Walking Along

I took this photo over spring break while in Queenstown. The afternoon we arrived I dropped my bags off at the hostel and immediately headed out to see the town. I ended up finding the beautiful lake shore and a path that took me into a park. I was expecting to explore, but I wasn't expecting to have such a spiritual experience. There was just something about the town that made me beyond ecstatic. The beautiful lake, the mounains rising straight out of it, the great people all combined to make me peacefully happy and never want to leave the place. However, it could have also been the fact that by this point in time I had already signed up to jump off a 134m platform with nothing but a rubber rope tied to me the next morning...

Beauty Rethought

On Sunday I went to the Auckland Zoo with some friends and got this beautiful photo of a peacock. Most of the time people focus on the peacock's gorgeous tail feathers, but I believe their head is just as beautiful... so, that's what I got a shot of. For me, going to the zoo is much more a spiritual experience than most. I have been so lucky that I have been able to travel and see many animals in their natural habitat. So, every time I go to a zoo it is bitter sweet, especially when walking through the "pride lands". I love seeing the animals, there is something so magically peaceful yet curious about them, but I despise seeing the wire and metal surrounding them. I am glad zoos are working together to help endangered species, but I am devastated that humans as a whole are working against almost all animals. By the end of my trips to the zoo, I begin to think of what humans are doing to each other - we treat each other like we treat animals. What right does anyone have to kill, lock up, control, and interfere with others (human and animal alike)? I apologize for the rant, but I guess, in the end, I just don't understand why love and equality are so controversial.

Birds (Not The Movie)

So, in between Wai-o-Tapu and rolling down a hill in a plastic ball (aka Zorbing), we had lunch at a cafe and strolled along the shore of Lake Rotorua. There were tons of people chilling and eating food.... which meant there were a ton of birds hoping to steal some of it. I heard a high pitched squeaking noise behind me and turned around to snap this photo before the train plowed through the birds (no feathers were ruffled). I think this photo represents the atmosphere of that afternoon well - just playful, no worries (well... except for maybe the seagulls, but they were getting fed by small children, so I think they were fine after this...).

New photos posted on Facebook (mainly photos of my group and random tramps).
Check this story of an amazing woman: Lubna Hussein

Chillin'

It's a rainy day here in Auckland, so I thought I'd post an image from a sunnier day. I took this photo while walking on a beach in Devonport (I have already posted a few other pictures from the same day). Once the weather gets warmer, I hope to go there more frequently... it certainly had a better view than my apartment.

Oystercatcher

I took this photograph in Devonport (just like this one and this one). I noticed these black birds mixed in the seagulls as we walked along the beach. They are known as Oystercatchers, I spent some time looking them up and found a site with information about them here. Their bright red eyes definitely caught my attentions and I found them interesting to watch. I guess the seagulls were keeping close to see if they could have some leftovers.

Look Mom, No Hands

I wasn't quite sure what photo I wanted to post today, but after browsing through my photos from my recent time at the beach, I decided on this one. I was sitting outside on my dock when the local ducks decided to swim by and I grabbed some bread to feed them. I got this shot when my dog walked up to join me on the dock... needless to say, I don't think the ducks appreciated her company as much as I did.

Friendly Neighbor

I took this in Georgetown, SC at Independent Sea Food. While my mom was inside, I stayed outside so that I could photograph all of the birds hoping to get lucky (on this particular day there were two pelicans and three herons). This one was the bravest, he actually tried to walk in the door of the place.