Selected NZ Photos by Selchie

[selchie]

Here are a few of my photos from the South Island


This is from a boat on the Abel Tasman NP coast.


Anchorage Bay, in Abel Tasman NP. The sands are much more golden than this image shows. Lots of bush to tramp in.


Fox Glacier, with rainforest regrowing in the valley.


Moeraki Boulders. Interesting geologic stuff!


Here's what a boulder looks like when it breaks open.


That's me on one of the boulders, just for scale, of course.


Morning on the Onawe Peninsula, on Akaroa Harbour. [smiley=icon_biggrin.gif]

[selchie]

Here's a kauri grove from the North Island. Sorry it's not better, but it shows what they look like. These tree people are BIG, like redwood big, though not quite as tall. I found that this is one of only a couple of my North Island photos whaich have been scanned.

[MotherBear]

You managed fine to get your pics on, Selchie. :023: Yet another case of 'man' triumphing over technology. Being a rock-savvy person, are you able to say what it is that's in the middle of the Moeraki Boulders? It looks very interesting. Nice to see that you did have some bits of blue sky.

Why did I get the impression you were a taller person, I wonder? Isn't it odd that we rarely appear to be like other people imagine us. I think it's good fun to see what everyone looks like. C'mon folks, still a lot of you to put your pics on yet. Let's have a look at you. Don't be shy. :icon_biggrin:

[nattydread]

Selchie,

Any chance of getting a blown up version of "Morning on the Onawe Peninsula, on Akaroa Harbour."..

I fancy that as my new desktop wallpaper..
It looks amazing..

[MotherBear]

What! You mean you DON'T want a picture of me in my abaya for your desktop wallpaper? Too spooky, huh? :044:

[Glenda]

Great pics selchie! ::):

The South Island is soooooo scenic. The Abel Tasman is just great - intend going there regularly on future holidays. Have lots of photos of our trip down there but not on digitial.

::):

[selchie]

Nope, I'm not tall, just 5'4". Maybe it's my nom de forum that makes me seem taller.

Craig, I just emailed a copy of the photo. Hopefully it will work.

If you find yourself in Havelock (south), look for The Mussel Boys:

Green mussels, yummmm. [smiley=icon_biggrin.gif]

[MotherBear]

Oh, so you ARE tall then? At least you would appear tall to me, as I'm only 5ft. 2ins.

[selchie]

Those abayas really give the illusion of height :icon_biggrin: .

[selchie]

Being a rock-savvy person, are you able to say what it is that's in the middle of the Moeraki Boulders?

Sorry, I forgot to answer this earlier. The boulders were formed when mineral-rich groundwater saturated a thick layer of mud. I can't recall what the mineral was at this stage - possibly calcium carbonate or something silica-rich. The minerals began coming out of solution (precipitating/crystallising) around shells or other "nuclei", forming concretions. In this case, really big (to 2 metres) boulders, sitting like raisins in a pudding.

Then earth movements fractured the boulders. A new batch of calcium carbonate-rich groundwater infiltrated the mudstone, and crystallised within the fractures. This healed the fractures, so the concretions (boulders) held together.

Then the concretion-laden mudstone was lifted up and eroded. Now and then a boulder emerges from the mudstone.

Some of them break open, revealing the orange calcuim carbonate "seams" (shown above). Others get worn away, and the more resistant calcuim carbonate stands out from the original muddy concretion.


The Maori tale is that they are foodbaskets which washed up on shore and broke open after a canoe of ancients was wrecked.