Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

One of my favorite things to do when visiting another country is to wander around the markets. I like to see the different types of food, and of course, do some people watching. These are some of the photos hubby and I took during our wanders.

Banana Lady

Sugarcane Lady

Grape Man

Handicraft Lady

The Chinese people enjoy sightseeing, and we encountered many groups of local tourists at the Great Wall, on the Yangtzee River and visiting the Terracotta men. They’re big on photography, and if we smiled at anyone we’d find ourselves in the middle of a photography session. This couple grabbed me to pose in their photo. In fact, most of our group ended up in their photos. It was a real hoot.

Me and Random Tourists

Which one is your favorite?

Panda are native to China, and during our recent visit to Chengdu, we were lucky enough to visit the Panda Research Center.

I was very impressed with the Research Center. The grounds are landscaped with bamboo and other native plants, making the entire place seem like a wilderness area.

Once they reach adulthood, pandas are solitary creatures. The only time pandas come together is to mate, and the window of opportunity is a very small one. Along with the diminishing habitat, this is one of the reasons pandas are in danger of extinction.

An adult panda

The Research Center is having great success with breeding, although it hasn’t been easy. They found that the pandas raised at the center didn’t know how to mate. They solved this problem by showing the pandas blue movies—a movie of pandas mating in the wild. This ingenious solution has produced a bumper “crop” of babies this year, and we saw many of them in the nursery.

Babies in the Nursery

Keepers feed the pandas early in the morning before temperatures rise. Their natural habitat is at a high altitude, and they dislike the muggy temperatures in Chengdu. We arrived at the center around nine, just after feeding time. During the late morning the pandas return to their quarters, which are air conditioned, and spend the hottest part of the day sleeping.

Teddy Bear’s Picnic

We saw adults, groups of juveniles and the nursery where there were babies of various ages. We also saw red pandas, which are not as rare but share the same habitat as pandas. They’re smaller and are able to climb higher where they eat different parts of the bamboo to the giant panda.

One of the highlights of my visit was a close encounter with a young panda. I had to pay extra, but it was worth every penny. The money goes to the Research Center and helps further research and pay for the upkeep of the pandas.

I had to “gown up” with plastic booties, gloves and a coverall to help keep contamination at bay. The keeper plonked the panda on my knee. He wasn’t very heavy and he had very soft fur. He sat calmly, chewing on bamboo while helpers took many photos for me. I know my grin was wide. I love animals, and it was a real privilege to hold a panda.

This was the first time I’ve ever seen pandas. They certainly have the cuteness factor going for them. My visit was a dream come true and was right up there with seeing gorillas in their natural habitat. One for my life top ten experiences.

I’ve added some new photos to my online photo album. There are photos of the Forbidden City and the Chengdu pandas, and I’ve also uploaded some photos from England, Ireland, Nepal and India.

To explore my photo album follow this link and select the category you’d like to explore. Double click on the thumbnails to enlarge the photos.

More photos to come. Enjoy!

This is a quick post to say hi! I’m at home again. Mr. Munro and I had a fabulous time in China. It’s such a great place to visit with thousands of years of history contrasting with the new modern China. Highlights for me were climbing the Great Wall, visiting the Terracotta warriors in Xian and seeing the panda bears in Chengdu. I’ll post more in the days to come and also update my photo album with some China photos.

This shot was taken at the Forbidden City in Beijing. You might note the change in hair color. I was tired of coloring my hair every five or six weeks and have gone for a trendy two-tone look of gray and dark brown. I’m getting used to people staring at me. A group of Chinese ladies accosted me in the restrooms with much exclaiming and smiling. One showed me her regrowth, but I’m still not sure what they were trying to tell me. I just grinned back, and we were all happy!

What have you been up to while I was on holiday? Have I missed any good news?

Things have been crazy-busy this week, but I’ve just about made it through my to-do list before I head off on holiday. I’m finally packed and ready to fly to China tomorrow night. Puppy Bella has been helping with the packing, running off with every pair of socks and plastic bag we leave unattended. To say I’m excited about this holiday is an understatement. The more I read about China, the more eager I am to see some of the sights. I’m particularly looking forward to seeing the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors and panda bears.

I’m hoping to report in now and then with a quick blog. We’ll see how I go. Meanwhile, have a great September. I’ll catch up with you on my return.

Wolves have loomed large on my mind recently with the release of my latest book Lone Wolf, so this week I thought the differences between wolves and dogs would make an excellent TT topic.

Thirteen Differences Between Wolves and Dogs

1. The skeletons of wolf and dog are quite different. There are diagrams on In the Company of Wolves which show the difference between the two.

2. Dogs behave like adolescent wolves throughout their lives while wolves mature in their behavior.

3. Wolves don’t shed like dogs. They lose their winter coats in spring and grow a summer coat. Our puppy seems to shed constantly!

4. Wolves tend to do what they want to do whenever the mood strikes them, while dogs happily wait for their owners.

5. Wolves seldom bark while barking is the main method of communication for a dog.

6. Wolves typically ingest fur, bones and other things while these things would make a domestic dog ill.

7. The muzzle of a wolf is typically much longer than a dogs.

8. Every wolf in the pack helps to raise the pups. They regurgitate food for the pups. Dogs don’t do this.

9. Wolves rarely kill anything for fun. When they make a kill it’s for food. Dogs can kill as a type of game i.e. to show their masters how clever they are.

10. Wolves come into heat only once a year while dogs come into heat several times.

11. Wolves have much smaller litters 2 – 4 pups. A dog can have up to 12 puppies.

12. Wolves have longer legs, bigger feet and broader skulls than dogs.

13. Wolves live in packs, which have a distinct hierarchy of alpha wolves and submissive wolves. This is apparent even with the pups in the pack.

Source: In the Company of Wolves

Note: that’s our puppy in the photo on the right. She knows she’s not meant to be up on the chair!

I’m visiting Words of Wisdom…From the Scarf Princess today. The Scarf Princess interviewed me about writing, travel and Lone Wolf, my new release from Samhain Publishing.

If you’re a regular visitor to my blog you already know how much I love to travel. Seeing different parts of the world broadens the mind and exposes us to new ideas, experiences and cultures. Personally I think it’s a great way of learning, and my experiences definitely bleed into my books.

Check out my interview, and don’t forget one commenter during my Lone Wolf blog tour will win a $20 gift card from Amazon.

Yellowstone was the very first National Park. Established in 1872, the park hosts millions of visitors per year. The park is located in the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho and has a wide range of habitat ranging from grasslands and forest to lake, rivers and mountains. Note: I think the people who set the land aside had great vision, and I’m proud to say that the second park in the world was a New Zealand one.

Animals that live in Yellowstone include bison, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, mule deer, grizzly and black bears, moose and a few years ago, wolves were reintroduced after being previously wiped out in the area. There are also lots of different birds.

Yellowstone is also famous for its volcanic activity. Huge volcanic eruptions occurred here, the last around 640,000 years ago. The central portion of the park is actually a large caldera (basin) and the area is still very active with many geysers, mudpots, and hot springs. The most famous of these is Old Faithful geyser, which erupts to a schedule and thrills many a tourist.

Yellowstone is vast, yet parts of it are very accessible to the daytripper tourist. I’ve been fortunate to visit twice, and during my last visit, a story idea popped into my mind. My husband and I stayed at Tower-Roosevelt in a small cabin and spent two days exploring as much of the park as we could manage. We went animal spotting and saw loads of wildlife including a grizzly bear eating its kill. I really wanted to see a wolf. I didn’t see one in the end—they’re actually very hard to spot during the summer months—but early in the morning, not long after we woke, we heard the wolves calling. It was an eerie, magical sound and provided the final inspiration for my story. Lone Wolf is the result of my visit to Yellowstone.

Have you visited Yellowstone National Park? What is your favorite outdoor spot to visit? (any part of the world)

Experience wolves and the wildlife in Lone Wolf, an m/m romance coming from Samhain Publishing on 23 August. Available now for pre-order at a discounted price.

It’s winter here in New Zealand, and I’m looking out the window at the rain. I could do with some sun! This photo was taken on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii. Hubby and I were sitting at our favorite bar on the beach, drinks in hand and people watching, when I saw this cute little boy.

If you’re spending time in the sun today, tell me about it. Let me pretend it’s warm and summery here in New Zealand…

Last week Mr. Munro’s employer told him he had to use up his remaining holidays. After several days of discussion and tossing ideas for holiday destinations back and forth, I said to hubby, “We could always go to China. We could go this year instead of next year.”

My husband took one look at me and said, “We’ll check it out once we arrive home.” (We were walking Bella at the time)

The long and short of it: We’re off to China at the end of August. I’m so excited about this I could burst. I can’t wait to walk on the Great Wall, see the Terracotta Warriors and visit the panda bear reserve in Chengdu among other things.

Our passports run out in February, but most countries require travelers to have a valid passport for six months after their return home. No problem. Off we went to our local mall to have passport photos taken.

There are all sorts of rules these days.
1. You can’t smile
2. Your eyebrows must be visible
3. Face must not be obscured
4. Glasses frames must not be heavy
5. If glasses are worn, there shouldn’t be any reflection from the lenses
6. The background must be neutral

The end result of all this is that my photo makes me look as if I belong in a facility of some sort. It’s the worst photo I’ve ever seen. My sister, who sees quite a few passport photos in the course of her work, says they all look bad. She didn’t make me feel better. I fretted about showing the photo to someone and getting it signed to say it was a true likeness of me. Yep, I’m that vain. I know I’ll hate showing my passport to anyone. The photo is really that bad! Mr. Munro’s photo is a lot better, and he had the cheek to laugh at mine.

Do you take a good photo? If you have a passport, is it a good photo?

During our recent holiday we were lucky enough to stop off at Pentecost Island. It’s a mountainous island, which is covered with lush green trees.

Each year between April and June, the men in the southern part of the island jump 20 to 30 meters from tall, very rickety looking towers with vines tied to their feet. The ritual is believed to ensure a good yam harvest and is also used to show acceptance into manhood.

On the day we visited Pentecost, it was very hot and humid. The adult men chanted while several young boys climbed the tower and prepared to jump. Medical staff from the cruise ship were on hand in case of injuries. Below the tower is an area of tilled soil and the vines must be carefully tied, the length judged so that when the man/boy land dives, his hair will just touch the soil. The ritual cannot be performed too early in the year because the vines aren’t elastic enough to bear weight.

I watched two land dives and couldn’t watch any more. It was the creaks and groans of the vines that I didn’t like. The sounds raised the hairs at the back of my neck. There was the creak and then a thump when the diver hit the ground. The first young boy was obviously winded because he took a while to get to his feet. An older man whisked him up and the crowd cheered. I heard later that some of the young boys jumped twice. In my opinion they must have rattled their brains the first time. I can think of better ways to ensure a good yam harvest. Manure, anyone?

Here’s a photo of the tower. As I mentioned, it doesn’t look very strong. There are actually people standing on the tower, getting ready to jump, but it’s difficult to see them. I refused to walk any closer to get a good photo. The land diving wasn’t my cup of tea!

It’s said that AJ Hackett got the idea of bungee jumping after hearing about the land divers.

What do you think of this ritual for ensuring a good crop?