When the north easterly breeze comes up in Tauranga the up lift around Mauao is too much to resist for some.
Taken on Sunday.
Oct 31, 2011
Oct 29, 2011
Proud Moment
This is Izzy (Isaac) with his catch and by the looks of it lunch under his arm.
Thanks for sending the shot Francie.
Oct 28, 2011
Oct 27, 2011
Update on Rena. Photo Taken from 24k's Away
Over half the fuel oil has been removed (ship at right is the tanker taking the oil).
King tide this weekend what will happen?
Relaxing
'70's
Mum havin a fag and a beer. Dad ignoring the camera.
(The kids great grandparents. Well one lot anyway)
Oct 25, 2011
When We Were Kids
Rob with her Teddy bear with no name! '56
I am the kid. That's Mum encouraging me to get close to that monster calf.
Somewhere down south in the 50's
Oct 23, 2011
More 70's Stuff
When the guys looked like Walruses.
All taken when Rob and I lived on Ocean Beach Rd the Mount.
Guess?
Les
Gav
Our engagement day. Nov 1975. Us trying a timer shot. Note colours!
Oct 22, 2011
Oct 21, 2011
3D Glasses For The Chosen Few!
Grace, Thomas and ?
Paul took this shot with his phone. Thanks.
We are watching a 3D movie. Well some of us were. The guy on the right seems to be in a daze! Wonder why?
Rena Today
Usually on a Friday afternoon I am in my office at home catching up on reports and business reading. Today I said to hell with it its the long weekend its sunny and I am ready for a walk.
So I went up the Mount and as usual I had the camera. The air was full of dust and salt fog from the wind. (30 knots at times) and using a fairly modest telephoto lens and photo shop this is what I managed to resolve of the wreck site and activity to remove the oil from Rena. These ships are 24 kilometers away!
Oct 20, 2011
Naval Vessel Supporting Rena Clean up
Passing A bouy and heading North East out of the Mount entrance to the wreck site of Rena.
Oct 18, 2011
Oct 16, 2011
Oct 15, 2011
Small Things
Having been on a plant based diet for almost a year now Rob and I find we are becoming aware of things like Asparagus being a seasonal vegetable. Even canned (which I prefer) ran out months ago. So seeing the new seasons lots arrive was well, almost exciting! (get a life Mike)
Rena and The Mount Beach
Good news. Early this morning Rob and I went up the Mount (Mauao) to take some shots from the same spot as last time. It was a very hazy morning with a North Westerly wind. The shot below shows (kind of) The Rena on the left and the bunker barge Awanuia (right) which is getting readied to pump the 1300 tons of bunker fuel that remains on the wrecked container ship.
Meanwhile shore side the beach right from the Mount beach to the end of Papamoa is looking surprisingly good. The clean up teams and volunteers have done a stunning job. The high tide is expected to bring more oil and I suspect the cleanliness of the beach is superficial and oil residues will be there for some time yet.
Broken containers litter one part of the beach and these are under guard but you can see clearly one of the containers was insulated and all the foam lining has broken up. This has been found all around the foreshore and inner harbour.
Clean Me written in the sand at the main beach
Looking East toward Papamoa. Very misty from salt spray.
Another blurry tele shot taken of the Rena from the end of Papamoa.
Oct 14, 2011
Oct 12, 2011
Fingers Crossed Rena Holds Out
The ship now has cracks in the hull (see VIDEO) and if it breaks up before the oil can be removed......
Oil From Rena Arrives At Our Back Door!
Oil blobs arrive less than 100 meters from home.
Fergusson Park foreshore. Yuck and a scary prospect for our pristine beaches and rocky islands and reefs.
A survey team for clean up arrived by chopper while I was there. Note the sleeve on this chap reads South Australian Government.
This is a big blob about 4 times the size of my hand. This oil is super thick and sticks to everything it touches including my hand!
Oct 10, 2011
Circa 1973
Ken (Mate) on left. Me on right. Plotting something like where is the action?
Or just another tall story.
Oct 8, 2011
Ships Hit Local Reefs 1959 and 2011
Taken from Mauao (Mt Maunganui) top photo shows distance from northern end of Motiti Island (Right) to the container ship the Rena (small dot on the left) which went aground on to the reef Astrolabe last week and now oil is leaking and locals are extremely concerned about the pollution potential. She is well grounded and salvage attempts are being organised now. In my opinion a very slow response.
This brings back memories for me when I was a young kid living in Tauranga when in 1959 a Norwegian freighter the Golden Master hit the reef Okaparu (not far from Astrolabe) and ripped a hole in the hull but was able to keep steaming toward Tauranga and the Captain drove it aground on the Matakana bar where it stayed for a couple of weeks till it could be repaired. I remember it sitting there like it was yesterday.
Click on this link (scroll to pages 14 and 15) takes you to a blog that has a picture and brief story.
Image quality is poor as this was highly enlarged from 300mm telephoto shot I took at the same time as the picture above
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