FEBRUARY 1 - YOUR VIEW TODAY

NEW ADDICTION

I love the look of these two beautiful models at the Ho Chi Mingh zoo. The colour pop looks great. I just noticed that I didn't quite color in the model's hand. Not sure how to correct that.

PLAYING WITH GREAT PHOTO LITE APP

VIETNAMESE MODEL

JOLIE

Phil Collins - Going Back (Official Video 2010)

PICTURES FROM FROZEN PLANET

I watched an amazing program called Frozen Planet and I was awestruck at the beautiful owl that came from the tree towards me on the screen. I grabbed my camera and wondered if it would photograph so I could share this beautiful picture. I also wondered how long that photographer would have waited to get this amazing shot.

JANUARY 31 - ME AGAIN

JANUARY 30 - NATURE

JANUARY 29 - INSIDE YOUR FRIDGE

FAMILY

YOUNG

AGED

We did a tour of the Mekong Delta and this lady and one other person at the back of the boat took four of us tourists down the river. She was incredibly strong for her age. Visiting Vietnam made me see how hard the Vietnamese work in the hot conditions.

GATHERINGS

When we were in Vietnam we visited the zoo. There was this group getting there photo taken. I challenged my partner to hop in the group. Can you guess  which one is him?

HANDSOME FELLA

My sister Sharon said she loves roosters so when I was at the Auckland zoo the other day I saw this handsome fella. Aren't the colors beautiful.

BIRD

This photo of the seagull is one of my favourite photos that I took while we were on holiday. I took two photos, the first the seagull was looking away and this was the second shot. It was like he was holding the pose for me. I like how I have managed to get the bird and the post really focused and the background was out of focus. This photo was not altered in any way.

WHITE FLOWER

I photographed this beautiful Camelia flower inside sitting on a mirror. I love the softness it created.

GRANDCHILD

KIWIANA

Maori Warrior

Pohutakawa Flower

MACRO

FOOD

KARANGAHAKE GORGE - EARLY DAYS

GOLD MINING HISTORY


The goldfields of Coromandel and Thames opened in 1852 and 1867 respectively, but it was not until March 1875 that gold was mined from the Karangahake area.
The underground quartz lodes had to be mined, crushed and treated before the gold could be extracted.  However, transport difficulties and lack of capital and gold in payable quantities led to the collapse of many early companies.
A major breakthrough occurred in 1889 with the introduction of the McArthur - Forrest cyanide process for extracting gold from quartz, which enabled a dramatic increase in gold recovery.
Three large batteries were built at Karangahake in the 1890s - the Crown, Talisman and Woodstock - for the treatment of ore taken from extensive mine networks inside Karangahake Mountain.  The Victoria Battery was built at Waikino in 1897 to crush ore from the Waihi Martha mine.  By 1903 it was the largest battery in New Zealand, with 200 stampers used to crush the gold-bearing quartz.
Output from the Karangahake quartz mines in 1909 made up 60% of the total gold produced in New Zealand.  Between 1910 and 1920, however, many of the mines declined as costs of gold recovery began to outweigh profits.  The main batteries at Karangahake closed down and were demolished.  Only the Waihioperations carried on until 1952 when they too closed, and the Victoria Battery was gradually demolished.

KARANGAHAKE GORGE