The Wandering Tattler

Akaroa is small resort on a protected inlet on the Banks Peninsula, near Christchurch, New Zealand. There is a Maori marae and a small European settlement. Akaroa is the hometown of Frank Worsley, the captain of Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated ship, the Endurance. Worsley's guidance of the 22-foot tender, the James Caird over 800 miles of stormy Antarctic waters to South Georgia Island was undoubtedly the most brilliant and heroic feat of celestial navigation ever performed by a European. This extraordinary achievement permitted Shackleton to rescue his crew, whom he had left on the shores of Elephant Island, near the Antarctic Peninsula, after the Endurance was crushed by pack ice in 1915. Check out this website or read 'The Endurance,' a fine book by Caroline Alexander that is illustrated by the remarkable photographs made by the photographer on The Endurance and printed from glass negatives rescued from the vessel after it had begun to sink into the icy water.

The Banks Peninsula is a ruggedly scenic and biologically interesting territory extending seaward from Christchurch. A gondola ride affords views from a ridge looking east towards the peninsula and sea and to the west back to Christchurch.

Scenes from Christchurch, South Island, NZ. Click on each thumbnail for a larger image. Use your browser return button to get restore this page. See earlier posts for the accompanying narrative. Figures show the new art museum, the old cathedral, the botanical garden, and a view of the city from a distant ridge.

Scenes from Kaikoura, South Island, NZ.

Greetings, party-goers. Here are some pictures from our adventure at Lonesome Lake at Franconia Notch. Click on each thumbnail to get a larger image. On some browsers, clicking again will generate a full-sized image.

These 1024 x 768 pixel images (0.786 MP / 676 kb - 1 MB) are suitable for viewing on a computer monitor, and you are welcome to download any of them. If you want a file suitable for printing and have a fast internet connection, send your request to kbergman@keene.edu and I'll return a 4.1 MP image file (~2 MB) as an email attachment. Some of these pictures are candid snapshots and may not convey the ease and happiness you normally feel when in front of a camera.

Feel free to browse the rest of this blog, which contains a narrative about the trip Lynn and I took to Hawaii, New Zealand, and Australia last spring, as well as pictures of the Hawaiian and Australian legs of our expedition.