New Zealand Stonehenge, in Wairapara

I didn't believe it either, until I went there, and it is truly amazing. New Zealand's Stonehenge is known as Stonehenge Aotearoa, Aotearoa being the most widely known and accepted Māori name for New Zealand, and is located in the Wairapara region not too far from Wellington

The Stonehenge was built by around 150 members of the Phoenix Astronomical Society, and is a full scale working version of Stonehenge in England.

The location was chosen specifically, and the henge built precisely, although it's not 'actually' made of stone, it gives great insight to the skies, the stars, the sun and the turning of the earth.

Each outer stone is a different size and touches the horizon. The view through each 'window' shows a different section of the skies, 2 stones are specifically for the equinox, another 2 for the solstices... and there is so much more to learn about.

The mosaic star charts of the starsigns shows how they move in the skies. Did you know, your 'real' star sign has moved forward almost a month in the last 2,000 years?

It's a fascinating trip, and well worth the time to go.

Down at the Wairapara

Recently, we went to the lower North island to the Wairapara region, and spent some time in and around Masterton, Carterton, Featherston and Greytown.

It's a stunning part of the country, and showed me why New Zealand is the land of the long white cloud, the cloud literally sits in the mountain tops... like so... and this was in the middle of the day!

 

 

While in the region, we visited Assasi Gardens, built with love by a retired couple over the last 10 years, their dedication is wonderful, and they have an astounding location for their endeavors.

The house is actually built in a semi-circle and has a panoramic view over the valley, a lot of the sculptures they have built themselves and they tend to the garden themselves.

 

And of course, a visit to a winery, we went to Gladstone Vineyeard. The had the nets over the vines as the grapes were almost ready and they didn't want birds taking them away. 

The house on site was lovely and brought in from Masterton, and while we were there they was a display of local artists sculptures - the most intriguing being the bug car.

 

 As interesting as the bug car was - and yes, each individual bug was hand crafted from metal, it had nothing on the 'ghost house'.

This house is on a hill with a lovely outlook east of Greytown, and has been abandoned for 30 years... the owner was going to pull it down, but has decided to let nature take it's course... I'm not sure if this is brilliance or laziness, but it definitely makes for an interesting sight!

Things to do in a City of Sails

Living in Auckland, on Twin harbours, you kinda 'have' to get involved in water activities of some kind, and we have seen and experienced quite a few. We are still debating on whether we should buy a boat ourselves, but with Summer drawing to a close and petrol prices on the rise ($2.16 a litre currently) we keep thinking we should just hire.

So... here are some photos of activities we have been involved in on the water since being here.

Swimming at Long Bay

 

Cruising the Harbour

Getting ready to Jetski

 

Kayaking

 

Windsurfing

 

 Sailing the America's Cups Boats

Walking along the Beaches

 

... and of course... swimming in a fountain :)