I've been quiet lately I must admit. It is the time of year. My day job is in a very seasonal industry, but like everyone else everywhere else, I'm affected by everyone losing their minds in panic for the run up to Christmas. The closer we get, the more the crescendo builds and then with the dawn of Christmas, fades away into silence like it never existed.
Unless you are abandoning civilization to go to your holiday home for the summer I really don't understand the sense of urgency - the shops are closed for One. Single. Day.
In case you haven't noticed I am not a huge fan of this time of year in NZ. As an Englishman I grew up with Christmas being a cold and dark time of year with cozy visits to family and stuffing my face with mince pies punctuated by the occasional snow. In New Zealand however, for the two weeks that most people may get off work (myself included) it's our Christmas and summer holidays rolled into one, so everywhere is busy and fully booked with not much time to properly wind down and relax. So we tend to stay local and wait for late February when the kids are all back at school as the weather is often better and places like beaches are a little bit quieter.
Anyhow, with a 7 month old baby we are still a bit limited in what we can do, we can't go far and we can't go for long. With the stunning weather we have been having as well, avoiding the warm parts of the day is essential too, so the golden time for us to go out is that 9-30 to 11-30 window between little ones naps.
Short walks out and about are the best thing for the 3 of us and one of the places we have been visiting recently is Western Springs park, as it's only a short drive from home.
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Western Springs Lakeside Park
Nestled between the suburbs of Pt Chevalier and Grey Lynn just 5km from the Auckland CBD is Western Springs park. It's an expansive area that includes Auckland Zoo, MOTAT transport Museum, Western Springs Speedway and lastly Western Springs Lakeside Park. The Location is here.
The Lake is actually artificial. It was damned many years ago (1877) due to the presence of a natural Aquifer and provided Auckland with its drinking water for a good 30 years (the things you learn when doing background research on a place you've known for 20 years!)
The park itself is very pleasant, with a nice wide path which makes it's way in a loop around the lake with plenty of open areas around for activities and picnics, and plenty of trees for shade. Parking at peak times can be difficult which is another plus of going early in the morning. There is a children's playground at the north end and public toilets also so the bases are covered.
We've visited 3 times in the last week - the first time was spontaneous and I didn't have a camera, second time was with my Sony A7III with 24-105 f/4 and today's visit I took the Sony RX10 III to focus on birding.
This place is a goldmine for practicing bird photography and on every visit I've seen someone with a huge wildlife lens, making me feel a little inadequate with either just a standard zoom or a bridge camera. Most of my bird shots weren't particularly good because we are on a time schedule and Tomomi doesn't wait very long whilst I shoot - pretty much continues walking and I have to run to catch back up - so more run'n'gun practice than birding practice! Let me know what you think of my photos below.
Oh and Merry Christmas!
