A dramatic sunset/rainshower over Cable Bay esturay this evening.

The Haven at low tide this afternoon. I’d love to live out there in one of those baches on the boulder bank.

At the southern end of Nelson airport, where a finger of estuary meets with the fresh water of the creek, I found a few pair of Paradise Duck this afternoon. Found only in New Zealand these duck are one of the few species of native bird who seemed to have actually benefited from settlers incursion on the land, since Captain Cook first dubbed them the “painted duck” in the late 1700′s. As native forests have given way to pastures these ducks thrived and they are now far more common than they were then.

(the female)

Kite aerial photography of the bridge across the Waimea Estuary to Rabbit Island.

A curious Weka who visited my camping spot (or was I visiting his) near Barrytown beach.

The Nelson lighthouse stands out against the darkness of the pines behind it, on haul-ashore island. This shot was taken this afternoon from the base of the Boulder Bank. The Richmond Ranges were looking particularly blue as the wintery weather settled in.