Lift off!

Woke early enough to see most of the first quarterfinal (delayed telecast). I felt sorry for Wales, who had held out South Africa for 75 minutes, only to be undone by the weight of numbers, and an incisive run.

I then watched (by live telecast) a truly remarkable performance by the New Zealand team. Within minutes of the start of the game, they almost completely wrong-footed the French. It seemed it would be only a matter of time, and that proved to be the case. Four tries before half time and five more in the second half. They won't be happy that they spilled two others.

So rather late in the morning I went for a jog along the edge of the bay and although it was a bit of a dull morning and few birds were about I saw two birds that I have only rarely seen here. First was a Matuku moana (Reef heron), a photo of which I have added as an extra.

Then I saw a Takapu (Australasian gannet) fly over and then dive into the water not far from me. I took a number of photos, and liked this one taken only seconds before it left the surface of the water. 

Later this afternoon, while we walked around the garden, we saw a Piwakawaka (fantail) pair. Couldn't manage a good photo as they were too much in the shadows.