Snapped today in Akaroa at about 5pm.  It had been raining and the sun came out, and the greys looked very moody and photogenic!

Burgers and Beers is a burger joint on High Street and they have very yummy burgers! mmmmmmm! This is the sign they have outside – some very fun marketing!

Images from the Chinese Lantern Festival that was on during the weekend in Victoria Square.  It was a really popular.

New Zealand actor Mark Wright gets a hosing during a water fight between the Variety Bash and Christchurch Fire Department.  The event marked the beginning of the 20th Annual Variety Bash which travels the country raising funds for Variety children’s charity. The event was held in the square yesterday, and as you can see I got pretty close to the water!

Time for a seagull pic, as it’s been a while!

Every September the Christ Church Cathedral bells peal for 30 minutes to announce the arrival of the Godwits after the 11,000 km non-stop flight from Alaska. They fly back to Alaska in March and the Christchurch City Council rangers and the Avon-Heathcote Estuary Ihutai Trust put on a farewell event at the time of their departure. Of course it’s not their exact time of departure! Perhaps someone should tell the Godwits we’re having a party just for them, and they should now make a big deal about flying off just for all those nature photographers standing by the shoreline with their enormous lenses.  (Yes I have lens envy).

The very nonchalant Godwits Oyster Catchers (opps!), hanging about and fairly oblivious to the large crowd of people staring at them doing not much at all!

Now here’s a bit of flying… but they were landing, not taking off

Snapped at the Lyttelton Street Party on Sunday.

A Christchurch Fireman demonstrating how to put out an oil cooking fire. His advice was to put the lid back on it, call the fire department. As it will take 20 minutes for an oil fire to stop burning. He also used a wet towel over the top and then place the lid on.  He kept taking the lid off to demonstrate how the fire just took off again.  Quite a lesson to be learned here!  Never ever leave your cooking unattended, seriously folks too many people die uneccessarily because of just this issue.

The lid goes off and poof! The flames ignite again.

On goes the wet tee-towel.

To show rather dramatically what can go wrong, a second Fireman poured cold water onto the fire (never ever ever do this!). Do this and you may win a Darwin Award.

On goes the water.  There’s a very good reason he is suited up like that. I am behind a barrier about 6 feet away from him. I’m  NOT using a zoom lens – when this happens!

It was rather hot! But I wasn’t moving, I wanted the shot.  Now remember, never use water on boiling oil, cover the pot, call the fire department, and get out of your house.

A view of the Heathcote river (which is tidal) looking over the Port Hills as the sun slowly sets.