hazeandsteve

Go snorkelling, get your own.
Chop finely, overnight soak in lemon juice, then drain and serve in coconut cream with chopped tomatoes.
Still taste like tyres, but a better class of tyre.
Leaves you with intact shells and a crappy, sicky feeling in your stomach.

BEVS

Mate !

scrubbedexpat094

Some sad news.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=10826526


I had the 'pleasure' of meeting Greg on a couple of occasions.

MattandJax

nooooo"! before we got to see him ;( RIP big fella!

I love NZ wildlife. was not into birds until living here.. but they so cool. i love Tui's (get loads singing in the garden) and cheeky fantails best.
stll plan on gong to Tiri this summer!

chocolate cake

As well as seeing the usual pests, possums, rabbits, stoats etc. (what a ridiculous idea it was to introduce these and like) I've been lucky enough to have seen a Kiwi and Morepork in the wild, plus out kayaking dolphins, orcas, seals and more regularly blue penguins.

bourbon-biscuit

Coming into my sixth NZ summer and it has NOT worn off. I was in the UK for summer a few years ago and it just felt kind of flat without the ring. My garden is very sheltered and they start early and end late here- I just love the sound.

Hmmm, yes- they don't call them Paua Sh**ters for nothing

Snap Shot

Yes there is the gentle chirp of crickets. Unfotunately there is also the incessant rasp of cicadas too. They start as soon as the temperature gets to a certain point which in mid summer can be about dawn or first light. Then they don't effing stop all day and into the evening.

I long for the delicious quiet (well, no cicadas anyway) of the British summer. When black birds contribute to the dawn chorus is lovely. Blackbirds sing their lovely song in NZ too.

My cat likes to chase and catch cicadas. I'm guessing some birds will eat cicadas so it's not all bad. I suprised that a cicada can be the size of my thumb. They don't bite or sting though. Blasted blackflies bite similar to a gnat bite though ! Same 'wee beasties' as in Scotland !

We have a keraru who likes to roost in our kowhai tree. The Tui birds are great in the spring. Fantails look nice on our weeping elm tree. They land for about one second then go again.

NZ Mynah birds are noisy critters ! The blackbirds, sparrows and thrushes are pretty standard too.

Caz8NZ

I'm with Ray and Debbie - the cicadas annoy the hell out of me! and i've never been bitten by bugs as much in my life throughout the summer and winter as I have since living here!