#matuku

[fishsfailureson]

"What is to come"

(image id is both in the alt text and below the read more- I put it under one because it's incredibly long)

And so there we have it, the 200+ followers artpiece that I have been working on for several days, if I had to guess I'd say it took 25 or so hours over eleven days. Honestly it's so surreal to me that I'm here with over 200 followers (260 as of typing this- yes, I procrastinated on this), especially when I only hit 100 followers in February. It's genuinely really nice to know that people are actually interested in my art (before anyone brings up spam bots- I know there are a few of them amongst my followers but I've checked most of them and I am 100% confident that over 200 of them are real). I don't really have much else to say really- I'm just grateful to have the support. Thanks y'all :).

[Image id: a large, lineless digital drawing of several dinosaurs. It is nighttime. At the bottom of the piece, a lone Eoraptor lunensis is walking across the floodplains- both the ground and the Eoraptor are just silhouettes, the early dinosaur has been given protofeathers. The full moon is shining, it's size is exaggerated for artistic affect. Behind the moon, the heads of sixteen different dinosaurs can be seen (listed left to right, bottom to top) Row 1- Thecodontosaurus antiquus (small sauropodomorph with light brown protofeathers, near-white undersides, straight stripes that are moderately darker than the base colour and vibrant green eyes), Coelophysis bauri (small early theropod with a long and narrow skull, its protofeathers are golden and black. A soft orange stripe runs across the back of its head, it has warm brown eyes. Row 2- Plateosaurus trossingensis (long-necked sauropodomorph, it has reddish-brown scales, light undersides, triangular stripes running down it's spine that get bigger the further down they get and pale yellow eyes), Heterodontosaurus tuckii (small ornithopod with a hooked grey beak. It has spiky green feathers, a lighter chest and a darker stripe running along its head and back, there are three small spots on its face, two behind the eye and one infront of it, it's eyes are bright yellow). Row 3- Megalosaurus bucklandii (medium-sized theropod with warm brown feathers, lighter undersides, dark spots and bright yellow eyes, there are several scars on its face), Brachiosaurus altithorax (greenish-grey true sauropod with lighter undersides, a dark pink patch on its throat, dark desaturated brown eyes and a few small scars on its neck), Archaeopteryx (early toothed bird with a black head, white neck and bright yellow eyes). Row 4- Hylaeosaurus armatus (pale brown ankylosaur with lighter undersides and vibrant green eyes), Velociraptor mongoliensis (dromaeosaur with light brown feathers, a lighter chest, a black stripe near its eye and light green eyes), Sinosauropteryx prima (small compsognathid theropod with ginger protofeathers, an off white mask and undersides and pale yellow eyes), Iguanodon bernissartensis (large greenish-grey ornithopod with a slightly darker back, pale undersides, a grey beak, and yellow eyes). Row 5- Matuku otagoense (heron with medium grey feathers and a small crest. A red stripe runs from just behind its nostrils to about a third of the way down its neck. Its undersides are white, its beak is grey and its eyes are brown), Triceratops prorsus (three-horned ceratopsian with grey-brown scales, lighter undersides, two triangular stripes between it's brow and nasal horns, reddish-orange diamond-like stripes on its frill, a hooked grey beak and golden eyes. Its brow horns curve forward at the base. Row 6- North Island brown kiwi (plump brown bird with a long pale beak, whiskers and black eyes, its nostrils are at the tip of its bill, and unlike the other dinosaurs in the sky part of its body below the neck is visible), male house sparrow (small redish-brown and grey bird with a black bib below it's bill), it has brown eyes and a dark grey bill. Row 7- rock dove (grey bird with iridescent green feathers scattered across its neck, a dark grey beak, and warm brown eyes). end id]

[bizarrelittlemew]

Not sure if anyone else has said but Matuku is on Prime! At least on UK and US anyway, not sure about every region.

ohh thanks!! I don't have Prime and I'm not in the UK or US but maybe someone else can use this 😊

[hicginewsagency]

Kenyan Bishop Analyses Ethiopian Churches - Senior Citizens Talk

Bishop Charles Mutuku from Nakuru, Kenya analyses Ethiopian Churches with the rest of the region during an interview with Kivumbi Earnest Benjamin in Addis Ababa. Watch here  

[wetlandsday]

NEW ZEALAND - Celebrate WWD 2024 at Matuku.

Celebrate World Wetland Day this year by visiting Auckland’s largest mainland wetland! Matuku Link is holding our annual open day and wetland celebration on the 3rd of February 2024. With two family activities every hour, guided tours on bugs, birds, eels, flora and fauna, and local conservation groups to chat to, you will have plenty to do all day. While you are here, look for our local pāteke (brown teal), spot a secretive spotless crake (pūweto), and keep an eye out for our cryptic namesake, the matuku-hūrepo (Australasian bittern). See how much Matuku Link has changed since its beginnings in 2016, with over fifteen thousand volunteer hours spent improving the place, two new boardwalks, and a Wetland Education Centre.

There will be an all-day market with gifts, food, art, crafts, information, and entertainment. Stallholders in 2024 include Forest & Bird Waitākere, Birds New Zealand, The Entomological Society, Whitebait Connection, Kauri Rescue, Auckland Council Biodiversity, Auckland Zoo, Pest Free Waitākere Ranges Alliance (PFWRA), Sue Beesley’s Honey, Bethells Beanz coffee… There will be home baking, a barbeque (vegan and non-vegan) and so much more.

We would love you to join us on this special day. All free and all welcome.

See you there for a fun filled family day!

Annalily & trustees John Sumich, John Staniland, Chad Wilkie, and Dale Bainbridge.

SATURDAY MORNING UPDATE: Yes, we are still going ahead with the festival today! While there may be a little rain, rain makes our wetlands even more beautiful – so come out and join us celebrating our wonderful wetlands!

Matuku Link is holding our annual open day and wetland celebration on the 3rd of February 2024. With two family activities every hour, guided tours on bugs, birds, eels, flora and fauna, and local conservation groups to chat to, you will have plenty to do all day.

Celebrate World Wetland Day 2024 with us at Matuku Link!

Saturday 3rd February 2024 10am – 3pm

[dailyoverview]

Happy Valentine’s Day! We’re spreading the love today with this Overview of Matuku, a heart-shaped island in Fiji’s Lau archipelago. The 22-square-mile (57 sq. km) island is surrounded by a lagoon and a barrier reef. It contains several small villages and has a total population of about 550 people.

-19.159465, 179.765080°

Source imagery: Maxar

[skermit]

INKTOBIRDSNZ DAY 13-16

Day 13: Pūtangitangi/Paradise Shelduck

Day 14: Tarāpuka/Black-Billed Gull

Day 15: Matuku Moana/White-Faced Heron

Day 16: Kawau Tuī/Little Black Shag

[aonoexpat]

22-10-2023

All right, another night, another blog!

First and foremost, something I completely forgot to share before: during my stay in Wānaka I was lucky enough to go to a comedy show, and see David Correos and Taylor Ruddle! Definitely look them up for some good laughs 😆

Anyway, back to the present moment: after the sun had finally started shining down on Kumara again, my two new friends and I headed off into the same direction. I took a little detour to get a closer look at Lake Brunner, which was a calming sight:

The winding road took me back to the coast, and I now fully understand why people have described this as the most beautiful coastal road in Aotearoa. The rolling hills leading almost directly to stony beaches, with jagged rock formations jutting out of the glittering shallow waves, made for a magical background that I struggled to pull my eyes away from to attend to the road. With such beautiful weather and a trip like that, all seemed right with the world 😌

At one of the many viewpoints along the road, a Tūī was posing so perfectly in front of the beautiful scenery that I had to take 30+ pictures. Here's two:

My friends and I met up again in Punakaiki, because one of them had had the brilliant idea to go kayaking up the Paparoa river. Unfortunately I saw a very familiar van in the parking lot of the canoe place: as it turned out I had caught up with the (second) guy I had been hoping to never see again. And as bad luck would have it, he was just coming back from the river as I was putting on my life jacket. Luckily I wasn't alone anymore, and one of my friends shielded me from sight. When he was gone I explained the situation to the guy who ran the kayak rental place, who was very caring and understanding. I shook off the unsettling reunion and got into the water, ready for a day on the river with my friends. It didn't take long for me to get properly distracted, because the views were absolutely stunning! On both sides of the river, huge rock cliffs rose up into the sky. Believe me, the pictures do not do it justice. The kayaking itself was rather challenging, as we went upstream first. There were some strong rapids that took a lot of strength to kayak up. The water was freezing cold, and some parts of the river were too shallow for us to stay in the kayaks. We had to get out and drag them across the rocks until the water got deeper again. I was glad there didn't seem to be any sandflies on the water at all, and besides the many pūtangitangi we even saw a matuku moana, which was really cool! One of my friends had never kayaked before, so at some point she stayed behind on a rocky part of the river while we explored a little further. The river became harder to traverse pretty soon after that though, so we turned back and reunited before sitting back and letting the current bring us back to our starting point. What had taken us two hours to kayak up, took us 20 minutes to go back down!

Even though we were already feeling sore from the paddling, we went on one more little hike along the Truman track. The tide was just on its way out, so the ocean had retreated far enough off of the beach for us to walk along it. The limestone rock formations were still dripping as we walked under them, and we climbed some of them, and found a beautiful little waterfall that created a rainbow in the evening sun. I did try to touch the waterfall, and promptly fell on my butt because my foot found zero traction on the slippery rocks. Lesson learned, and sitting hurt for a day after that!

After we had found a nice spot to stay the night, we took one of our cars out to a beautiful beach, and watched the sunset together. We scavenged for pretty rocks and shells on the beach, took hundreds of pictures, and ran away from the waves like little kids. It felt so good to be with others again, and to get to play like that ❤️

While we were getting back to the car, the guy from the kayak rental place rode by on his bike. He invited us to jam night, which happened to be held right next to where we were parked up for the night! I got super excited, and we quickly drove back to our parking spot. I pulled out all the stops and got dressed up for the occasion before heading over there. We met some locals and some other travelers, all of which were some of the warmest people I have met this whole trip. They were welcoming, kind, generous, and they encouraged me to get up to the stage and sing a few songs. I was a little nervous, which only got worse when I sang my first notes, and could hear every single conversation in the place abruptly die down. All eyes were on me suddenly, and I sang my favourite songs for them, which they really seemed to like! After a couple of songs, a drummer joined me, and then somebody with an electric guitar, and then a pianist. It worked so well so organically, we played in sync together, and I felt so humbled and happy to be there ❤️ I did notice the guy from before had joined the crowd at some point, but he appeared to heed my wishes this time around, and didn't try to approach me all evening.

I soon vacated the stage again to let other people have their go, and I felt so honoured to get positive responses from a bunch of people. They told me a voice like mine was rare, that I should pursue a professional career in music (somebody suggested being a wedding singer and... I'm thinking about it?) and one woman who was going to leave the country the next day thanked me profusely for being there on her last night. Apparently I had looked very comfortable on stage, and I had truly felt that too. This, to me, was a most magical and inspiring night. I ended up staying by the campfire and talking with who had been complete strangers to me mere hours ago about all sorts of things until 02:00, feeling so at home. Truly, if I had to pick a place to live in Aotearoa, this one would be super high on my list. I was so glad to finally be surrounded by good people, and to be able to do my thing, and to be open and inviting without being punished for it, and even better, being rewarded for it. I was proud to see that setting a boundary with that guy had worked this time, and I could freely and safely move about the spaces I wanted to be in despite his presence there. I was cared for, I was looked after, and I felt celebrated ❤️

The highs didn't stop there, because the next day we headed into Punakaiki! First up was a hike along the Paparoa river (that we had kayaked on the day before):

Then, we went to take a proper look at the pancake rocks, the blow holes, and the Punakaiki cavern:

Resuming our way, the next morning we found ourselves craving a shower. While one of my friends went to the local swimming pool, I ticked off something that had been on my travel bucket list since I first started planning to travel in a van on my own: I walked into a hostel I wasn't staying at, and used their bathroom to take a shower. For a goody-two-shoes like me that was a terrifying experience, and I was absolutely sure they were going to see me on the cameras, and be waiting for me outside of the bathroom with the police in tow once I stepped outside. But no such thing happened. I had my shower, I gathered my things, and I just walked right out of there! I couldn't believe I had gotten away with it, and felt so empowered and proud all morning 🥳

I still have a lot more to tell, but I have reached my limit of 30 photos per post, and again I find myself at bed time. I hope to post again soon!

[masonhawth0rne]

What I read in September

A good variety this month, though a lot of sci-fi, which I am enjoying a lot!

Time to Orbit: Unknown, Derin Edala ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️*

The Invincible, Stanislaw Lem ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Prefect, Alastair Reynolds ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Myrtha (ss), Victoria Audley ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Archaeology: An Introduction to the World's Greatest Sites (nf), Eric H Cline ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Catching Teller Crow, Amberlin Kwaymullina & Ezekiel Kwaymullina ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Old Man's War, John Scalzi ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Don't Hang Up, Benjamin Stevenson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Superluminal, Vonda N McIntyre ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

World War Z, Max Brooks ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Flight of the Fantail, Steph Matuku ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cyteen, CJ Cherryh ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Regenesis, CJ Cherryh ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mindfulness for Stress Management (nf), Dr Robert Schacter ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Orange Eats Creeps, Grace Krilanovich ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kushiel's Dart, Jacqueline Carey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Aye, and Gomorrah (ss), Samuel R. Delany ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Carnage (nf), Mark Dapin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Blue Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Unknown, Jordan L Hawk ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Chocky, John Wyndham ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sword of Empire: Praetorian, Richard Foreman ❌

Revival, Stephen King ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Apollo Murders, Chris Hadfield ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

ss= short story

nf= non-fiction

*Time to Orbit: Unknown is hosted online [HERE] and is currently still updating twice a week

Lately I've been actively trying to read more older sci-fi, especially written by women. I found CJ Cherryh and Vonda N McIntyre by searching back through Hugo award lists from the 70s and 80s. There's a fantastic vibe to a lot of these books that I don't really find in a lot of more recent sci-fi, though I'd definitely like to find it.

If I ever pin down exactly what it is, I'll probably have more luck.

I finished Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy this month, I had been eking the series out over a few months to savour it. It really is a masterful hard sci-fi series, managing to dig deep into the scientific concepts, but also to carry a huge, gripping, and deeply human story.

The other notable read this month was Carnage, by Mark Dapin, which is a true crime book, doing a deep dive on Jack Karlson (of Succulent Chinese Meal fame). It's a really fascinating take on Australian crime from the 60s-2010s, and is also a really nuanced character portrait of someone who is largely known as a meme.

And that's September!

[aroaessidhe]

Hi Laya :) I was wondering if I could ask you for some book recs for some NZ YA to look for when I'm in Aotearoa next month. anything set in NZ would be wonderful and I'd love to try a few Māori authors. and I know you live on the North Island but if you know any good bookshops worth a visit in Christchurch or Dunedin, I'd love to hear about them ^.^ hope you're well!

Hey!

Honestly I'm not super familiar with a large chunk of NZ YA because I think a lot of what I see is by white authors and/or not queer so it's often not what I'd most like to read - and also the YA skews more to what an intl audience would consider MG. And then some I have read I just don't like lmao. so I don't know how helpful this is.......but the first things that come to mind, from Māori or Pasifika authors:

Flight of the Fantail by Steph Matuku (she has a few other MG ish ones)

Whiti Hereaka has some YA as well, it's been quite a few years since I read them

Na Viro by Gina Cole I think is adult but I've seen it sorted as YA a couple times and it feels YA-ish?

Charlie Tangaroa & The Creature From The Sea by T K Roxborough is def more on the MG end, I enjoyed it tho!

Dawn Raid by Pauline Smith - haven't read this but keep meaning to, possibly MG-ish

------

Some other places to browse that might be helpful?

-Anything from Huia Publishers is great, though it's mostly MG or Adult (....almost everything I mentioned above is from Huia)

-hookedonbooksnz is a NZ YA review site (reviews by teens) - I think the site is down atm? but I linked the twitter

-the sapling for news & reviews of childrens books, it's just starting up again from a year's hiatus

-the SJV awards has a youth novel category (there's a longlist at the top of each winners page, & 2021, 2022, annoying to navigate but includes indie/selfpub also)

-also checking out the NZCYA winners and nominees is a good place to look! (having said that I'm struggling to find anywhere that has all the longlists)

--------

Some of my fav slightly older (like some from when I was a kid haha - and they're all pakeha as far as I know) authors are Elizabeth Knox (esp Dreamhunter), Karen Healey (The Shattering, When We Wake) Fleur Beale (esp Juno of Taris), Maurice Gee (esp Salt and Halfmen of O), Brian Falkner (esp Tomorrow Code) - you might already know about them on account of them being around for ages and idk how all of them aged, but I loved them a lot! All are set or partially set here

-----

Bookstores:

I am originally from the south island (and am here currently)! I know of Scorpio Books in chch that's been around a long time! There's definitely a bunch more but I don't know anything more than you can find out by googling, I don't tend to go to bookstores when I've been there recently unfortunately haha

[teepeecider]

Continuing the ornithological theme at Beau Vista Orchard we had a couple of white faced herons or Matuku moana land in the big old Man Pine. What a racket they make with a coarse croak. They often nest in big pines so here’s hoping. Although the Paradise ducks will not be happy! They are now common, a recent self introduced species in the 1940s. They are often found near water hence. The Māori name for sea or ocean, but often found on wet pasture inland and rivers. #heron #Orchard #ornithology #cider #apples

[fishsfailureson]

Day 14- Prehistoric animal from your home country.

I picked the Saint Bathans Heron AKA Mataku otagoense, this was quite challenging to do since I don't really draw birds often and there were barely any resources- I couldn't even find a single reconstruction.

Prompts

[lifewithaview]

Locke & Key (2020) The Black Door

S1E6

Kinsey's fixation on the Drowning Cave (and the locked door in back of it) puts the lives of the Savini Squad at risk. Nina, unhappy with Det. Matuku ruling Joe's death a suicide, confronts Ellie, getting on her bad side. Kinsey's effort to jog Uncle Duncan's memory results in a migraine. Whispers lead Bode to another Key but doesn't reveal what it does. Tyler's irresponsible actions drive Jackie away. After enabling Sam to escape prison, Echo seduces one of the Locke children.

*The "Mending Key" is in the form of the caduceus, the symbol often used to represent medicine, especially in the USA, hence its "healing" power. ( It is actually the symbol of Hermes, the more correct symbol for medicine is the Rod of Asclepius, which is a single snake twined about a staff).

[hicginewsagency]

African Bishops Speak about Dr. Michelle Corral's Revival

On the Senior Citizens Talk, Bishop William Tumising from Nairobi, Bishop Charles Matuku from Nakuru, Ps Joseph Eryan from Egypt, Dr. James Sara from South Sudan, Bishop Tomson Byamugisha from Kampala, and Bishop Joseph A Molema from Kisi Speak about the Dr. Michelle Corral Fire & Anointing Pastors Conference. Watch, Like, and Subscribe here

[obscurefossils]

How about Matuku otagoense/the Saint Bathans heron? I haven't seen a single reconstruction of it apart from one I did myself a while back.

ooh looks really neat, ill add it to the list! thank u !!!

[thecountydiary]

Kitui Gov Malombe appoints Task Force to Check the Status of Gvt vehicles

Kitui Gov Malombe appoints Task Force to Check the Status of Gvt vehicles

By TCD TEAM. Kitui Governor Dr Julius Makau Malombe has appointed a Task Force to Check the state of county government vehicles and their current status. The taskforce will be headed Mr Stephen Matuku Makau deputized by Madam Grace Kalungwa Kimanzi.

[random-hooman]

Pacific Folk Tales

16. "Burotukula" From The Fiji Islands

In Suva, Fiji, you may see a van and a taxi with the word "Burotukula" painted on its doors.

It is a custom, especially with Fijian taxi owners, to give the taxis a special name, just as boats are given names. These names are meant to help the business prosper.

If this is true, then "Burotukula" should be an excellent name Many Fijian people know, as soon as they see the van or car, th the owner is from Matuku in Lau. The story of Burotukula is a strange and interesting one.

In the olden days Burotukula was a beautiful, paradise like island. Everything there was special, just as the name sugge (Kula is Lauan for gold). The sand, shells and stones on the island were all golden in colour. There were a lot of parrots there and they were beautifully-coloured; red, green and blue. It is also believed that many beautiful girls lived on the island; they used to wave to passing fishermen, but were nowhere to be seen when the fisher men rested there.

The island was very close to Matuku and men from all seven villages used to stop there on their way back from fishing trips. They would rest and cook the fish they had caught.

One day the Tui Burotu, the vu or god of Matuku, sent a special bird to Burotukula. He wanted to see whether the people really appreciated the island.

When the men called there after fishing they were very surprised to see this strange, big bird on the island.

"It's a devil," said one man. "Let's kill it."

"No... no," said another. "It might be a special bird... it might bring good luck to us."

However, the men who wanted to kill the bird won the argument. As they went near to it with their spears, the bird started crying.

For a moment, they hesitated and thought perhaps they should

not kill it. Then the bird stopped crying! After a few minutes, however, one of the men threw his spear and killed the strange bird.

"Oi lei... we have done a wrong thing," said the man who did

not want the bird to be killed. When they returned to their village, the chiefly village of Yaroi, the Tui Burotu knew what they had done.

"You men will be sorry," he said. "You've killed my bird and

now your luck will finish."

The next day the men couldn't believe their eyes. Where

Burotukula Island had once been, there was only blue sea. The

beautiful island had disappeared.

Villagers claim that the island came to the surface for a short time in the big hurricane in 1952. A day later, however, it disappeared again.

From that time until today, Burotukula Island has not been seen. It is just a distant memory in the minds of the people of Matuku.

(Source: "Pacific Folk Tales" by Cliff Benson)

---------------------

@zee-the-zebra

Sorry for the long wait

Lack of motivation is a bitch

Does anyone wanna hear some folk tales from Pacific Islands?

Cause like, I got 41(forty one) folk tales if you wanna?

Edit:

If you want one then pick a number from 1-41, I'll type it out and tag you

I have already done: 32 and 28 (I don't know how to do the link thing on mobile)