Back home

Can't say I'm feeling the best after my trip back to New Zealand.  Quite a bumpy ride due to turbulence, and, well, it's a long way from the UK to NZ no matter which route you take.

Backyard hibiscus.

I enjoyed my time in the UK.  In fact, I was sorry to leave.  There are so many things to see and do there.  The weather was surprisingly good and the chance to see the trees come to life with their new leaves and blooms was really quite special.  So much history around also, but I also got the impression that there's a lot of unhappy people.  Seems there's a reasonable amount of unemployment and the gap between the rich and poor continues to widen.  Lovely to visit for a holiday, but perhaps not the best place to live unless you're wealthy?  Whatever the case, I'm back in NZ now and the weather is, well, rather pleasant.  First thing I noticed when getting off the 'plane was how clear and bright it was here in Auckland.  Glorious blue sea and sky and you could see for miles.  Oh so very very different to the Manchester Airport I left about 36 hours earlier.  It was cold, grey and wet.

Anyway after a sleep I awoke this morning at 6am convinced it was 7am as the clock have changed whilst I'd bee away and I hadn't changed them being as I was in the UK.  Looking out the window I saw these lovely hibiscus.  not something you'd see outside very often in the UK!  And then in the front garden a Monarch butterfly on the Callistemon.  I suspect this'd be yet another rare sight in the UK :-)

I'll close this post with a few shots of the front garden butterfly.  I'm not feeling the best after my trip home, so I suspect I'll be heading back to bed now :-(

Monarch butterfly on Callistemon "Little John"