at some point with the high powered engines and the doof doof doof of their stereos (and the screeching sound of their burnouts). I pity the moteliers that have had to try and make a living on Bealey Avenue – who wants to stay somewhere that noisy? So Christchurch is so fed up with the noise that cruising is now banned in the inner city.  Car enthusiasts (that’s what they like to call themselves) are not impressed. Well I was not impressed at by being woken up at 4am by three of them doing over 120 km in a 50 k zone being followed by a patrol car (listen up little boys, you are killing yourselves and others – so grow up, you are not in the movies, this is not a dukes of hazard episode, you are pathetic).

I got to wander around the Canterbury Museum yesterday with my photo club – snapping away at all of the fascinating things on display (yes you can take photos). By far the most interesting for me (for photographs) was the costume room – which has a stunning Regency chandelier from 1811. On display are period costumes from the early settlers of New Zealand up to the 1950′s. Definitely a great place to be on a cold, wet, Canterbury Sunday! If it has been years since you have been to the museum – then make the effort for a visit, there is something for everyone and excellent coffee in the cafe!

Pomeroys is a pub on Kilmore Street – this shot shows it reflected in the Avon river.

The Willows are barely holding onto their leaves – but they still make for a graceful sight along the banks of the river Avon.