Watching Sirius rise over Hereweka

Published date17 July 2021
Publication titleMix, The
But it is not just sunrises that are gorgeous in my adopted home. The peninsula can pack a pretty powerful nocturnal punch too. A couple of weeks ago, I had an early start. The museum was putting on a dawn ceremony to celebrate Matariki and the beginning of the Maori new year. As I left my house in Portobello, just before 5.30am, I noticed that the night was crisp, calm and clear. I scraped the frost from my windscreen, turned my heater up to full and headed into town.

I drove through Broad Bay on the section of Portobello Rd that has just been widened to accommodate the new shared cycle path and pedestrian walkway. As the road curved towards the west, I glanced to my right, becoming very excited to see the constellation of Orion rising over the distant hills. I might get to see Matariki on the way to celebrate Matariki! I pulled over into one of the handy new parking spots and hastily set up a camera (always packed and ready) to capture the moment. And...

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