«*» RUKHSANA«*» Fw: Some of my pictures from New Zealand

 

 

I'm fowarding here an email 

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Bobby and Jacqui <bjbr@nctc.com>
To: iamvipan@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, November 14, 2011 5:04 AM
Subject:  Some of my pictures from New Zealand

Hi everyone. My name is Jacqui, and I am a New Zealander, do you know where New Zealand is:   New Zealand consists of 2 small Islands, one is called The North Island(where I come from) and the other is called The South Island Because New Zealand is an island, this means we are surrounded by the sea, we have The West Coast which is on the Tasman Sea side, this coastline is very beautiful and rugged,the sand is black on the West coast, consisting of Iron ore.  The East Coast which is on the side of the South Pacific is calmer waters and usually lovely white sand. If you sat on an East Coast beach early morning you would see amazing Sunrises, did you know New Zealand is the first place in the World to greet the new sun. If you sat on a West coast beach when the sun was going down you will see amazing sunsets, bright orange,yellow,red, wonderful sights to see.     I grew up in a little Suburb called Pt.Chevalier, we lived in an upstairs house(our bedrooms were upstairs) Our back yard sloped down to the beach, all along the beach are wonderful Cliffs, growing along the Cliffs are giant trees called Pohutukawa Trees, often these giant trees are called The New Zealand Christmas tree, because from December through to January these magnificent trees burst into crimson red flowers, a fantastic sight to see, the little red petal fonts fall onto the sand below and create a crimson mat.   As kids we would tie thick ropes around the huge branches of the Pohutukawa trees and make a swing, usually with a knot on the end, we would stand on the cliff walls and jump on the rope and swing out wow, such fun, when the tide was in we would swing out and jump into the water below, all this was my playground when I was growing up, lots and lots of lovely childhood memories living with the beach in our back yard.   These last 8years I have lived in USA, I met and married an American named Bobby, when I first arrived in USA it was so very different from New Zealand of cause, is miles and miles from the Coast, we lived in Texas when I first arrived, do you know New Zealand would fit into Texas 5times..can you imagine that, we now live in Kentucky, and it is very nice,probably 12hours from the nearest Coast,  I will always miss my beautiful little Island, and whenever I travel home I always go to where I grew up,Pt.Chevalier,it has changed a lot from when I was growing up, but I still like to sit awhile,the huge Pohutukawa trees are still there, the Cliffs are still there, the beach is still there, and just remember those wonderful memories.   Anyway I have never participated to adding pictures to this Group, I always get your lovely pictures,and always enjoy seeing where you all live, so I asked Tuna how I can participate, so here are a few pictures of my Homeland Island New Zealand. Maybe another time I will show you all where I live here in Kentucky.       The Map of New Zealand I lived in Auckland     Hei Hei Beach Coromandel peninsular, East Coast North Island I used to like to drive to Coromandel, there are lots of lovely beaches here.     New Zealand beautiful Pohutukawa Tree, known as The New Zealand Christmas Tree     The Bay of Islands, from the Far North of the North Island, my daughter took this picture, they were camping not far from here.   The Karangahake Gorge North Island, I took this picture last time I travelled home, beautiful clear clean water, that runs down from the mountains,many years ago the used to mine for gold here, there is still plenty of gold in these hills, there are no wild animals, snakes etc in New Zealand, so we do not have to worry about being attacked.   This bird is called a Keruru, we call it a Wood pigeon, here he is eating some Loquit berries, he sounds like a helicopter almost when he flies.     These are the New Zealand Kiwi Fruit, they are much larger than the ones I have seen in the shops here in USA, Kiwi Fruit originated from New Zealand, we can buy a big bag of Kiwi fruit for very cheap in New Zealand, fresh off the vines.   A road up the Far North, with a typical Road sign, telling us to be careful, Kiwi Birds cross here. Kiwi Birds are only found in New Zealand, they do not fly so are especially vulnerable to cats and dogs, did you know that New Zealander's are known as Kiwi's,people around the World call us Kiwi's       We call this rock The Lion Rock, of cause it looks like a lion, this at a West Coast beach in Auckland North Island, called Piha, beautiful scenery, but you have to be careful swimming here as it can be dangerous.     I took this picture last time I was home, is a place called Little Huia, a gorgeous little Bay, when I was about 14years I stayed in that Farmhouse with about 5 other girls and an Adult, we had such a fantastic time.   This is the Central North Island the 3 mountains are  Mt.Ngaruahoe, Ruepehu and Tongariro..the 3 sisters, it can get very cold here, and in the Winter a lot of snow, many people from around the World come here to Ski..and in the Summer a fantastic place to hike.     The Marlborough Sounds, when you sail across on the boat from the North Island to the South Island, the boat sails up the Marlborough Sounds, it is absolutely breath taking views    This is the font of New Zealands beautiful Tree ferns, KORU means new life/new beginnings. If you see an Air New Zealand you will see a Koru on the planes tail   A glorious North Island Sunrise   The New Zealand Tui Bird, Native to New Zealand, Tui bird sings a beautiful song, he sometimes is called The Parson bird, probably with his white plumes at his throat, the Kowhai flowers are Native to New Zealand, the birds love to get the nectar out, Kowhai means yellow. My daughter took this picture a few weeks ago.     I took this picture at my friends garden in New Zealand it is a Tree Dahlia, we have lots of lovely large Monarc Butterflies, they seem to be larger than the ones I see in USA         I have got many more pictures I can send you all, and I will tell you all about the pictures, New Zealand truly is a beautiful place, and I am very grateful I was born in such a lovely enviroment, we do have a mixture of races living in New Zealand, and everyone seems to get on with everyone, we have all different Nationalities, the Native people of New Zealand, are called Maori, I am part Maori, my Grandmother was a Full blooded Maori, Maori are some what similar to the Native people of America. I hope you have all enjoyed my pictures.   Arohanui Jacqui