The idea conceived many years ago was to bring Town and Country together one day a year to enjoy country hospitality and to promote agricultural and pastoral excellence in all areas.

One of the most picturesque A & P Shows in the South Island is the “Wanaka Show”. Technically it’s called The Upper Clutha A & P Show, and was first held in Cromwell in 1895.

We’ve just had the 75th Show set on the beautiful shores of Lake Wanaka, which is one of the most stunning settings in the country for an A & P Show. It is traditionally held around the second weekend in March and is one of the last shows of the year in New Zealand.

Trade exhibitors arrive to set up their tents and gazebos days before the event…

A “Show” is usually an equine event in most districts too, and so horses in trucks and floats arrive a few days beforehand also, and set up camp in the “showgrounds”…

Horses are offloaded and corralled up in pens that sit empty all year…

Out goes the washing…

Most of these “horsey” people know each other really well, as they go from show to show around NZ…

There is always grooming and plaiting of manes and tails to be done to ready horse and man/woman for a Show…

When the trucks are emptied out and cleaned [most horsey people seem to love horse smells though], the people move in and live in them in for the duration of the show – usually 3-4 days…

Trade exhibitors go to a lot of trouble and display some pretty large items for sale…

On show-day last Friday this major annual event on the Wanaka calendar, which is supported by the whole community and enjoyed by all competitors, spectators and trade exhibitors alike kicked off to a perfect sunrise. By noon Sat. the green area was also covered in cars

This was the only evidence I saw about it being the 75th Show…

Actually according to old time locals it never rains on show-day, and having lived here since ’82 I can say this is probably true!

Happy clothing vendors…

There were a few classic cars parked near an area especially set aside for disabled people – hospitality is everywhere…

A major component of the activities on the Friday is stock judging. This includes not only the animals, but in the case of sheep the quality of their wool [called a "clip" in NZ]

There always seems to be a huge acknowledgement that kids should have lots of fun and be involved. Perendale is a sheep breed…

New Zealand high-country farms are usually called “Stations”…

Farmers man-handle a few sheep being readied for judging…

A Perendale wool clip – quite greasy and lanolin like to touch at this post shearing, pre processing stage…

Fine wool fleeces with winner’s cards on display. Usually “fine wool” refers to wool taken from the merino, a very hardy breed developed for the sparse food on many high-county “runs”…

There are many food stalls scattered around the show – most are run by non profit organisations including schools, as “fund raisers”

My old mate Bis works for the legendary Wanaka Waste Busters, and the show is a very busy day for the staff, as they keep on top of rubbish and waste disposal. The Wanaka community is very proud of them…

Another aspect of any show is produce, and art and craft competitions – now known as Home Industry

Cleverly crafted from common vegetables…

Friend Greg and son Louie admire art work…

We found some more classic cars and tractors outside…

Nearby there are constant horse events in the main arena, accompanied by loud speaker commentary…

A scary clown for children near the sideshow entertainment [inc. a ferris wheel]…

There are always interesting dressers and people about…

Meet young Hercules…

Another judging event – bullocks! This beast was the overall winner – the yellow winner’s ribbon is coming on the left…

Boer goats on display…

Honestly he kept following me…

Children’s pets assemble [and make friends hopefully] for the judging and subsequent pet parade…

Brothers Steve and Ernie nurse a rabbit…

Something serious is going on somewhere else it seems…

One of the highlights before the Grand Parade is a Jack Russell dog race. The use of this breed is steeped in the tradition that while farmers have the Collie breed for work dogs that live away from the house, they often have Jack Russells for their pet house dog.

Here a horseman positions himself to tow a dead rabbit to excite the dogs to action…

Children and adults eagerly await the ensuing mayhem…

Despite their short legs the dogs run faster than the horse and catch the rabbit within half a lap, and then those not in on the kill head back to find their masters…

The is a strong Scottish tradition in Otago New Zealand, and here the “pipe band” prepares to head the Grand Parade…

Those in the parade gather…

Adjusting the saddle girth…

The Grand Parade underway…

Parade over my wanderings continue.

Here Fi’s cat Monster and dog Boo Boo enjoy my dropping by…

Fire fighters giving a display…

I came across a band playing some delightful ethnic music. When they’d finished I approached one of them and found out they’re from Vanuatu, and are all down the road in Cromwell for the fruit picking season…

Andrew stops to listen…

Heading home after a delightful day’s entertainment [I did "pass" on visiting New Zealand's Prime Minister, John Key, who was apparently in the National Party tent meeting folk] I walked by more trade displays and more cars than I’ve ever seen before at a show…

Gate entrants have been increasing each year with last year’s numbers around the 15,000 over the two days. The show supported over 375 trade exhibitors with a wide and varied range of commodities, this number is continuing to increase annually.

Other names for Shows in NZ can be Field Days Events, Equidays, Mystery Creek Field Day [Hamilton], New Zealand National Agricultural Fieldays, Central Districts Field Days

They are also sometimes held on public land known as a Domain.

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.

Out there on SH1 all is good, and since you’re on an exploring type holiday, and becoming aware that the scenery is just like you’d been expecting if not better, and you’d foregone an organised travel package to New Zealand, you head off on a secondary road for your dreamed of adventure tour New Zealand!

Because New Zealand has a relatively low population the road you’re on soon turns out to be unsealed, and is what is known in the Kiwi vernacular as “a gravel road”.

Going slowly as you’re unused to such a surface you come around a corner and see this ahead. Now you know why when you passed someone back up the road on a quad bike or in a ute, why they waved you to slow down and/or had a sign on the road back further…

At this point simply stopping can be a good option – after all they’re coming your way, it’s quiet and you could even get out and take a photo or two.

However if you find this all a bit novel and you’re out of your comfort zone, you may want to hop back in and take the photos out the window, as the sheep surge by.

These ones have just had their wool coats removed by the local shearers…

So far so good – you’ve seen something new, and even smelt something new! You’re going one way and they’re going the other way. But what to do if you’re both going the same way – like how do you get past!?

Well you are in the land the movie was made in so it can be a bit like playing with a Lord of the Ring chess set! There are less players: dogs of different types, farmers, terrain, sheep who love to follow each other rather than think, and yourself presumably a tourist doing the tourism thing

As long as the surface is good and your vehicle can handle it you can sneak by, identifying the side of the road less dense in sheep and in low gear quietly move on past them…

Just watch the dogs at work and follow their lead. They’ve done all this before..

Do not use your campervan or car horn or do anything to agitate the mob. The farmer maybe simply wanting them go left or right into a paddock up the road and won’t thank you for causing a stampede!

If you see the farmer [on this task he maybe best describe as a musterer - we don't do shepherding in New Zealand] off to the side looking relaxed and friendly, and he has spare dogs being rested, or whose skills are not needed [there are heading dogs, eye dogs and handy dogs], you’ll know all is good, and you should just quietly proceed. Give him or her a wave and smile…

He/she will try to get the dogs to put all the sheep off to one side so you can get by even if you’re all going the same way.

Insight: working dogs are usually given simple names such as Ben, Jack, Bob etc., because when used over distance they are distinctly heard by the dog being worked. On a muster each musterer may have a dozen dogs. Swearing may also accompany commands to specific dogs too., so don’t react if your name is Bob and you hear: “#*^#*™¢# ^ª§##*^#*, Bob!”

But if it’s a huge mob wall to wall, or fence to fence…

Then there is only one way and it takes a type of gentle courage and assertiveness: you approach the rear of the mob very quietly just going a whisker faster than they are, and nudge your way in.

The trick is to keep on keeping on! The sheep although almost touching the front bumper will move aside.

Sit high in your seat to ensure good visibility – there maybe one or two who are confused and you may need to stop very momentarily. But only for an instant, otherwise you’ll never make through hundreds or thousands, and never get to one of those dreamt of uniquely New Zealand sites, to park up at in your motorhome for the night.

Lastly while nudging forward assertively you can help the cause by steering quietly towards areas of low density, and if possible actually leave the road and try to get the mob all on one side of you or the other – the dogs will help. But again watch the surface – getting stuck in a hole or damaging your New Zealand rental car or camper is counter productive!

But there is another choice here: If it’s a really hot day and your motorhome has a fridge with beer in it [New Zealand Speights is a good choice], stop and offer him/her one. You’ll be joyfully amazed at the resulting incredulous smile of heartfelt appreciation!

Looking across the Makarora River into the Wilken Vally - Mt Aspiring National Park

We never have enough information to enable us to fully understand the truth of the reality around us. And there is never only one correct perspective about anything.

Knowing this helps me let go of my tendency to label things as good or bad. I suffer least when I can accept reality just as it is. And I benefit most when I open my heart and mind in appreciation.

One of the many things she has recently introduced me to in the course of attending her yoga lessons, has been Quartz / Crystal Blessing Bowls, and in regards to same I must admit for me “to fully understand the truth of the reality around us”, rings true!

The World through a Crystal Blessing Bowl

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Playing a larger Quartz Blessing Bowl

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Quartz Blessing Bowls on the left, smaller higher frequency Crystal Blessing Bowl on the right

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Different frequency Crystal Blessing Bowls showing their handles

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AM -0700 29/1/12, Jen wrote:
I have included an overview of the Crystal Bowls vibrational ability…. however in no way am I able to translate the amazing sounds that are heard… or the clearings that can occur.!!

Excerpt Taken from The Musician’s Walk: An Ethical Labyrinth by James Jorden and Eric Kephart

The sound of the crystal bowls are thought to balance the chakras in two ways: At the same time as the disharmonious conditions are being adjusted or removed a sacred space is created strengthening a person’s higher self connection or “Divine Blueprint.” When an unbalanced energetic condition is removed it is always wise to fill the void with the highest aspect of source the person is willing to embrace. The sound waves from the crystal bowls emit a pure holographic template of radiant sound that builds a Jacob’s Ladder to the divine.

The pure tones of the crystal bowls produce a vibrational sound field that resonates the light body energy centers (chakras) and corresponding physical areas.

Yoga Mat reminder of our energy systems

There are 7 musical notes that correspond to the 7 colours of the rainbow and these are relate to the 7 main chakras which in turn correspond to the areas of the endocrine gland system.

A series of pure crystal tone sessions facilitates the rebalancing of each receiver back into the elevated level of etheric radiance. The effects are enhanced because the bowls are made of quartz.

My first experience of these bowls being played was profound: the audio tones are haunting and sometime piercing the way they wander around my head seemingly physically! Indeed they do vibrate – we filled a larger one with water one evening and watched the ripples form and actually cancel each other out, leaving what!?

And you will have guessed the different size bowls each give a different frequency of sound wave, and once one is “ringing” [by circling the edge as per the image above], it continues it’s vibration for much longer when the other bowls are played. Obviously the resonance of one is picked up by the others.

Maybe I don’t need to know the science, but I do know these bowls come alive when played, and they have influences on us – probably it varies from person to person!

“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”

– Friedrich Nietzsche

“If you are pained by external things, it is not they that disturb you, but your own judgment of them. And it is in your power to wipe out that judgment now.”

– Marcus Aurelius

*** Awareness is the key to all change.

If you have an interest in aspects of the value of money including credit card debt, mortgage rates, equity release, mortgage refinance, and the mind set to consolidate debt etc., you may find Jen’s words on how these relate to energy and personal worth quite interesting:

In and of itself money is just a system of energy used for exchange. I am growing increasingly aware however, that I have attached a great deal more meaning to it. I have often invested my personal worth in this definition of using money: if I have none I am unworthy.

Unfortunately, if I have a lot I have noticed fears, based or un-based can manifest, and I tend to respond with contraction. For example I may be attacked and rejected by friends and family who have less. Or others may target me to steal from, or hate me for exemplifying wealth because they find it inaccessible. Or inversely if others do befriend me then I might be falsely loved for what I have, not who I am.

This is a consternating double standard! I have literally created a lose-lose situation which I am keen to redefine.

I know several stunning people with lovely, generous, compassionate hearts who have lots of money, and many who do not have lots of money.

Therefore I desire opening myself to the potential flow of resources wisely, generously, and to be enormously kind and full of joy. It is completely possible to generate it all simultaneously.

We see many rainbows in life, but the "pot of gold", a reward presumably for chasing same, may well have intangible benefits worth much more than money.

What, then, is the access route to this state of fuller flow?

Well, I admit this part is a work in progress. It is also possible the answers are different for everyone, or not.

The beginning point, apart from discerning what I have scripted about properties connected to money that are untrue, and owning that I am solely and fully responsible for the contents of the script [which means I am equally empowered to re-write it]; well it appears to be self-love!

I have seen recently, with the aid of life coach Deb Kolb, that there is no one, not even a person who harmed me, that I would talk to or treat so badly as I often do to myself!

I am actually a lovely person with a bright mind and a kind heart. It is quite undeserving behavior to whip myself into submission via criticism, creating endless to-do’s with no break until they’re done, etc.

So, as I open to being kinder to me, it naturally spreads to others. I relax my body, mind, heart and soul, and inherently there is more room for energy to flow. And after all, money is just a system of energy…used for exchange.

Yours

Jen

Jen, who is Wanaka based and a valued contributor to this site, is available for yoga lessons with an emphasis on gentleness and Ujjayi breathing: +64 3 443 1672, cell 022 097 4596 and jen.gratitude@gmail.com. She also offers Quartz Blessing Bowl sessions, pregnancy yoga classes and singing engagements for social events, e.g weddings etc.

She has also contributed to this article: How to breathe and some thoughts on asthma

I came across a good book many years ago called Mountaineering – The Freedom of the Hills [ISBN 0589014471]

Mt Barth traverse, Ahuriri Valley. Mt Aspring in the background

While well into it’s 550 pages of small text, I was amazed to find on page 111 comprehensive instructions on how to walk! It began thus:

“In generations past, walking was so necessary a human activity that nearly everyone was an expert. Nowadays, with the advance of mechanized transportation, walking has become so rare an art that usually a person taking up the sport of wilderness mountaineering must first learn to walk before he can climb”

… and it went on pages later to say:

“Breathing must be synchronized with the sequence. For example: inhale as the rear foot advances to a new position; exhale as the unweighted advanced leg rests, the body entirely supported on the rear leg; repeat.”

The editors were onto it, as one way or another looking back I’d essentially had to learn this, and also much more about how to go downhill for hours without “blowing out” a knee cartilage. The importance of breathing has taken me a bit longer it seems, but I guess like so many things for all of us in life, I was not ready!

Footsore in the remote Cook River, South Westland, Westland National Park New Zealand

And in another good book, Strategies of the Champions [Vicky Peterson, Pan Books], I started to consider energy flows in the body as well. For example I found I could traverse across difficult ground or descend a little easier if I could hold my hands together at waist level with interlocked fingers [that is if I did not need them to balance or use an ice axe or ski pole].

Courtesy of: Mountaineering - The Freedom of the Hills

Now my ego is a strange and burdensome beast for I considered since I’d mastered walking that I’d therefore mastered the art of how to breathe as it’s a 24/7 necessity!

Lungs are required to breathe, and mine got seriously infected in ’98. A tube is also needed [windpipe] so the air reaches them, and essentially a pump [diaphragm] to pull the air in.

Antibiotics saved me, and when that drama was over the healing began, but to the tune of being told it’d be quite likely I’d end up with asthma.

This turned out to be true, but by persisting with more meds [I did not like what they did to me, but they gave my system the leg up it needed], and beginning a regime of skiing and tramping again, the bouts of asthma dropped away to zero, and a couple of years after the infection I once again crossed a moderate New Zealand alpine pass.

I was, and still am full of gratitude for simply being able to breathe!

Moon-rise over Nuns Veil, Mt Cook National Park, New Zealand

I was delighted with my recovery, but further trips revealed an interesting thing: despite being fit enough I’d get to 6000 ft., but find I could only progress further upwards [or across] at a ridiculously slow pace!

Subsequent tests showed my lungs are in great shape despite some scar tissue. So my conclusion was my wind pipe is restricted, and so I’d resigned myself to the opinion that if my health ever gets compromised again I’d likely have asthma attacks returning.

But enter several years ago yoga as pre ski season training! I initially attended classes that I knew had a strong emphasis on the muscular/skeletal.

What was interesting was that very soon I was challenged while doing any sort of back bend, especially in the neck area. This was not surprising as a close friend and mentor in energy work had been helping me to “open” in this area. Learning to speak my truth!

I won’t bore you with descriptions of the various yoga poses that I’d find quite upsetting and even mildly nauseous in. But as I progressed year after year, all the way through I thought I knew how to breathe – after all it’d got through a lot of very long days in the hills. And I figured this would give me advantage, but over what or whom?

Making comparisons with others is a very limiting state of mind I find, yet we all do it. Trouble is it encourages our egos to bathe in separateness. Not just from others, but within – the ego verses the real us.

Roys Peak traverse, Wanaka 2010

I started with the Iyengar yoga style of exactness in the poses, made popular in the west by BKS Iyengar- where props such as blankets, bolsters and blocks are used for people like myself, not used to being “open” in the joints [in fact tramping, downhill skiing and mountaineering are known to be notorious for developing short hamstrings, which in turn are a factor in lower back pain].

I next switched to the Ashtanga camp, where more of a flow between poses is the aim. Of course if you want to “go with the flow” of the movements, it’s a good idea to breathe in the rhythm of them.

So a few years of Iyengar and then to Ashtanga went by, and it seemed I’d progress faster in opening and increasing the space between joints, by indulging in the latter – a prescriptive sequence by-the-way developed by one K. Pattabhi Jois in 1927 onwards.

I was so enamored by Ashtanga that I once made the comment that whoever he was, he’d done a great job of figuring out what was obviously so good for our bodies and minds. However I was told by my teacher that he’d been in a library and a book fell out of a shelf, and whatever page it opened on, at that moment the recipe or inspiration, including much detail, came from the divine!

However that teacher left town and there I was thankfully augmenting my spasmodic home practise with regular weekly sessions with yet another Iyengar practitioner, and getting further in touch with the nuances of each pose, rather than moving through them as per an Ashtanga flow…

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga

The term vinyasa refers to the alignment of movement and breath, a method which turns static yoga postures into a dynamic flow. The length of one inhale or one exhale dictates the length of time spent transitioning between postures. Poses are then held for a predefined number of breaths. In effect, attention is placed on the breath and the journey between the postures rather than solely on achieving perfect body alignment in a pose, as is emphasized in Hatha yoga.

The term vinyasa also refers to a specific series of movements that are frequently done between each pose in a series. This vinyasa ‘flow’ is a variant of Surya namaskara, the Sun Salutation, and is used in other styles of yoga beside Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. A standard vinyasa consists (for example) of the flow from caturanga, or plank, to caturanga dandasana, or low plank, to Adho Mukha Svanasana or upward-facing dog, to Adho Mukha Svanasana, or downward-facing dog.

The breathing style used in Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is Ujjayi which is a relaxed diaphragmatic style of breathing, characterized by an ocean sound which resonates in the practitioner’s throat. Throughout a practice, this specific breathing style is maintained in alignment with movements. The steady cycle of inhales and exhales provides the practitioner with a calming, mental focal point. Additionally, vinyasa and Ujjayi together create internal heat, which leads to purification of the body through increased circulation and sweating.

…and I could not agree more! [Lovers of Sanskrit please forgive me for the lack of little squiggles [accents] above certain characters – they do not translate too well into being rendered by html web sites so I’ve left them out].

“A teacher always arrives when needed in life” is to me a given! And so like it was meant to be a new yoga teacher arrived in my life, and very intuitively she’s recently taught me how to breathe Ujjayi style.

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More of a dancer's yoga pose by Jen, a pupil of John Friend the US pioneer of Anusara yoga (means “flowing with Grace,” “flowing with Nature,” “following your Heart.”)

Jen, who is Wanaka based and a valued contributor to this site, is available for yoga lessons with an emphasis on gentleness and Ujjayi breathing: +64 3 443 1672, cell 022 097 4596 and jen.gratitude@gmail.com. She also offers Quartz Blessing Bowl sessions, pregnancy yoga classes and singing engagements for social events, e.g weddings etc.

I was simply blown away by the Ujjayi experience. Immediately on “getting it” [has a Darth Vader tone to it], I realised I could feel the restriction in my windpipe! In fact I’d sound like someone with a bad snoring problem.

But the point was my breath was to and from the belly, and the path it travels brings up no sensations in the nose. In fact when I Ujjayi breathe it seems like it’s not through the nose, and on encountering this weird sensation, I did a mental stock-take that since my mouth was closed for the inhale and exhale, and it can’t happen through my ears, that my nose was indeed doing it’s job – the little internal hairs filtering particles.

Also now since the air seems to be coming in via a different route, I think it’s getting warmed more, but that’s a subjective feeling so far.

Practising Ujjayi breathing works well while driving too – the vehicle noise drowns out mine and my passengers are none the wiser!

For a few days I gurgled somewhat, but persisted knowing I was experiencing an opening of the throat in a most profound way, and then it became quieter – a testament to the amazing ways our body can learn and change.

Now it’s bringing to my attention alignment concepts: my spine dictates how I hold my head, but in fact muscles developed in response to emotionally generated stiffness and self protection may have ruled more and pulled my spine forward in the neck area. Changing this by developing awareness in this area is more work in progress!

I do a lot of walking so that’s another opportunity to practise breathing in my new ways, and so far with concentration I can Ujjayi breathe on the flat, but mild uphill takes some doing, but it’s coming. Along with a feeling that I’m more in tune with life and what is going on around me, and this is enough fuel for many more discussions on being mentally present, open of the heart, and on releasing toxic emotions stored in the body etc.

But the focus of this blog posting is to share what I’m experiencing in the hope that other’s prone to asthma may try it. It’s not a quick fix, but dieing prematurely is!

Even if it does not work the benefits of yoga are so numerous that it’s a win/win outcome no-matter-what!

If you do, then at some point you should become joyfully aware that we don’t so much “do” yoga, as yoga “does” us. Despite many tired feelings beforehand I’ve never once regretted going to a practise either.

With thanks to all my beautiful and loving teachers: Swenja, Jamey, Nina, Norman, Rosie, Laurie, Stella and Jen and others, and to those who taught them.

Namaste

Sunset over Grandview Mountains, Lake Hawea, New Zealand

The views in the above article should not be used to exclude medical advice from a doctor or hospital. But rather taken as a very complimentary strategy not often considered.

Medical theory has it that asthma is an inflammatory condition. Triggers will be varied: pollutants, allergy, cold, exercise, infection etc.

Almost a decade ago

The first meeting with the Court was what’s known as a Mediation Conference. There I was sitting in a court room setting in Alexandra. Lawyers were there, but not allowed to speak. It’s all about a Judge and the parents and any children.

The setting was mightily formal, but yet in these initial stages nothing is binding. It’s a great concept as the atmosphere encourages the idea that it might be a good idea to start thinking about why you’re there, and that if agreement is not reached on effective parenting, that parenting “control” may be lost!

When the elderly Judge walked in complete in his garb of a Court, a little voice in my brain said “Donald, this guy in grey has the look of a very wise and advanced human being – sit up and you may learn much of great value”. In response I uncrossed my legs, one calf having been resting on a shin, and I took my hands clasped resting on my lap, to my sides. The idea was to be “open”.

He immediately looked at my soon-to-be-ex, and said, “K…. I can see you’re very distraught”. His gaze then settled on myself and he said: “Donald I can’t read your demeanour at all”.

I was dumbstruck, and if my brain had been faster I might have replied: “your Honour it maybe because I just became a sponge when you walked in”.

More via >> A journey from the body and mind, to the heart and soul | LikeMinds

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 the wakes of boats doing a Milford cruise. Despite the huge size of the National Park there are only a handful of locations where you can do a Fiordland cruise, and Milford Sound offers expedient choices for those with limited time…

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

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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.

You may find it a little confusing booking and planning the trip on-line, so here is a map with the key points:

Bus back to Te Anau Downs/ Te Anau, stopping at The Divide to pickup trampers perhaps [road branches off to the Hollyford Valley]…

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.

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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