Once Upon A Time in Wellington

SATURDAY turn out to be a sunny but very windy Wellington day! But that is very Wellington! How windy?  If you view some of the videos, you will realise why THE COOLEST LITTLE CAPITAL IN THE WORLD is also known as WINDY WELLINGTON ;)

Saturday (14 May 2016) was also the day the CHINA CULTURAL CENTRE IN NEW ZEALAND organised an event to celebrate WORLD TAICHI MONTH, this was held at the CIVIC SQUARE in the heart of Wellington city.

We went to the Civic Square early to secure a good spot to film the event, I was given a "STAFF" badge by Master Zhang of the Cultural Centre for easy access around the event.

But after covering many events during my newspaper photographer days, I knew I would still be block by people running around with their mobile phones, filming!  The badge did make my live a bit easier though.

The World Tai Chi Month programme was colourful...

There were Tai Chi 8 routine, Qigong Ba Duan Jin, Tai Chi 24 routine (fast and slow versions), the ever popular Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Tai Chi Chen Style, Wushu performance.

To spice up the event there were also a Chinese dance performed by the children from the Oriental Cultural and Performing Arts Group dress up as cute Kungfu Pandas.

Adding a bit of glamour, a Chinese Cheongsam Show, "Blue and White Porcelain" by lovely ladies of the New Zealand Chinese Cultural and Arts Association.

The show ended with a delightful Chinese dance, "Jasmine Flower" by the dancers of the  Oriental Cultural and Performing Arts Group.

150 Shades of Wellington, New Zealand!

On 25 and 26 July, Wellington celebrates its 150th year as the capital of New Zealand.

In the last few weeks, I am trying to amass 150 photos that I took around this Coolest Capital City In The World and also our adopted Capital City since 1988.

Happy Birthday, Wellington!

Part of Wellington CBD and Oriental Parade taken from Mt Victoria in 1988.

Our first day at Manners Street, in our adopted city; 1988.

For new arrival like us, in 1988; we were not that impressed with Wellington. Why do they have so many branches of BNZ in the CBD?

Adiós DSLR!

I have friends who go on extended travel lugging their big bag of photo gear, usually a DSLR and two or three zoom lenses. Don't laugh, I use to be like them because 5 years ago DSLR give you the best performance; that was before, how about now?

During our last gathering, my DSLR die hard friends were shocked when I told them I only took my little Lumix GM1 when we went to Malaysia and Taiwan this year!

They all sneered at the small wonder, to them, nothing but their HEAVY DSLR can give them the travel pictures they are proud of!

Mind you, as you can see from the picture above, I still have my DSLR; a Nikon D300 that I bought 5 years ago. The zoom lens attaches to this once the Camera Of The Year, a Nikon 12-24mm f/4 AF-S DX , this Nikon has an equivalent field of view of an 18-36mm lens.

When you are on a shoot-n-run travel, to me, this is the best lens to have on your DSLR!

On the left of the heavy weight D300 is my feather weight Lumix GM1 with the
Panasonic 7-14mm f/4 ASPH LUMIX G VARIO ultra wide zoom.  This incredible optics behave like a 14-28 mm equivalent!

We Went To The Newtown Fair

Kiwis love going to markets and fairs, if you take a look at "Markets and Fairs"; you will find hundreds of upcoming fairs all over the country, from now till December :)

The last time I blog about  New Zealand fair was way back in 2012, Personally, I don't fancy going to a Kiwi fair; they are for the ladies... you do not find high tech toys at fair do you?   ;)

They said the yearly Newtown Fair is the largest in Wellington, it attracted 75,000 visitors last year and they expect MORE this year! I shivers at the thought! I DO NOT like crowds ;)

To avoid the herd and the searing sun, we went late; at 3.30 pm :)

As usual, I try to take as many pictures as I can... taking good shots at fairs are not as simple as you think. Most stall owners do not like you snapping their products, so to get any shots at all, you have to be stealthy (sneaky?); camera (with a wide angle lens) round your neck and snapping away blind is a acquired method ;)

Home made sambal and chutney are popular at fairs!

Pho In The City

Pho (/fʌ/; Vietnamese: phở pronounced [fəː˧˩˧] ( listen)) is a Vietnamese dish consisting of broth, noodles made from rice, a few herbs, and meat. It is a popular street dish, and the specialty of several restaurant chains.

The two main varieties are chicken pho and beef pho.  The word "pho" may be derived from French pot-au-feu (beef stew).   - Wikipedia

I love beef pho! The strength and beauty of a tasty pho is in the soup and believe you me, it is hard to find a Vietnamese cafe in Wellington that serves good pho!

Shenzhen Song & Dance Ensemble in Wellington

According to China Culture Org - "The Shenzhen Song and Dance Ensemble was established in October 1987 under the Culture Bureau of Shenzhen. With 110 total staff members, the ensemble is composed of the Dance Troupe, Song Troupe, and Stage Engineering department."

The group from the Shenzhen Song and Dance Ensemble that perform at the last night of CNY in Wellington, New Zealand.

"As a cultural emissary of Shenzhen, the ensemble has paid touring performances to Germany, Britain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Luxemburg, Austria and Australia, receiving a warm welcome and applause from international friends and overseas Chinese."

Wellington Gangnam Last Day of CNY :)

Every year the Chinese communities of Wellington put on a show for Chinese New Year.

The ‘flagship’ of Wellington’s Chinese New Year Festival is Festival Day, with a programme that reflects all the traditional aspects of a Chinese New Year celebration, and is showcased as the finale of this Wellington event.

Last year we were not in Wellington because we went to Auckland to see their marvelous CNY Lantern Festival, this year since we are here we went to the festival, as usual at the Frank Kitts Park.

Every year, the celebration at the park is "same old, same old"; we went because Wellington is a small city and the festival is a good place to bump into friends you have not seen for a while ;)

As usual I shoot and post some photos of the stage performance at the park, this year I noticed there are three "characters" I have not seen before!

Mr Ji's Hidden Delights In Petone!

A couple of months ago I discovered this little Chinese restaurant in Petone, it was recommended by Michelle Zhang who is a part-timer at our office; we are glad we took her recommendation seriously!  Thank-you Michelle :)

Petone (Māori: Pito-one) is a major suburb of the city of Lower Hutt in New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the narrow triangular plain of the Hutt River, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour. The name, from the Māori Pito-one, means "end of the sand beach".  - Wikipedia

Mr Ji's Kitchen like all restaurants and cafes in Petone is situated along Jackson Street.

So on one Saturday afternoon late last year, Le General and I set off to taste-test this new found shop for lunch.

It took us two drive up and down Jackson Street to locate this "Kitchen", it is right up (if you are coming from town) the other end of Jackson, the shop front is not conspicuous; in some way situated at 285 Jackson have some advantage for diners, in the week-end the lower end of Jackson Street is painful to get a parking space!

Penthouse Cinema & Cafe @ Brooklyn

Sunday... we were informed by our MetService that this will be the last day we are gonna enjoy the hot, sunny summer day!

We can't complain really, it has been TEN DAYS of sunshine; I don't know about you but we NEVER experience that kind of continuous "You Can't Beat Wellington On A Good Day!" for 10 days!

To make full use of this Sunny Sunday, we had a yum-char at a Chinese joint that we have not been for a long time... Le Gen insisted they got themselves a NEW chef, we were disappointed!  I vaguely remember the previous chef was slightly better ;)

Rediscovering Our Karori Park

When we landed in Wellington, 1988; our new found friends took us to Karori and we rented our first home there.

Four years later, because of my new job we moved to Singapore.

When we returned after four years, we ended up in Karori again!

But this post is about the Karori Park!  A beautiful park that all these years we are living here, we went there LESS THAN a dozen time! Shocking!

A rare moment in 1999 when we went walking our beagle at the Karori Park

The Best Bak Kut Teh 肉骨茶 in Wellington!

I love Bak Kut Teh! Every time I think of it, my mouth starts to water!!

My Kiwi friends think I am loco over Bak Kut Teh, they want to know what is and why is this herbal; soupy dish so addictive ;)

According to Wikipedia...
"Bak-kut-teh (also spell bah-kut-teh; Chinese: 肉骨茶; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bah-kut-tê) is a Chinese soup popularly served in Malaysia, Singapore, Mainland China and Taiwan (where there is a predominant Hoklo and Teochew community) and also, neighbouring areas like Riau Islands and Southern Thailand."

A Very Hot Wellington Christmas!

Once a year, Christmas is the time we catch up with close friends and traditionally we always try to roast a turkey :)

There was one year I even broke my own record by roasting TWO birds!

This year due to different circumstances, I decided not to spend hours preparing the bird. But... but... what is Xmas without turkey? Hee hee... My Plan 2...

HOBBIT Farce @ The Middle of Middle-Earth

FARCE... Referring to something that isn't cool, 

yet is hard to ignore!

My friend asked me why I was not at the HOBBIT world premiere launch at Courternay Place, The Middle of Middle-Earth yesterday?

 I WAS! Actually WE WERE!

Did we enjoy the launch?  NO! Was it entertaining? NO! NO! NO!

We Shoot Tulips With Olympus Don't We?

It is that time of the year again, spring is in the air; again, tulips are in full bloom at our Wellington Botanical Garden again ;)

Turn out to be a dry and mild sunny day, after lunch we head for the garden; to admire the short lived, glorious flowers. I expect all the blooms will be gone early next week.

I took TWO Olympus with me, the 3 year old E-P2 and the 8 months old OM-D E-M5. To calm my aching knee I only have TWO Panasonic lenses, my favorite super wide zoom; the Panasonic LUMIX G VARIO 7-14 mm F4.0 ASPH and the very compact Panasonic Lumix G X Vario PZ 45-175mm f/4-5.6 zoom.

Out of the blue, Le General insisted that she wanted to shoot her own pictures!  I have to give her the E-P2 with the 7-14 lens which she hogged the whole afternoon ;)

A 45mm view of the garden taken by LB before she took over the ultra wide.

A Weta Cave in Miramar, Wellington.

Hidden in the suburb of Miramar in Wellington is the Weta Cave, contradictory to the name; it is not a cave full of wetas ;)

In New Zealand, WETA can mean the  name given to about 70 fearsome looking insect species endemic to New Zealand or the world famous Weta Workshop!

From Wikipedia...

Weta Workshop is a special effects and prop company based in Miramar, New Zealand, producing effects for television and film.

Founded in 1987 by Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger as RT Effects, Weta Workshop has produced creatures and makeup effects for the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess and effects for films such as Meet The Feebles and Heavenly Creatures. A digital division, Weta Digital, was formed in 1993.

Weta Workshop's output came to worldwide prominence with director Peter Jackson's film trilogy The Lord of the Rings, producing sets, costumes, armour, weapons, creatures and miniatures.

"Kodak Moment" At Porirua!

Kodak Moment... A rare, one time, moment that is captured by a picture, or should have been captured by a picture.

"Aww!.. They look soo happy sitting there by the lake! That's definetly a kodak moment!"  - Urban Dictionary

Porirua is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand, immediately north of the city of Wellington, with their central business districts 20 km apart.  The name "Porirua" is of Māori origin. It is possibly a variant of "Pari-rua" ("two tides"), a reference to the two arms of the Porirua Harbour.  - Wikipedia

A Late Dragon Year Parade In Wellington

Because Wellington was hosting the Rugby Sevens last week, our yearly CNY parade has been pushed back a week to Sunday, February 12.

Traditionally, Chinese New Year celebration finished on the 15 day of the new year; which was February 5, last week.

But since "when in Rome...", I mean when in Wellington, do what the Wellingtonian do; the show must go on ;)

They Shoot Lo_Yusheng with P&S Don't They?

A reunion dinner is held on New Year's Eve of the Chinese New Year, during which family members get together to celebrate.

This CNY eve, thanks to Michael and Debbie Moon we (Le General and Ming) were invited to their family reunion dinner :)

I brought along two sets of Yusheng and we also bought two thick slices of fresh salmon to add more oomph to the mix ;)

Since most of the Moon clan has not experience "Lo Yusheng" before, I thought it will be a refreshing experience for them.

Yusheng come in different styles, this one was from Janet in Auckland.

Nikon 1 V1 @ Wellington Rose Garden

♬♫♪♬♫♪  I Beg Your Pardon, I Never Promise You Rose Garden... ♬♫♪♬♫♪

The second day (29 December) after I received the Nikon 1 V1, the sky opened up and we had none stop rain for five solid days!  As if Wellington need a good cleansing to welcome 2012!

Today (Tuesday 3rd) the sun came out full broom, the air was crystal clear and snappily cool on this public holiday :)

What better time to test the Nikon 1 V1 at our Wellington Botanic Garden! I knew that roses are in full bloom at the Lady Norwood Rose Garden which is on the left end of the garden.

Beside the V1 with the 10-30 kit zoom, I also took with me the E-P2 with the 14-42 for comparison; the other two lenses are the 1Nikkor 30-110 and the Panasonic 7-14 ultra wide zoom.

The award-winning rose garden has 110 formal beds, each representing a different variety of rose.

It includes newly released roses and traditional favourites.

If you want to test the colour fidelity of your lenses, this is the best place to go; when the roses are in season that is.

Buying a SAFER House In New Zealand

Saturday 7.19pm, I was preparing dinner in the kitchen; my wife was at her PC in the lounge yelled, "EARTHQUAKE!" One second later our house was shaking violently, it was like 5 full second... my wife was screaming and I was marveling how powerful that quake was! GeoNet inform me later it was of magnitude 5.7, 30 km east of Picton and 60 km deep. It was the second strongest one we felt since we are in NZ.

Le General do not understand why with all the rock & roll, I remained "so calm"! I did not tell her it was because I know our house can take lots more pounding before I started screaming ;)

That is the main point of my story, how to buy a safer house in New Zealand! A question I have been asked many times by new immigrants and friends.

The advice I am giving in this story are my personal experience and my own research, so please take it with a pinch of salt ;)

The Ring Of Fire...

All of you who intended to migrate and to make New Zealand your home, ought to realise this beautiful Land Of The Long White Cloud is sitting right smack on top of "The Ring Of Fire". And it got nothing to do with Johnny Cash ;)