Or could I remain a little wispy like these two angels…

For a start even back then [15 yrs ago or more] it seemed obvious my work would see me using the Internet daily.

I thought of doing my best to “hide” in this virtual world and sometimes I’d “ego surf” [look for mention of my name in search engines such as Google].

No matter what, I’d pop up, and when I became an Authorized Apple Reseller it became impossible to imagine not being found!

At some point I realised I did have some choices. This was my line of reasoning:

There is nothing to stop anyone slandering us on the web, but it would be a lot less effective if we participated in publishing and commenting in social media and on blogs rather than avoiding it.

And this has turned out to be a fairly good strategy in a world that no one edits the content of. Because if our name does pop up in a consistent way in page after page of results, the public should they find derogatory content, are well able to make up their own minds as to the validity of such.

What I have found harder though is the truism that when we publish, it’s like giving birth. We’ve exposed ourselves to a degree by “putting it out there” and while that maybe unsettling enough we may also worry that someone will then criticise us and publish that wholesale as well. The term “putting our head on the chopping block” is often used.

But this seems really to be me putting a negative spin on things. One way or another our egos are involved also.

It may help to consider though that daily more content is published than can be read! If this is true then that does at least leave self affirmation as a motive.

So thinking this through for me it comes down to positive criticism verses negative. So far for me it’s been the former – family love the regular news updates and among my readers I’ve made new friends and consolidated and caught up on older friendships.

On another level as one of my friends recently pointed out to me, I can remain reclusive and private in my day-to-day life, but there maybe more to be gained than lost by publishing in the virtual world.

We don’t necessarily need to wear our hearts on our sleeves, but can carefully craft words and pictures to even change a paradigm.

From a marketing perspective even, “we do train people as to how they treat us!”

We all need protection from the elements, and we can use the means to limit what people can see. Certainly many people dress in black [am an orange fan myself] and wear sunnies so they’re not easily “readable”…

Just recently though while ego surfing I found reference to a guide book I’d edited / published in 1976. About 1500 copies were sold. In 1976 the Internet as we know it today was barely imagined!

It maybe impossible to escape being written about, or tagged in a social media.

• What are our human rights re privacy – our recourse should we wish to have content removed?
• What legacy will remain on countless storage devices after we die?
• When publishing should we feel comfortable quoting a person’s full name, or do what I’ve often done, which is to mention just their first name [knowing how easy it is to type for example; "john smith" + christchurch + sumner" in a search engine - [the quote marks help narrow a search]]?
• Do we have to be emotionally available to publish? If so exactly what does the term “emotionally available” mean?

What are your thoughts on these issues?

Milford Sound – note tour boat wakes…

The Milford Track starts at the head of Lake Te Anau and finishes at Milford Sound/Piopiotahi to the north. Boat transport is required at both ends of the track.

Looking south down Lake Te Anau en-route to the track’s start at Glade House…

Lake Te Anau…

The track start near Glade House [guided walker's first night stop]…

Time: 4 days
Distance: 53.5 km, and all walkers always walk one way – north to Milford Sound.

But in New Zealand mountains you’d be wise to not fixate on distance. Think time, e.g. each day on the Milford is several hours

.
On the first day. The clarity of a Fiordland river when it’s not raining is something to be wondered at…

There are three Dept. of Conservation [DOC] huts on the track for independent non guided walkers – Clinton and Mintaro before crossing Mackinnon Pass, and Dumpling on the other Milford Sound side of the pass.

And four huts for guided walkers: Glade House and Pompolona Lodge before the pass, and Quintin Lodge and Mitre Peak Lodge [at Milford Sound] for the last two nights.

For myself prior to walking the track as an “independent”, I found it confusing prior to going as to the relationship between the two ways of doing the track.

Booking well ahead is an absolute “must” [see below for links]

It was obvious that facilities for guided walkers would not be available to independent walkers.

So to clarify: as the independent and guided operation huts used on each night are not in the same locations and even an hour apart the two groups seldom interact as their respective timings are different [note while guided walkers literally are guided and so all participants leave more or less together, independent walkers only have recommended departure times from the hut wardens, which is advice best taken especially during bad weather].

Independent walkers in Clinton Hut…

Typical travel on the eastern side of the pass…

Hidden Lakes…

Upwards on a well graded track to Mackinnon Pass and heavy rain sets in…

Mackinnon Pass on a rainy day…

Torrential rain set in on the descent…

Dumpling Hut by 4 o’clock on this day just before the track was closed due to flooding…

The next day dawned fine for walking mostly beside a dropping Arthur River…

MacKay Falls…

The Arthur River heads towards the Tasman Sea, often quietly, or sometimes very dynamically…

At the end of the trip everyone has made a few friends…

This older style vessel took us the ten minutes back to the tourist side of Milford Sound…

Milford Sound with Mitre Peak on the right. The track exits well to the left…

Book online and read advice [inc. Milford Track update and avalanche advisory] from the Dept. of Conservation [DOC] to walk this track independently… more >>

The DOC headquarters at Te Anau give excellent advice re. transport [inc. bus] either end of the walk, and where to park cars etc.

Alternately, www.ultimatehikes.co.nz offer guided walks during the peak walking season, along with many pictures of sunny days [in case you're worried about the 300 inches per year annual rainfall, and wish subsequently to miss out on the amazing spectacle of dynamic waterfalls!]

Note: Winter conditions can exist in Fiordland National Park at any time of year.

.

Apart from outstanding and unique landscapes, remoteness verging on wilderness, and historic examples of the gold era, the river itself is cherished by trout fisherman…

My lucky day…

Accessing it from Cromwell / Bannockburn via Duffers Saddle you look across to the back of the Remarkables Mountains – they’re the spectacular mountain range you see from Queenstown…

The first use of the Nevis Valley was as a trail route for the Maori. When the gold rush arrived in the 1860s, two small settlements appeared in the lower Nevis. Now only the family at Ben Nevis Station, and some owners of historic holiday cottages occupy the valley.

Due to the remoteness of the valley, miners’ workings have been left largely untouched and now provide an excellent representation of an original goldfield. These remains include everything from the cemetery and settlement buildings through to a woolshed and the first ski hut…. more>>

It becomes even more remote in winter…

Gold dredges left modest pools of water behind…

And the landscape was compromised years ago – back when it was thought OK…

The old time miners in the Nevis knew about wind energy – these are 40 gal. drums cut in half and arranged on a shaft to capture the wind. This example still turns squeakily…

There are two entry points into the valley [one mentioned above]. The other is from Garston in Southland. So working our way from Garston back to Bannockburn here are a few of the dwellings in the valley…

The historic Southland Ski Club hut near the top of the Nevis Saddle…

This hut has been restored, but being beside a road can leave it open to abuse. Still it is dry and clean enough…

The carpark beside what is a public 4wd road [closed over winter though]…

This style chair was a product of the 60s. My parents had a set, so this took me right back down memory lane. This one even made the same noise as I placed it by the light…

The above’s out-house [toilet]…

Sadly this state of disrepair of a hut down in the head of the Nevis river, and up a side stream, could easily be put right…

Modern day miner’s cottages I suspect, turned bach /crib/ holiday home…

Beside an old gold dredging hole/lake

Fireplace in above remains…

Again a modern day miner’s cottage…

Up a side valley – new lean-to on the side of a really old mud and stone hut…

The perfect situation for those roasting summer days, where shade is everything…

Selwyn’s house has been lovingly restored and inside is lined with hi-tech astro foil for insulation that was developed by NASA…

Ken’s house was built by his grand-father, and is over a hundred years old with the roof bought here from Scotland is still the original iron …

Nearby is a very interesting and historic cemetery. The photos below are more recent too…

A bunch of crosses in a populated cemetery can numb my mind if I consider the whole experience of being human, and the collective experiences of all who’ve gone before us to once again return to the dust of the universe.

A lonely grave seems to bite deeper – the space creates context that can be reflected on…

The symbol of the cross as being part of death, is I find an interesting concept, e.g. while doing the yoga mountain pose [standing tall and straight - not as easy as it may seem], then raise our hands to the sky [and follow with our eyes], then slowly bring them down, palms out, in an arc to our sides, accompanied with an exhalation we create space – both outwardly and physical in the heart/ribs/shoulders, and so on the descent of our hands we become a cross.

It was surely Christ’s death that consolidated the symbolism of the cross, but now I’m not so sure. Could be he picked it to make a point.

Amid all that suffering he opened his heart to all. Created space in yoga terms if you like. And like all crosses if viewed from below the sky [universe] takes on the role we can’t comprehend, that of the infinite…

Some of our pioneers obviously had this in mind when they placed a bird next the lonely cross in the Nevis Valley cemetery. Note the bird faces north and slightly upwards…

Topping Duffers Saddle more recently we were quite taken aback as photographers, by the light on the back of the The Remarkables…

This well designed verandah on an historic cottage will have seen many happy relaxing lazes in the sun, and shade…

In this dry continental climate rust does almost sleep…

Modern day [night!] travellers…

Modern day symbols, if you like of not such a distant past…

Yet another cross…

The ponds in the background were created by gold dredges – with limited water they’d daily shift their own hole that they floated in…

Eroded not by nature, but by miners washing down the cliff with large water blasting nozzles, known as sluicing guns…

Trip notes: The northern Cromwell end road over the saddle is OK for a car in all but winter. Ditto the Garston end as far as the saddle above the Southland Ski Club hut. The upper and middle Nevis is very much a 4wd proposition, but a mild one. Again not advisable in winter.

Google Map of the Nevis

Two of my mountain craft mentors, the late Dave Caswell and Dave McNulty

The term billy or billycan may have been adopted in association with the Australian outback, but apparently it was also used in the UK and Ireland and was derived from the large cans used for transporting bouilli or bully beef on Australia-bound ships or during exploration of the outback.

And of course Banjo Paterson’s references to the billy is noted in the first verse and chorus of Waltzing Matilda: “And he sang as he watched and waited ’til his billy boiled…”

courtesy http://en.wikipedia.org/

However in my memory as a kid in New Zealand we used to make them out of these sort of tins, which if I recall were used for peaches etc. It was a simple matter to punch a hole with a 4 inch nail in opposing sides of the top and use lacing wire [thin pliable wire used in fencing on farms] to create a handle.

In the above photo the fire is a bit too big for a simple boil up, and although it’s not obvious the billy is swung some way away and is keeping warm in the reflected heat.

There are quite a few theories as to how the tea is steeped or brewed, but I’ll stick to what I’ve found works best:

• A small fire that can be controlled easily by the timely addition of fuel [usually wood].
• The billy is suspended either from a wire hook as you’d find in a hut with an open fireplace, or the handle has a piece of wood threaded through it as per the top most picture [green is best so it won't catch fire easily].
• Boil up the appropriate amount of water – fresh oxygenated if possible. It’ll boil more more quickly with a lid on, but on an open fire I’ve tended to leave it off. This will allow a small amount of wood smoke to flavour it, but this is the secondary reason.
• When the water is boiling gaily pour loose dry tea leaves into your hand. A rule of thumb is one teaspoon for each person and one for the pot. However you’re presumably in a hut for the night because it’s taken some strenuous exercise to get there, e.g tramping or hunting, so have more water in the billy than you think you need, and throw in extra tea leaves for that extra cup.
• And I do mean literally “throw”! Hence the lid being off. It’s going to be hot in the fireplace so the leaves in the dry palm of the hand is the perfect way to do this safely.
• Wait about 20 seconds and lift the billy off. Very carefully – you don’t want to spill it on your foot! Usually nearly always a stout stick will be needed to reach in, placing it under the wire handle then lifting.
• Place it in a safe place where it gets just enough heat from the fire to keep it warm. At this point if you shine a torch in you’ll see the leaves floating on the surface.
• Place the lid on and after about as minute get a stick and robustly tap the sides of the billy a few times – this encourages the leaves to sink.
• Let it brew for 5 minutes then pour – you can use another cup to ladle it into the other cups, but it’s more common to use the wire handle, and protecting the tipping hand with a dish cloth [or sock!] pour it out. Watch too any steam that rises misses your hand! It’s also thought to be best if you have milk [mixed powder] in the cup prior to pouring.

There is a theory that when the leaves are in and floating you take the billy and swing it in an arc a few times, the centrifugal force keeping the water in. This is a foolish and dangerous practice that is not even necessary.

Note should you spill the boiling water on your foot, then get it in cold water as soon as possible. Be aware too that if wearing boots that water that goes in the boot will, thanks to the woollen sock, hold it’s heat, and literally cook your foot. So speed is of the essence, and I mean speed!

Lastly enjoy your brew, and indulge… gaze into the fire, or if it’s gone out then a candle will suffice to bring out your peaceful primal side. There is something very meditative about gazing into a flame!

These filters do not always serve us well.

Or to use the words of the Dalai Lama, all has an origination – everything!

I know in my own life when faced with some reactions to my own actions or misadventures, or those of others, I placed a value judgement on them to my own detriment. I failed to give them context!

This old historic Central Otago High Country Rabbiter's hut near Poolburn was someone's home for many summer months each year in the 1940s and onwards for a decade or two. This photo taken close up does not tell us much about it's context in the landscape.

.

By contrast this photo gives a very accurate context! We simply had to walk away or stand back to observe this, and our own relationship to three factors: the hut, the sky and the land.

A less outdoors orientated example could be in a marriage or long term relationship – lets call the devoted couple Alice and Bob as we discuss a scenario:

Alice would be suddenly upset over the likes of an action or event in Bob’s life and it actually triggers a unrealised deep rooted anxiety disorder in Alice.

Bob does not know about this anxiety disorder, because he’s been too close for too long maybe. Not even noticing that Alice’s condition was subtly worsening even – he has not developed a context to relate to. He’d considered marriage counseling at times, but thought things had to be really bad before taking this path, but he had got as far as finding out the name of a reputable marriage counselor. At times he’d even asked himself, what is marriage?

For Alice, she’s just being normal within her perceived context – no need in her mind for marriage counseling. But without realising it she may narrow down her world to the point she feels she can function well and cope. The trade off is a diminished sense of awareness and this will show up in her complete disregard of how the consequences of her actions could damage others, especially their children.

All very well, so it’s how it manifests is where the need to understand context really comes into play.

Lets say one of the many possible manifestations is to consistently verbally abuse her partner Bob, so-much-so that he eventually makes a judgement call that Alice not only does not love him, but actually hates him with a vengeance.

In such cases time will often reveal that Bob’s initial assessment was too hasty, shallow, and lacking in observation not so much of the perpetrator Alice, but his own reaction to the abuse!

An abuse that inappropriately expressed concern and love all along! Yet Bob because of it, changes his stance in the relationship, to the extent that the condition that has Alice in it’s grip, be it rooted in a clinical problem or in some sort of childhood abuse, leads to the abused partner Bob pulling away emotionally in self protection mode from her hurtful comments.

A third party, unless emotionally intelligent and wise, could then reinforce Bob’s shallow assessment thus compounding the situation. But Bob the victim [for want of a better word] validates this comment because he feels comforted and understood by being listened to, and agreed with.

It’s hard, but in some cases a true friend would not agree, but rather caution that all incoming information is best filed as provisional until proven otherwise. They maybe seen as the devil’s advocate of course.

Reading self-help books is not usually a profound solution, as the reader just procrastinates rejoicing in self congratulatory ways in the finding of such a good book, rather than taking any [harder] self improving action. They then go onto the next book, and the next etc. They go outwards for a solution, instead of going inwards.

We as a species don’t change our ways easily. Better the pain we know, rather than the unknown!

The best process in my New Zealand way of thinking is to adopt a typically pragmatic and practical “kiwi” approach. First step: realise the limitations in ourselves – that we know very little of ourselves let alone the situation.

For this to happen the ego needs to be disengaged a little. We can do this by accepting there is pain inherent in the situation and accepting that to let ourselves suffer in what maybe our destiny anyway, is our choice. This I find helps us identify the ego.

The trick is to know ourselves, and not get distracted from this by trying to know the exactness of the other person. At a practical level we can’t tell the other person what’s going on either, until they ask and buy into owning their behaviour, but as we begin to know ourselves we change, and as if by magic this changes the other person’s perception.

You could say it’s called unconditional love.

We thus get into an energy exchange, and while being playful with it may seem the last thing you’d want to entertain, doing so brings a lightness which in turn helps the other.

Best closing summation: develop a non reactive demeanour that buys time to reflect, and if appropriate gather more knowledge and use it to filter ongoing/incoming information. Avoid all temptations to finalise an opinion, or to cherish same.

Related topics: general awareness, meditation, yoga, sensitivity, empathy, gratitude, spirituality, patience, forbearance, compassion, awareness of breathing, and all sports and activities that occasionally or otherwise demand 100% concentration and observing self.

In New Zealand from the 1860s onwards, gold rush followed gold rush and thousands flocked to the fields in quite diverse environments. e.g. arid and dry in Central Otago, and wet with prolific vegetation in a number of west coast regions.

It was tough and harsh work digging in cold creek beds. Only a lucky few found riches in the rock or by literally picked up nuggets, but the collective value of the gold found did kick-start New Zealand’s young economy.

There were different techniques for mining such as sluicing [washing away gravels containing gold with high pressure hoses], panning [placing river bed gravels in a special shaped dish and then gently shaking it from side to side in water, which then washes out the lighter gravels hopefully leaving behind minute but valuable flakes called "colour"], mining and crushing. The latter two were often done together, e.g. a mine shaft was dug, and quartz and rock transported out of the shaft by trollies on rail tracks and then taken to a nearby “battery” to be crushed. Such facilities had to be near water, or near a constructed “race” which would supply water for a water wheel, [or a new invention of the day, a Pelton wheel]. This need for energy raised some problems in winter and in late summer/autumn when this was in short supply either due to freezing, or low rainfall.

The Criffel Diggings, the area in the center of the photo, near Wanaka – New Zealand’s highest altitude historic gold mining area…

A 4 ton trolley used to lower the gravels on a cableway in Canterbury…

So a stamper battery [a row of rock crushing stampers] represents one of many techniques to separate gold from earth and rock. The ratio of gold to dirt/rock is what determines the financial viability of a gold mining operation. Machinery is inevitably employed and has a capital cost as well as a very high maintenance cost: water is usually involved too and steel machinery is not best lubricated by water especially as it has rock particles in suspension in a gold mining operation [I'll leave it to the reader's imagination to ponder the downstream effects on water and river quality!].

There are many areas or land in my homeland of Central Otago where what is called the peneplain is exposed by weathering, maybe aided by glaciers having stripped away substantial debris earlier, and also faulting crinkling the surface of the earth thus exposing edges where weathering can occur faster. Anyway you don’t have to rush off to the link below – just to know that rocks in keeping with a high percentage of gold are on the surface or can be mined/transported easily to a battery.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peneplain

These rocks will typically be much heavier than our greywacke and schists, and they’ve once been part of layers of sediment cooked with pressure under extreme weight when New Zealand was under the ocean [more than once] and silica has been forced all about. Quartz is also evident, along with “petrified wood”.

Stampers have to be constructed out of material tougher than silica impregnated rocks and crush same, then water is used to transport the crushings through a complicated refining process that leads to a water, gold and rock crushings mix [slurry].

A mine shaft in the Dunstan Mountains Central Otago…

A battery in the Dunstan Mountains Central Otago. Note the Pelton wheel in the left foreground…

Water was often also brought to the battery to power it, via races constructed with great effort out of creeks and around hill sides slowly loosing height to the site of the battery. The levels were calculated by using old gin bottles almost full of water [hence the phrase "spirit levels" perhaps].

When at the battery the water flowed onto a wheel thus suppling motion to a shaft on which a number of cams [all offset to ensure balance] would lift and then drop [stamp] very heavy cylinders of steel onto the rocks. The noise is awesome [some enthusiasts have restored one on the West Coast and I've been fortunate to see it running briefly]

This photo shows the curved cams that raise and drop the shafts that have the huge weights [stampers] at the bottom:

The last photo below shows the wheels on the left that turn the shaft. At the level of Camille’s waist you can see the weights [stampers], and the photo is taken looking towards the exit side of the battery – in other words where it’s taken from would have had quite sophisticated sluices with water washing the crushings along them, first over steel with large holes/gratings so rocks could be stopped while the fines dropped through, eventually to be caught on carpet in more chutes [water still used], and eventually separated out by the use of mercury and heat, and made into ingots

For me two factors in these operations astound me: how did they get the components on-site? And how did they live [or not live] in the winters!? Keep in mind that it is springtime when water is most abundant – this must surely mean working hard and long hours to have the material ready. Especially in some situations where, the water being temporarily frozen would aid the mining!

If you’re ever in Reefton on the South Island’s West Coast then a few Kms out of town on the road to the Lewis Pass there is a small museum, and sometimes an enthusiast or two will set a small stamper going in a shed for any interested visitors. The noise is quite astounding by the way!

Today many New Zealanders do go out panning as a hobby, and as long as this is the only method used then very few rules apply, but it would still pay to get the permission of any land owners.

I visited it about a year ago after quite a lot of research. The trip went well, but took sometime as it was only possible by four wheel drive, and certainly not if it’d been wet.

Since blogging about the trip not long after I’ve noticed in my web stats. people repeatedly landing on my page looking for it. So this seems to warrant sharing a bit more information.

This is my favourite photo currently – I like the Hobbit like feelings it stirs in me…

A nearby rabbiter’s hut constructed many years ago, probably in the 1940s and used to house a person employed to trap rabbits. A real pest in New Zealand as they compete very successfully with sheep etc. and worse still cause soil erosion…

No skies were harmed during the making of this image…

From the Otago Goldfields Heritage Trust Web Site:

The wagon road to the Serpentine Flat leaves from near the site of the former Blackball pub. This track is 4WD only, in very poor repair, and can only be used as far as the site of the former Serpentine settlement. The mine shaft and stamping battery are reached by walking down from the remaining stone cottages. This high altitude settlement at over 1000m on South Rough Ridge was the site of a small goldrush in the mid 1860s, although some mining did continue on during the summer months for the next 40 years.

The stone Serpentine Union Church, at an altitude of over 1000m, was the highest church in New Zealand. It opened in mid-winter of 1873, but there were never many services held in it and it was later used as a miners cottage. It was said of the first service that the Minister was late in arriving. The congregation after awaiting some time, adjourned to the hotel for refreshments and when the service finally opened with a well known Psalm the, by now lively, congregation demanded an encore! The Minister was not at all impressed.

The valley to the west of the flat, Long Valley (Golden Gully) was where the Golden Gully United Quartz Mining Co. set up its water wheel and stamper battery in 1890 to crush the quartz rock mined out of the hill above. Restoration work was carried out on both the battery and waterwheel between 1997 and 1998.

More [inc. a map] via >>Otago Goldfields Heritage Trail – Dunstan Trail – Serpentine.

Anzac Day is a national remembrance day in New Zealand and Australia, and some Pacific Island countries, of soldiers lost in wars since 1915. It is commemorated annually in Aust and NZ on 25th April. Initially it honoured the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. However it’s a lot broader now encompassing those who served anywhere at any time since. Mostly this means World War II, and the Vietnam conflict, but sadly there have been too many others as well.

To begin the personal note as per below it’s relevant to me because my grand father with his horse served as a sergeant in two contingents from New Zealand that went to the Boer War. Why he stayed so long is a mystery to us… perhaps he loved the landscape and the people, or he met a woman! And then there was my father, and he was gone for nearly 7 years for WWII, serving in northern Africa and Italy.

Other New Zealanders served in other theatres [why are they called this?]. Mostly I’ve heard of the Pacific Islands where the foes were the Japanese.

Easter 2011 gave me some time to reflect on this, and the profound influence of being brought up by a war veteran, who I was to realise found his memories and shutting out feelings of same a challenge for the rest of his days. Make no mistake he was wonderful dad – he invested time in me, which translates as love. Looking back I now reckon he was claiming back his innocence too. That’s a strong way to parent, teach and lead by example!

As ANZAC day falls Easter time in 2011 I decided to visit the past for this post. To do so means examining just what Easter is all about too: the seemingly indisputable death of Jesus and his rising from the dead. He led us by example too in how to reclaim many other aspects.

So as I compose here I’ve realised it is a three theme post. A trinity if you like!

Generally this shot typifies how I’ve framed the subject of autumn in the past…

My dad grew up in this sort of landscape above, and I knew that he loved it dearly. But here he is in another setting though, a war one – he’s the one on the left holding the glass [beer I assume as it was always his favourite]…

This is a bit of a grim story so I want to intersperse it with some of the colours we all love [my "new" way of seeing autumn]…

Dad was a trained butcher, and I think this looks like him doing some work on dressing a cattle beast – on the back of the photo it says: “Before Florance”…

Africa may have been a lot of fun with his mates as above, but at Cassino in Italy he was the only survivor among them, and was wounded while in a railway station, during an engagement with a Tiger tank. I’m not sure if it was before or after this photo ‘tho, probably afterwards. “26 & 27 Batt”…

He never wanted to talk much about the war, but as a kid I found these photos in the garden shed, and over the years he did drop the odd comment. “Cassino from the Front”…

There was one story that has stuck in my mind: it was how he described taking a day off of killing with the Germans to bury the dead. I was amazed on scanning this photo an hour ago to see, on enlarging, at least one person in this one, and possibly 3-4, and towards the right there seems to be someone carrying a body. “Cassino from the side”…

Somewhere in Italy. It says on the back of the photo: “tank knocked out by our Corp”

It seems as I upload these photos that the world back then had no colour, but it must have had, yet there is no evidence in the aged photos above

Roma…

“The way to Venice” – these people seem happy and I wonder why – did they feel “liberated”…

Many never came back, and then as now we use the cross as a symbol [that has such a link to our definition of Easter!], to remember them. “NZ Graves Sora”…

Sometimes the veil between different times or worlds seems very thin, and for myself it often shimmers…

So today we honour what our father’s did. But in that knocked out tank as above, and in all the rubble there were other people too! The son’s of other mums and dads.

It’s complex even now, as we have the benefit of hindsight, to know the right or wrong of it all. The American Civil War seemed a clear cut “wrong” in that had it been avoided, the same outcome, sans the horrific loss of life, may have been achieved with the passage of a few years.

As I ponder this I’m reminded of the stunning example the Dalai Lama sets, as we continue to marvel at his love and patience, whereas he could have easily taken his people to war too!

• NZ is 12 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+12). 
• New Zealand operates daylight saving time and it commences on the last Sunday in Sept., when 2.00am becomes 3.00am, and reverts back on the first Sunday in April of the following year, when 3.00am becomes 2.00am, or GMT+13.
• International dialing code is +64
• Currency is $NZ dollar and is usually less than the US and Aust. dollar. Credit cards and EFT POS widely available.
• Language: English predominates
• Health: high grade medical and emergency facilities available, and 111 is the ph. number for emergencies

From the CIA – The World Factbook web site:

Background:

The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both world wars. New Zealand’s full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances.

Nationality:

noun: New Zealander(s)

adjective: New Zealand

Ethnic groups:

European 56.8%, Asian 8%, Maori 7.4%, Pacific islander 4.6%, mixed 9.7%, other 13.5% (2006 Census)

Languages:

English (official) 91.2%, Maori (official) 3.9%, Samoan 2.1%, French 1.3%, Hindi 1.1%, Yue 1.1%, Northern Chinese 1%, other 12.9%, New Zealand Sign Language (official)

note: shares sum to 114.6% due to multiple responses on census (2006 Census)

Religions:

Protestant 38.6% (Anglican 13.8%, Presbyterian, Congregational, and Reformed 10%, Christian (no denomination specified) 4.6%, Methodist 3%, Pentecostal 2%, Baptist 1.4%, other Christian 3.8%), Roman Catholic 12.6%, Maori Christian 1.6%, Hindu 1.6%, Buddhist 1.3%, other religions 2.2%, none 32.2%, other or unidentified 9.9% (2006 Census)

Population:

4,290,347 (July 2011 est.)

country comparison to the world: 126

Age structure:

0-14 years: 20.4% (male 448,106/female 426,348)

15-64 years: 66.4% (male 1,426,595/female 1,420,643)

65 years and over: 13.3% (male 260,454/female 308,201) (2011 est.)

Median age:

total: 37 years

male: 36.2 years

female: 37.8 years (2011 est.)

Population growth rate:

0.882% (2011 est.)

country comparison to the world: 125

Birth rate:

13.68 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)

country comparison to the world: 149

Death rate:

7.15 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)

country comparison to the world: 127

Net migration rate:

2.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)

country comparison to the world: 38

Urbanization:

urban population: 86% of total population (2010)

rate of urbanization: 0.9% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major cities – population:

Auckland 1.36 million; WELLINGTON (capital) 391,000 (2009)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.048 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female

total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

Maternal mortality rate:

14 deaths/100,000 live births (2008)

country comparison to the world: 135

Infant mortality rate:

total: 4.78 deaths/1,000 live births

country comparison to the world: 185

male: 5.37 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 4.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 80.59 years

country comparison to the world: 23

male: 78.61 years

female: 82.67 years (2011 est.)

Total fertility rate:

2.08 children born/woman (2011 est.)

country comparison to the world: 118

Health expenditures:

9.7% of GDP (2009)

country comparison to the world: 31

Physicians density:

2.384 physicians/1,000 population (2007)

country comparison to the world: 57

Hospital bed density:

6.18 beds/1,000 population (2002)

country comparison to the world: 23

Drinking water source:

improved:

urban: 100% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 100% of population (2008)

HIV/AIDS – adult prevalence rate:

0.1% (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 144

HIV/AIDS – people living with HIV/AIDS:

2,500 (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 132

HIV/AIDS – deaths:

fewer than 100 (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 125

Obesity – adult prevalence rate:
26.5% (2007)

country comparison to the world: 10

Education expenditures:

6.1% of GDP (2007)

country comparison to the world: 27

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 99%

male: 99%

female: 99% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 19 years

male: 19 years

female: 20 years (2008)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24:

total: 16.6%

country comparison to the world: 69

male: 16%

female: 17.2% (2009)

More via >> CIA – The World Factbook.

.

So… I’ve explored blogging and learnt a lot, and now feel ready to add some value. My interests include:

• Photography, reading, writing and catching up with friends
• Trout fishing, yoga, cross country skiing, tramping, walking, 4wd driving, camper vanning, exploring New Zealand’s remote areas, mountaineering and it’s history, and expedition sailing in Fiordland
• Psychology, religion, spirituality, emotional intelligence, family dynamics, divorce processes, emotional well being and health, mentalhealth, parenting, natural healing [physical, spiritual and emotional], natural healing remedies, and meditation.
• Wanaka Search and Rescue Volunteer

My desire with this web site is to be of service to others and share the many insights life has blest me with

The below images and comments all about the wonderful landscape in the Nevis Valley, interspersed with some odd things I’d like to share.

I greet you from the other side
Of sorrow and despair
With a love so vast and shattered
It will reach you everywhere

And I sing this for the captain
Whose ship has not been built
For the mother in confusion
Her cradle still unfilled

For the heart with no companion
For the soul without a king
For the prima ballerina
Who cannot dance to anything

Through the days of shame that are coming
Through the nights of wild distress
Tho’ your promise count for nothing
You must keep it nonetheless

You must keep it for the captain
Whose ship has not been built
For the mother in confusion
Her cradle still unfilled

For the heart with no companion …

I greet you from the other side …

I find the lyrics compelling… feel a message in them that mirrors feelings deep in my heart and experiences in life – ’nuff said though, as it’d be a big essay to explain.

Maybe his ability to compose and perform in such a way that can be matched by a wide range of life’s experiences is a hallmark of all his work, like many say.

I discovered Leonard’s song on a Friday night sometime back when I accidentally found myself watching him and his wonderful band on a DVD lent to me. I was mesmerised by his humility while accepting applause – I watched it over and over realising I was not only seeing that, but compassion at work of the deepest sort.

Having slept on that next morning I went to pick up a fresh muffin at Soul Food for Dougal and myself for a breakfast treat, and noted one of my friends Karen who works there was back from holiday. I asked her where she’d been. She replied “Oh, in Christchurch to see Leonard Cohen”!

So as per point [3] above!

And I did not even know Leonard was performing there. Karen confirmed what I’d noted in the video, and a bit more besides.

For many years I’ve tried to make sense of the serendipity, the coincidences, and I’ve come to two only conclusions: