1st of June 2025 Aurora Australis
Hello friends,
On the 1st of June in New Zealand, aurora chasers all over New Zealand were treated to an amazing Aurora Australis display thanks to a a strong geomagnetic storm stemming from a coronal mass ejection from the sun.
As we live in Dunedin, in Otago, we were treated to a auroral display right in our own backyard. The pastel shades of green, pink, purple and teal lit up the sky above us. We were also treated with auroral pillars which rose up the aurora in rays of light.
My astrophotography set up is as follows for those interested:
Canon EOS 700D Body, Samyang Ultra Wide AF 14mm F2.8 EF Lens set to infinity focus (ultrawide lens set up for astrophotography), Protage USB lens heater (needed for cold nights so that the lens doesn't form condensation on the inside), and a remote control attached to the camera to take shake free photos, and a tripod.
My camera settings are: Manual Focus, f2.8 at infinity (on the lens), ISO 3200, Image Quality Raw, long exposure noise reduction off, high Iso speed noise reduction off, white balance set to 4000K, shutter speed 5" to 10" depending on the strength of the aurora, and Custom function III: autofocus drive mirror lock up enabled.
The camera settings are based from am astrophotography workshop I took with Mark Gee about 10 years ago, and I've refined them since then as I got to know my camera better. Just something to note is that all these photos are straight out of the back of the camera, I didn't want to alter anything in my photography software afterward.
With the aurora being so active, in the range of Kp7 - Kp8, we decided to head out to our favorite aurora photography viewing area at Blackhead Beach. When we arrived, the car park was quite empty, but it soon filled up with general members of the public coming to see the aurora. Unfortunately there was a lot of light contamination from the cars in the car park, as well as cars driving on the road behind us, which made for a frustrating photography session.
By the time we got there, the aurora was more muted and smaller than before, but there was still some great photos, despite the light pollution and also a cloud bank to the south of us. Shades of green, red, and purple were the most prominent, along with auroral pillars in shades of green, white and red.
Thanks to the position of the milky way and sky at the moment, I was able to get photographs of the Magellanic Clouds in my aurora photos.
As time went on the aurora became dimmer, and we became colder, as it was a cold frosty night in the beginning of winter. After two hours out in the cold we decided to head home to warm up before going to bed.
The aurora brightened again after we went home, but we were just happy to see it in the first place. There will be more chances to see auroras in the future, and hopefully on a warmer night.
Have a wonderful day.
Julie-Ann
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Dahlia Orders
Hello friends,
My dahlia orders from Garden Post and Bulbs Direct arrived a couple of weeks ago, and they had to go into the ground immediately. Thanks to the back garden makeover, there was space for lots of pretty dahlias, and I was able to purchase some of the dahlias that have been on my wish list for a while.
My new dahlia varieties that have arrived so far are:
- Anemone Dahlias: Fenna Baij, Totally Tangarine, Mambo, and The Phantom
- Decorative Dahlias: Dutch Pearl, Creme De Cassis, Missis Miley, Silver Years, Lady Liberty
- Ball Dahlias: Brown Sugar, Wizard of Oz
- Dinner Plate Dahlias: Cafe Au Lait Royal, Pinkie Swear
They arrived on a snow day, so I had to plant the dahlias between snow showers, while the sun was out. Some of the dahlias were already showing decent growth in new sprouts.
Luckily, Patches, the neighbour's cat was there to keep me company during the whole process. They love hanging out in our back garden, and often follow me around to see what I'm up to.
I had so many dahlias arriving that I had to make a list of current varieties, and those arriving, along with other details, so I could plan a good mix of colours throughout our garden.
There's still a dahlia order from Mount Mera to arrive, and once that's done, all my dahlias will be in place for the summer. I can't wait for them to start coming up in November, and to start photographing and enjoying them over summer.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
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Staying at SkyScape in Twizel for our Wedding Anniversary
Hello friends,
Recently it was hubby and my wedding anniversary. It was a big anniversary, the type of one that has precious metal connotations with it.
It's hard to believe it's been 25 years. Hubby and I met in university, back when I was a biochemistry honors student, and he was in 3rd year computer science. We met through a mutual friend, and then over time we became best friends, and then we started dating after falling in love. After a couple of years, we got married, and life has been busy ever since.
We decided for our 25th wedding anniversary we wanted to do something very special, and since I have developed a very large fear of flying (thanks to living in Wellington), we decided to stay somewhere within driving distance.
A number of months earlier I had spotted an Instagram ad for a place in the Mackenzie region called SkyScape. It's a luxury eco-accomodation nestled within tussocks and hillside of Omahau Hill Station. Once I showed hubby that we could have an opportunity to sleep under the stars within the dark sky reserve, similar to places like Finland and Iceland, we booked our stay.
The
day before our anniversary we drove from Dunedin to just outside of
Twizel, where SkyScape is based. The three SkyScape units are nestled in
the hills on a working farm just before the mountain called The
Pyramid. Each of the units are far away from each other, ensuring
privacy and peace. After settling in, enjoying the central heating on
the cool autumnal day, and cooking a delicious meal, we eagerly awaited
nightfall.
We were extra excited because my phone had been pinging me all day about there being a huge aurora. A KP8 aurora was happening, and we hoped and prayed it would last until I could photograph it. As a keen amateur astro-photographer I had brought all my gear, it was a great chance to do some photography. We prepped my camera gear, got out all our winter clothes and hiking boots, and waited... And oh wow, it was just wonderful, the aurora was huge and big and bright. While taking photos hubby and I witnessed arcs, bands, and rays, all visible to the naked eye.
The aurora was so beautiful and magnificent, it didn't really bother us that it was freezing outside. We stood outside taking photos for a couple of hours, and then once the aurora had begun to disappear, we retreated back to the cozy warmth of our SkyScape unit, and looked up at the milky way through the glass roof above us.
It
was very special to be going to bed and sleeping under the stars, I
actually found the whole experience very relaxing during the night
whenever I woke up. The
next morning, our wedding anniversary, the sun peeked out over the
horizon, and we were treated to the most amazing sunrise from the
comfiness of our warm bed.
The next few days were quiet and restful, since I was recovering from surgery, and then an infection afterward. We relaxed, read books, I did knitting and cross stitch, and we ate lots of good food. Hubby went for walks on the farm tracks, since I wasn't allowed to be doing that much exercise yet, and he also enjoyed SkyScape's outdoor tub as he soaked under the stars. I'd downloaded TV shows and movies on Netflix and Disney+ on my iPad before we left home, since I knew there was no TV available, and we ate popcorn and snuggled up as we watched shows on my small iPad. We also went into town for supplies, and to walk around, and we found the most amazing bookstore in Twizel called The Twizel Bookshop. The bookstore is tiny, but the owner has the most amazing taste in books. I walked away with a pile of books I'd been wanting for ages, but couldn't find them easily in our local bookstores. They had a great selection of science, gardening, fantasy, and science fiction books for both children and adults, and I'll definitely order from them online in the future.
While we were also in town, I found this amazing giftware store, and I just had to come home with a bee themed mug called "Bee Happy". It got added to my huge mug collection that hubby groans about at every time he opens the kitchen cupboard.
On our last night we went into Twizel for dinner, and came across the institution that is Twizel's Chippery. We waited for our order in the car since it was already getting cool, and drove to a scenic spot to eat dinner while the sun was going down behind the mountains. We headed back to SkyScape very soon after that, a frost was due, and we wanted to return while it was light enough to easily drive the long farm track to the unit.
The next day, we left SkyScape and Twizel, happy and relaxed, and we headed north for the next part of our adventure, visiting Aoraki, and then onto Lake Tekapo. I hope you've enjoyed hearing about our adventure, if you ever get the opportunity to go to somewhere like SkyScape, I thoroughly recommend it. Our hosts were friendly and knowledgeable, and their units are wonderful to stay in. The units were designed to keep warm in winter, and cool in summer, and are solar powered. Water is supplied by a local spring. I really enjoyed their continental breakfasts while we stayed there.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
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