The power of Mother Nature

One of the reasons we moved to NZ was for Mother Nature (MN). Our trip out here in October 2009 showed us what she could do and almost how perfect she could make things.

Of course, MN has since showed us her ugly side. Just before we moved to NZ in September 2010, Christchurch suffered a major earthquake. I remember some of our friends asked us if we still wanted to make the move after that.

It did some damage, but wasn't devastating. Then on February 22nd 2011, she gave them another one. Less severe in terms of the Richter Scale, but it somehow did much more damage than the first. We had already booked a weekend in Christchurch over the winter, so we didn't let it deter us.

But we saw first hand what ugly MN can do:

And in this photo below, you can see rows of bluebottle flies, all dead inside a shop that hadn't reopened.

So of course you curse her and wonder why she could do such awful things. Seeing Christchurch like this, with streets cordoned off and roads and pathways still cracked, it makes you thankful for what you have.

Then she'll show you her wonderous side. The one that makes you remember exactly why you came here in the first place. And there are many of those.

A few weeks before our trip to Christchurch, we'd had a lazy morning at home and then decided to head to Lyall Bay for lunch. Word had come through that some dolphins had been spotted in the bay. Now, we've seen dolphins there before, but never tire of seeing a few of these mammals frolicking in the surf.

We pulled over where a few other people were stood and watched a small group of three or four dolphins playing directly out from where we stood. We took some photos and were getting ready to leave when we realised everyone else was looking towards the bay, further inland.

Then we noticed that the water looked like a washing machine. Odd, we thought. It was a pretty calm day. Then it dawned on us that we were watching a VAST pod of dolphins, who had, for some reason, been drawn into the fairly shallow waters of the bay but had just turned and were heading back out to sea. There must have been hundreds of them. Truly amazing. The photo does not do the sight justice.
And similarly, we recently took a trip to Motueka, on the edge of the Abel Tasman National Park. We took the car over as we were camping and enjoyed a couple of days away from home.

On the way back to Picton to catch the ferry, we decided to take the scenic route. After all, it was a glorious day and we had plenty of time. This route takes you along the Queen Charlotte Drive, skirting a number of the beautiful bays around the Marlborough Sounds.

We decided to stop off at a vantage point to get some photos of the scenery. While we were doing that, we spotted another pod of dolphins, this time much smaller, swimming along the coastline below us. This pod even included a couple of calves, who were keen to show off their swimming and jumping skills.

Blissful and serene. And reminds us why we're here. Thank you MN. Love A&I