Te Aniwaniwa - The Rainbow

* A note on terminology - I had previously entitled this post 'te kopere - the rainbow', which is plain wrong because rainbow in Maori is aniwaniwa, so I changed it. Paul tells me that te kopere may mean mist, but our dictionary here lists te kopere meaning a sling or dart. Clarification welcome!

I took these photo's on the way to work this week. The mood in Dunedin during the recent cold snap has been one of grim determination, not to let the weather spoil the party. Road gritting lorries have been up and down outside our house, and they also now spray a kind of acetate to lower the freezing point of water, but still the cars skid and slide across the considerably steep street and regularly are abandoned by their drivers half parked, half wedged against the kerb.



On the left is First Church, a presbyterian church begun in 1862, which has been described by the Institute of Architects as a “Magnificent example of Gothic Architecture”. On the right is Dunedin railway station, "the most photographed building in New Zealand". It's architect, George Troup , was nicknamed Gingerbread George because of the decorative style he employed. Inside the station are some marvellous railway themed mosaics which my grandad would have fallen in love with.

Returning home from work I cross the railway line back into the city, leaving behind the waterfront industrial area, and looking back over my shoulder I can see out towards the mouth of the inlet where, on this particular day, a rainbow was shining through the cloud.


And during the recent snow showers, Ellen and I were able to go out and build ourselves some new friends. Say hello to Ice Man and Mr Frosty: