Milford Sound

 I intend to do full justice to the mountains, lakes and fiords on the Gallery.  Enjoy a preview!!!!

Te Anau

 Tourism is the thing here. Unless you really go off piste, so to speak you cannot avoid it.

 But the good side is that the facilities are brilliant, food, bed etc.

 And with all this space,  plenty of room for everyone.

Including these characters!!!

Queenstown.

 The town arts and crafts market was in full swing.  Great to see original stuff on sale and not the usual tourist bits and bobs.

 But the lake side was much more our style.

 At the top of the lake, Glennorchy where some of the Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed.

Looking for but didn't find any Ents.

Arrowtown.

 Looks like a wild west film set,  with arrow shaped mountains as a backdrop.

 And the town history has a frontier feel to it.  This is the home of a Chinese gold digger, one of 8000 who came to find there fortunes here abouts.

Black and white anyone?

Tasman Glacier.

 

 Looking back from the climb up the end of glacier screen.  This is where the melt water goes.

 And the end of the ice,  with parts of the mountain being carried on it's back.

 

 A mountain on it's way to the sea.

Mount Cook, South Island

 Our first view of the Mount.

 A bit closer.

Quite a view.

Mount St. John, South Island

 An observator for Canterbury University.

 Lake Tapeko.

Nice photo op and great coffee.

Lake Takepo, South Island

 Back to the lake just down the road from our bungalow stop.  Good yes?

Church of the Good Shepard.

 And from inside,  no need to stain the glass.

Waiting for the wedding to finish.

Lake Takepo, South Island.

 Christchurch was a sort of hello goodbye visit. We will be back there later. This was a first view of the mountains.

 The water colour is natural,  the result of glaciers grinding the mountain rocks.

Quite something,  and this is just the beginning!!

The Scots and the Song

 Ah ha.  Right.  So how come half way through the book,  Arthur admits that the Scots didn't really invent any thing................. they rediscovered and reused old ideas of 'Why Man'

 

Coincidentally, as if to counter Arthur's claim,  Singapore Expo is exhibiting the animated Song Dynasty Qing Ming Shang He Tu  scroll showing life in 9th century CE China.  A city with no defensive walls, thriving on free market trading and specialisation of human labours.  Gosh, that sounds familiar!!! I suppose the 3rd century BCE terracotta warriors were made in someones garden shed too. The oldest known dragon kiln which could hold 100 pieces of potty can be seen in Fujian province dating from 1100 century BCE.  Singapore still has two kilns based on the same design which are 30 meters long and 2 meters wide.

Surely the lesson to learn and the message to promote is that nothing lasts for ever.  Some nut case with a big gun comes along sooner or later and messes up the party.  Enjoy the moment guys and gals.

That fruit again.

 I know, it just a car.  But we got an upgrade from Hertz,  they not having our usual cheapo motor.  Almost new.  Very nice.

 The mandatory round the island trip for our visiting friends this time took in the newly opened Prince of
Wales International School.  Penang was initially called the PoW island. 

 Yin Yoke and the King.  I nearly passed out when they came back to the car. Note to self.  Let the durian eaters de-breath before letting them back into an air conditioned car!!!

Sea breezes also help restore nasal equilibrium.

Georgetown has commissioned street art to depict cultural activities and life as lived in days passed.  I feel sorry for the tiger.  Always getting a bad press,.  Birth rates always depressed in the year of the tiger.  Here his fierce reputation is being used to dispel bad vibes from the area.

Right next to the tiger some older wall art.  Not sure if he is intentionally dropping things on people as they pass on the 5 foot way.  Very well done it is.

The Jetties, Georgetown

 The so called Clan Jetties were originally built by new immigrant workers to Penang in the mid 19th century who could not afford to buy land......so they built on water.

 No fishing boats here these.

 Each jetty has a clan living there.  The Chew's, Lee, Tan, mixed surname etc.

Good views of the straits and the bridge.