Endings and beginnings
Hey! Long time no see, right? Indeed, I haven’t posted here since March, and even before that I wasn’t as … Continue reading Endings and beginnings
Print shop, newsletter and Bearded reedlings
Hi everyone, I hope this article finds you well. Here in Finland, spring has started, with the snow melting and the first migratory birds coming back from the south (swans, geese, larks, pigeons…).
In this article:
- my new print shop
- a newsletter in the making
- Bearded reedlings in wintry Helsinki
The North Island exclusive files: big city
This is a continuation from the previous article, which you can find here: sea, trees and volcanoes. Today, we are in Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. We’ll be watching planes and birds at the airport, and we’ll lie in the mud to shoot grebes and rails. In the end, we’ll spend one fantastic sunset around the gannet colony in Muriwai, a delightful ending for a great one-year adventure in kiwiland.
Welcome!
Plane and bird spotting at Auckland Airport
The North Island exclusive files: sea, trees and volcanoes
Hi again, and welcome to one of my last articles about New Zealand!
Today’s post presents a hodgepodge of places from the North Island, some you’ve seen before, some you haven’t, but with pictures never released on this blog before.
Our trip will start with a relaxing break in Napier, by the Pacific Ocean. From there, we’ll cross the Ahimanawa Range to spend a cloudy day in the Redwoods of Rotorua. Our next destination will be the volcanoes of the Tongariro National Park, before moving back to Auckland, the largest city in the country, in a second article. There, we’ll be watching planes and birds at the airport, and we’ll lie in the mud to shoot grebes and rails. In the end, we’ll spend one fantastic sunset around the gannet colony in Muriwai, a delightful ending for a great one-year adventure in kiwiland.
Welcome!
Napier
My time in Napier was short, as I was in transit between Castlepoint and Whirinaki. Cities are not really my cup of tea, but I enjoyed the museum and the surf of the ocean.
Ruska 2020: Pyhä-Luosto
After Pallas-Ylläs and Kilpisjärvi, our autumn adventure in Lapland took us to Pyhä-Luosto National Park, further south and east, near Kemijärvi. I was eager to return after a single night spent there 3 years before, with friends from France. This time we had 4 nights, so plenty of time to explore more!
Ruska 2020: Kilpisjärvi
After an earlier post about the Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park, it’s time for me to talk about my first visit to Kilpisjärvi. And what a visit it was!
Happy Birthday Finland!
Here is my traditional article to celebrate the Land of a Thousand Lakes, a frozen land with a big heart, the place where I’m happy ❤
It’s not perfect, but there’s no other country where I would rather be 🙂
Ruska 2020: Pallas-Ylläs
It was that time of the year, again. Temperatures going down, trees turning yellow, orange, red.
We didn’t have so many plans for this corona-year, so fortunately not much got canceled, but after 2 weeks in Vivien’s family in Hungary in August, we felt like we could do something inside Finland. Vivien had never been to Lapland, so we decided it would be our next destination.
Volunteering on Tiritiri
Tiritiri Matangi was the first patch of nature I visited after I arrived in New Zealand. Remember? I sailed out of Auckland and spent 4 nights on the island, a reforested sanctuary where rare endemic species have been reintroduced.
Want to learn more about Tiritiri or refresh your memory? Please have a look at the following articles:
That was in August 2018. Fast-forward almost a year, I’m staying in Auckland for the last few weeks of my stay, spending most of my free time exploring the shoreline near my apartment. One day, I received an email from a coordinator at the Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi: hey, do you want to come for a week of volunteering on the island?
Why, of course I want!!
Bird Photographer of the Year 2020
Belated news, for the results were announced already a month ago, but I thought you’d be interested: I’ve got two images in this year’s Bird Photographer of the Year competition’s selection! You have seen these pictures before; they are among my favourite, and they both come from the Subantarctic Islands.
Here is the first one:
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