Memories of NZ's Milk Delivery System

The other day, I saw a post about a migrant to NZ who was surprised about the tokens we used for the milk delivery system that we used to have back when I was a kid.  This got me thinking back to a bunch of cool stories I could tell about this.

For instance:

* 1) My parents saved the last 2-3 glass milk bottles we ever got. I've got them now safely stowed away.  (Err... actually, in which cupboard exactly I can't remember just now, but I know I moved them a few years ago to a "safer" + "nicer" spot than I'd been storing them in. I might update this post with a photo when I find them)
 

I think I have the foil lids too, but kept in an old baby food jar (glass with metal lid)

Heck, IIRC, we used to keep the old white metal-wire caddy that these would come in for many years too - we got rid of that though as it was not looking too flash anymore, after years spent in a not so flash cupboard under the sink...

IIRC, some of these tokens at some point became plastic? (I vaguely remember seeing blue + white OR green + white disks / hoops)

* 2) I remember going to the Meadow Fresh factory on a tour in kindergarden, getting to see the section of the factory a massive fancy machine where they washed the bottles for reuse! I always thought that part of that system was so cool! (Take note, Big Recycling: That's my reference point for what true recycling should mean, and how it should work!)

(IIRC, they also had us walk on some clanky exposed gangway high above the factory floor when doing that... By the next time we visited in Primary School, they now had a glass enclosed viewing booth / tunnel instead... Same as with the ice cream factory next door, that we visited later that morning)

* 3) Mum and Dad say that I used to always bolt upright from my naps, Einstein hair + drool (err... not quite, but that's the best description right now) when the milk truck did its rounds in the early evening, blaring its "milk run" song and all!

Kakapo Cam 2026

It's been fascinating checking in on the Kakapo nest cam from time to time these past few days.  

 

AFAIK, this is the first time I've seem them livestreaming a kakapo's nest during breeding season, marking the first time I (and probably many people) have gotten a really decent look at a kakapo over an extended period!  And so far, that's probably as close to seeing one we're likely to get... 

Things that have surprised me:
* 1)  Getting to see their behaviour a bit more - particularly how, in the nest, they spend a lot of time just sleeping, and also just getting to hear their sounds more.

* 2) It's rather bemusing that that kakapo seems rather oblivious to the changing number of eggs in its nest!  Originally there were 3, then 2, and the 1 when the actual chick was about to hatch!

* 3) Also surprising was that, for a critter that's rather "blind" and living in the dark, it's sense of smell was apparently not keen enough to be even mildly perturbed that "humans" had been fossicking around the nest again, and/or even touching all the eggs! WTF?!

* 4) But what takes the cake, is watching the rangers open up the hatch (while kakapo is there!), proceed to grab one of the eggs (while kakapo watches them, protesting loudly like someone gurgling the last dregs from a straw), and yet somehow manage to swap out the egg (and/or maybe remove some more)... BUT, the kakapo then proceeds to act as if nothing had happened!!!   WTF?!   Between 2 + 3, that's crazy!

Thoughts on Venue Design and Crowd Control

Is it "just a NZ thing" that crowds will just all mosh-up in the area nearest the entrance they enter from, causing a massive "standing-room-only" tightly crowded mess in one area of the venue that snarls up entering traffic (causing queues + delays), while the far side ends up being relatively open or even conspicuously *deserted*?

This post looks into two such cases - the one that inspired this post, and another instance from a few years ago that I saw myself... 

Tui at Wellington Botanic Gardens

Didn't have as much luck getting a good photo of the Tui's, despite seeing way more of them (and actually running into one of them first).

This one is one of the better ones. 

Kaka at Wellington Botanic Gardens

Was pleasantly surprised to discover last weekend that Wellington's Botanic Gardens (up the top of the Cable Car) turns out to be quite a bird-watching heaven - with Tui, Keruru, and Kaka all hanging out up there without having to head all the way out to Zealandia!

Here are some of my favourite shots of the Kaka. Reposting from Mastodon for posterity.

(Disclaimer: Slim pickings, as I didn't have my bird lens with me, and it kept hiding in the canopy). 

1) Inquisive kaka with food on its beak - This is perhaps my favourite shots of the bunch

WOW23 - Wellington Weekend Trip

WOW... what a weekend! (Pun intended) 😊

Top Highlights:
✅ First trip out of CHC in over 3 years!
✅ Finally got to have lunch at Grand Century again (+ got hands on a whole bunch of coconut buns 😋). Discovered a bunch of new favs there too this time 😋 🤤
✅ Finally actually visited the Botanic Gardens. A surprising birding heaven! Saw multiple tui, pair of keruru, a kaka (!!!), and a bunch of fantails.  Possibly heard bellbirds too?
✅ Attended WOW again (+ got to stay in closest hotel this time)

(Trip notes cross-posted from a Mastodon thread for posterity)

Waitangi

A surprising insight I saw just yesterday for the first time, was when someone referred to Waitangi (aka "founding place of New Zealand in 1840" - see "Treaty of Waitangi" for details) as the "sad water place".

"Sad water place". If you think about it, and break down the meaning of the constituent parts of that name, that's actually what it means. "Wai" = water,  "tangi" = a event filled with sadness / mourning for the dead.

Hmm... The more you think about it, the more different meanings you can suddenly read into these things...  Oh the things you don't realise until much later - much like song lyrics, and finding old stuff from the past.