The Raph Round-up: October 2024

In October we were back in the southern hemisphere, our first time going home in 18 months! In this edition I’ll share some snaps from Adelaide, some AMAZING Aussie animals, a trip to Taranaki (NZ), and the many shades and textures of Kapiti Coast sunsets.

Adelaide, Australia

After >30 hours of travel we started out in Adelaide, as a family member had a very special birthday. We welcomed the familiar sounds (birds), scents (eucalyptus) and sights, and it was great getting to see family and friends after such a long time.

Great to see and smell some mighty eucalyptus (gum) trees.
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Evidence of a burn long ago.
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Long exposure of a waterfall in the Adelaide Hills.
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Another gum tree 👀
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Magnificent!
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Chiwho what now?

In town there were also some sculptures by American artist Dale Chihuly being exhibited at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, free during the day time, and lit up in the evening. It was early spring in Adelaide, so a lovely time for a visit to the Botanic Gardens with some friends.

Wisteria blooming
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Glass sculpture
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Glass sculpture
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Glass sculpture
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Glass sculpture
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Glass sculpture
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Glass sculpture
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Glass sculpture
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Glass sculpture
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Pretty amazing sculptures, and it’s great to see something to encourage more people to get outside. It also makes me wonder how they managed to ship them all to Australia …

Amazing Aussie animals

I was also reunited with my wildlife lens (Tamron 150-600 mm — it’s pretty much a bazooka size-wise), and had a lot of fun observing and photographing some beautiful Aussie wildlife.

My favourite critter, the Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons).
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The drop bear, or koala (Phascolarctos cinereus). Caught while snacking on some gum leaves.
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The drop bear, or koala (Phascolarctos cinereus). Caught while snacking on some gum leaves.
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This one was having a snooze.
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Noisy friarbird (Philemon corniculatus).
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A laughing kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae), snapped while it was shaking off – you can see bits of down floating.
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Eastern long-necked turtle (Chelodina longicollis)?
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Little wattlebird (Anthochaera chrysoptera) tasting some nectar from a bottlebrush tree (Callistemon spp.). Both are quite common in suburban Adelaide, and the bird makes a nice call.
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Spotted dove (Spilopelia chinensis). It was actually introduced to Australia c.1800’s.
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Peaceful dove (Geopelia striata), native to Australia/New Guinea.
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Tammar wallaby mother and her young (Notamacropus eugenii).
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Little black cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris).
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Regent honeyeater (Anthochaera phrygia).
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Yellow-footed rock wallaby, juvenille (Petrogale xanthopus).
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A male superb fairywren (Malurus cyaneus subspecies leggei).
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A monotreme, the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus). Note the soil covering the face, obtained through rummaging and burrowing in the ground for insects.
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There’s many more pictures that I’ve had to omit for space (he says after showing 16 … ), but the experience has inspired me to create a separate webpage with a database listing all the wildlife I have photos for …

Then across the ditch we went to New Zealand, in time to celebrate my mother’s birthday. During our time in NZ my grandmother, Helen, passed away. It was quick, and I’m proud of her resolve for leaving on her own terms. She lived a great life and will be missed. While sad, I’m glad we were there to say our goodbyes and to support my mother. Go well, Helen.

Taranaki, the mighty maunga (mountain)

While in NZ, we took a weekend trip up to Taranaki (~4 hours’ drive north from the Kapiti Coast). I borrowed mum’s E-Fiat 500 — my first time driving an e-vehicle. It was a lot of fun, and regenerative braking is amazing (converting braking momentum into electricity — and saving your brake pads at the same time). The range is about 250 km, which means stopping at least once along the way. While some may feel inconvenienced by this, I think it’s a great opportunity to visit somewhere that you’d otherwise not bother stopping. The car takes about 20-30 minutes to charge, so ample time for a nice walk and sampling of local cheese scones!

We went to visit and stay with my sister Lydia and her family. It was great getting to see the nieces and nephew and to catch up with Lydia and Mu. While there, Lydia took us for a gorgeous hike up Patuha (684 meters) in the Kaitake range (just north of Mount Taranaki). After sorely missing elevation living in Denmark for the past 18 months, it was great to be hiking upwards again.

Mount Taranaki region.

Mount Taranaki is a dormant volcano, and the second-highest peak in the North Island at 2,518 meters. As you can see from the satellite image, most of the native forest only remains cloaking the mountains and the Kaitake ranges to the north. This is due to national park boundaries, as the region is highly productive for agriculture (mostly dairy) due to the high rainfall and rich volcanic soils. The mountain is a spectacle to behold, and really stands out on the landscape.

Mount Taranaki, with snow still on the peak.
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While recharging at Ōpunake, we went for a stroll on the beach.
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Near sunset at a local river.
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Gorgeous NZ bush on the scramble up Patuha.
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View from about halfway up.
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Summit reached!
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On the way down we walked through a redwood forest. Someone planted redwoods here decades ago …
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Thick native forest. I love all the epiphytes in NZ bush (plants that grow on other plants).
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Kereru, native wood pigeon (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae). These are actually quite large (500-850 g)!
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One last shot on the way back to the Kapiti Coast. Kaitake ranges are to the left of Taranaki, and you can see the peak we had climbed the previous day.
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Kapiti sunsets

Growing up on the Kapiti Coast, I definitely took the interplay between beach, ocean, and sun for granted. On this trip I went out of my way each evening to try and capture some of the different textures, colours, and luminosity granted by sunset. It was also nice to practice more long exposures with the ND filter and tripod. I hope you enjoy:

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Mana Island in the distance under the clouds.
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Kapiti Island. Long exposure. I love the textures on the beach.
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Long exposure with the tip of Kapiti to the right of the frame.
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Kapiti Island. I love the balancing of the composition that the rock shadows make.
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Crepuscular rays with the south island visible in the distance.
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Wide shot, long exposure. I like the balance between light and dark, with ominous-looking clouds coming from the hills at the left of the frame.
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Overlooking Paekakariki . Subtle sunset shades reflecting off the metal handrails, and cumulus clouds over Paekakariki Hill.
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Such a magnificent cloud!
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Silhouettes of native Toetoe (Austroderia spp.) and Harakeke flax (Phormium tenax) with the sun setting over the south island.
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Sunset over the South Island.
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Same time as above, but long exposure. I love the ‘duskier’ feel to this one.
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Dusk in Paekakariki.
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And here are some short supplementary videos if you’re interested:

Photo of the month

Paekakariki at sunset. I love the contrast in textures: the smooth curves of the sand, the sharper wave front coming, and the soft silhouette of grass and rock in the foreground. I also like the warm reflections on the sand in contrast to the blue waves. Sometimes its nice to keep an eye out for things other than the horizon when shooting at sunrise/sunset.

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Interesting things I’ve read/watched

Paper where researchers tested household plastic items from across the U.S. for the presence of toxic flame retardants. Such retardants are typically impregnated into plastics used for electronics, but when such plastics are recycled into other products they can be a source of exposure to humans (e.g. food contact items, toys). I’ve personally phased out any plastic cookware that touches food, and it’s good (is it really?) to see some evidence to back my choice.

And a nice cynical quote that I think encapsulates our current situation re: big tech and “A.I.”:

Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.

-Frank Herbert (author of Dune)

For context, in the books such technology has been banned, which is why there are “mentats” — people who train to be replacements for computers.