Seaward Bush - Southland, New Zealand

This post is mostly just a collection of photographs from my recent walk through the Seaward Bush Reserve which is only about a 10 minute drive from my parents house! Bonus nearby nature!

There are actually loads of these places in New Zealand, so if you just want to feel like you are in Middle Earth just stroll into one of these and go for a wander.

Partly I went for this walk to take photos, and get some practice, and I can heavily recommend forest type situations as a good method for learning to cope with shifting light values.  Every few metres I was adjusting for ambient light.

I also used manual focus, and all manual mode just for a change of pace, a huge amount of my photos before were shot using Aperture Priority mode.

New Zealand really is a beautiful country though, and a nice 45 minute walk helped remind me of that.

It also kinda makes me want to take on a more serious adventure, like the Milford Track.

Things growing on other things are cool.

And almost out!

So there we go people, a very quick trip through a neat little New Zealand nature reserve... I have no idea what my next blog post will be about, but there definitely will be one I promise.

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The Aurora Australis

The Aurora is a phenomenon mostly linked with places like Norway, Sweden, Alaska and other icy nasty freezing places and is generally referred to as "The Northern Lights".  What most people don't realize is that there are also "The Southern Lights" which are visible in Antarctica (okay another icy nasty freezing place) but also from New Zealand, Tasmania, and Australia.

So some factoids, since we love factoids here... Aurora is a Latin word for "dawn" and the Roman Goddess of Dawn.

Aurorae are basically caused by solar activity, interacting with our atmosphere, various charged particles and magnetism cause these very awesome displays (this is a VERY rough description if you want some hardcore science visit the Wikipedia article at the bottom)

The Vikings believed that the aurora was caused by Valkyries flying through the sky and the light was flashing from their armour.  I like that as a theory, it is cooler than the science.

So how can you see the aurora? I have linked at the bottom a resource which alerts when solar conditions are likely to generate one (at least in New Zealand), and then you simply need to find a location with a clear view to the south.  MOST aurorae are not visible to the naked eye, except very strong ones.... so how the hell do we get these pictures?

Take your DSLR camera (since naturally you all have one), preferably mounted on a tripod.
You want to set a shutter speed of around 30 seconds, set your ISO to 1600 at least for your first shot, focus on something and lock that focus, and then aim at the aurora area.  Take a shot, this one will likely be a throw away, it will let you know if you need to change your ISO or Aperture to allow more light in if the shot is too dark.  Or too light which is a little unlikely.  Keep playing until you get it right.

Below is a collection of links of interest to anyone who would like more information about aurorae, and the awesome community of people who hunt them... in New Zealand we even have a nice community group called Dark Skies also linked below.

NEXT UP! Some nature shots from a bush walk I took one sunny winter afternoon.

Useful Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora
http://www.aurora-service.net/aurora-forecast/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/NZaurora/
http://www.darkskies.nz/


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Home

So after something in the region of 13 years I finally decided it was time to head back to New Zealand.  This was a fairly difficult decision, I had been unwell for quite some time in Germany by the time I decided I should give in and go home.  But it was also a decision based on being so far from my family and my father who has been sick, and also because I missed being able to engage in random conversations with strangers.  (Yes this was technically becoming possible through my German classes, but not quickly enough)

It has been a little strange to be here, this is the first time that I have been unemployed in almost 15 years, and living on the government assistance that I receive is just awful.  I have no idea how anybody does it.  I am just lucky that I can live with my parents for awhile as well.

I have mostly been enjoying the time to relax, feel better (yes my health has been great since coming home), and to just enjoy my home country for a change.

Right now I am actively looking for jobs, there are some prospects but nothing certain for now... will I end up staying in New Zealand? I am not certain yet... but everything is being handled one day at a time for now.

And what about this blog? Since I have walked back home.... I am actually going to keep it up, there will be a post about the Aurora Australis, and one about Seaward Bush a neat little bush walk near my house.

I don't aim for my travels to be over either, I want to visit some friends in America within the next two years, and I still have things to see in Europe and some cherished people there who will be overdue for a hug by the time I can get back there.

Love,
Abigail

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial license.