The Wonderful World of Sam

Jingle Bells

2009-12-25T10:00:00.000+13:00

Hey everybody,

I'm sure no one is online today checking, but thought I would wish you all a very Merry Christmas any hows.

Hope you have a most excellent time with all your loved ones, and I hope to see many of you soon.

And to my family, well I hope beyond hope to be there with you next year.

Take care and be merry everyone!!

Holiday Happiness

2009-12-22T17:34:00.008+13:00

It's here, the time is upon me ~ I skedaddled from work on Friday, and flew in the early hours of Saturday morning to Melbourne.

I came, bleary eyed, from the plane, straight into the waiting arms of the lovely lady Elinor. Right there in that moment, it felt like I was home.

It's been a crazy first few days, and despite knowing I have 2 weeks here, El and I couldn't help the feeling that on Sunday I would be getting back on a pla

ne and heading back to NZ. But of course I didn't, I'm here for holidays ~ a massive thank you to CVNZ (if they're reading) for giving me a m

uch needed breather, and some

time with my fiancée..

It's always good to be back, and I've already been cramming things into every day, yet also relaxing happily into holiday mode arising later, and not worrying if I feel like stopping for a coffee or a glass of wine ~ just doing it. Life is good.

Speaking of which I got my Christmas presents to myself of a new Life Is Good hoody (with free t-shirt) and a hunk of greenstone from back in New Zealand. Splurge..

This year I have been uber-organised, and all my presents were bought and wrapped about 10 days ago, back in NZ. They got a little battered and bruised in the hold luggage on the way through, but I think that will actually enhance the look of them to go along with my dubious wrapping skills.

So there's no last minute running around to do for me whilst I'm here. Instead I've been lapping up a little Melbourne culture, eating brekky after brekky, supping coffees in the cafes, visiting the aboriginal cultural heritage museum, and today whisking myself off down the bay to have a little look at one of my old project sites whilst working for CVA Green Corps.

I headed to Chelsea foreshore where we did some dune stability and foreshore rehabilitation plantings, as I'd heard there'd been some nasty storms which had done a lot of damage along the coast ~ I was hoping some of our work was still standing. I was actually amazed when I got down there, as not only was over half of our dune stability fence still standing, but I could see the results of it already, only a year after it was erected and despite the storms. I then went wandering in the dunes, and soon located virtually all of our guarded little saplings which were flourishing! Really good to see the work was still viable, and despite the loss of some of the fence, our efforts had not gone to waste.

Tonight, well tonight it's off to Banff ~ one of my favourite St Kilda haunts ~ for a reunion of the Summer 2007 crew who are still lingering in these parts. We should have a pretty good turnout considering it's 2 years since we all first met, and quite a few of us aren't official aussies!

Here's hoping to write again before Christmas. Be good + enjoy the holiday season.

Facebook Christmas photo album link

(will be updated as the travels continue)

A Year in Photos

2009-12-16T19:35:00.006+13:00

Well it's been a year now that I've had my dSLR camera, and I'm happy to say that undoubtedly my photography has advanced. However there's been a few travels, thrills and spills along the way.

Here's my year in photos of New Zealand, I hope you enjoy;

January - Black headed Terns at the Rocks

February - A high country musterer

March - Atop Camp Saddle with the volunteers

April - A birthday trip to the glaciers

May - Midnight Pancake Rocks expedition

June - Grass in Ice

July - Fresh snow on the Cragieburn Ranges

August - Rainbow over Barrytown Flats

September - Queenstown with my folks and El

October - Kowhai blooming during Spring

November - Brekky with El in Cafe Roma

December - The Coast

You can also view them here

Here's hoping for a prosperous 2010 for us all.

A Real Deal

2009-12-16T11:07:00.001+13:00

Christmas Countdown

2009-12-12T22:12:00.004+13:00

One week until I am back on the shores of the kangaroo, the wombat, and the koala.

It's back to Australia for Christmas number III, and I simply can't wait.

I've had a hectic run in to Christmas with two 6 day weeks in the last three, including a 10 hour working day today if you include the 4.5 hour travel time. Painful, and the rewards don't quite equal/acknowledge my efforts at the moment if you ask me.

Still, 5 more working days, a drive from Punakaiki to Christchurch, and a 3.30am check-in, and I shall soon be waking up with the words 'welcome to Melbourne' over Jetstar's intercom. I'm excited.

Plans include Christmas with El's family in country Victoria, some visits to old haunts, catching up with long lost hockey chums, cruising the laneways of Melbs seeking out the best the cafes and bars have to offer, outdoor cinema, live music, and hopefully a bit of a camping roadtrip round to Adelaide. Who knows where we'll end up for New Year's Eve!

I'm sure the frustrations of every day life will soon melt away, leaving me calm and relaxed like this little guy..

Welcome to Australia... the land where everything wants to kill you!

Celebrate Good Times... C'Mon!

2009-12-01T21:29:00.008+13:00

News from afar...

Yesterday was freakin' tops, for several reasons.

Firstly, it was great to return to the 'kaiks, happiness always seems to flow through me when I make it through Arthurs Pass, over the Otira viaduct, and start cruising out into the westland vegetation of tall trees, ferns and coursing rivers. It is always nice to come home after a week away, especially a 6 day working week. I do feel this is quite homely now ~ El shall be joining me here in only a couple of months, my parents have visited, I have my own place to relax in, and I know the area and the people in it. It's good to be back.

Secondly, and more importantly, I got a text when I arrived back from the oft-spoken-about Elinor. She received her results for her Interpreting Course (one of the main reasons she stayed in Oz this year) and SHE PASSED! Hurrah!!!!!! So rather excitedly we managed a bit of a chat whilst she was at work.. just so very happy that all her hard work this year has paid off and she'll have a lot more flexibility getting jobs over here too!

Thirdly, a few little parcels were waiting for me from a few Trade Me (NZ's eBay) auctions I'd won. The most exciting of which was my new iPod and speaker system!! After losing / suffered a disappearance of my most prized old iPod video, I have been suffering from mp3 rage.. I tried one or two others but they simply are inferior. Sorry to every other mp3 manufacturer, but I just don't think they're anywhere near iPod at the moment. So, yes, I bought myself a 6th generation iPod Classic, and got a good speaker dock thrown in too. Bargain.

Fourthly, VERY happy to receive back my passport complete with several full page NZ immigration labels stating I'm a resident, I'm welcome to 'remain in NZ indefinitely'. Thank you Te Ratonga Manene!! The good thing with this is that I'm now able to take up studies over here as I mentioned in a previous post ~ so the diploma in ecotourism is the first stop, closely followed by a short course in Maori language, and hopefully a crash course in Maori culture.

It called for the opening of some bubbly, and a toast to the North West where most of you are in comparison to me.

Finally in this babble, I should add that the photography course is now coming along well; 2/3 of the way through now. The portaiture came out ok marks-wise, not quite up to scratch but I would say that's about the weakest of my areas. I was then able to enter my next assignment which was partly to do with copying styles of your favourite photographers ~ I chose an image by Stewart Nimmo (a West Coast photographer) and here's the result;

Flowering Harakeke on the West Coast

The next assignment went in shortly after this one was marked (at a better result) which was a very helpful but terribly unkind module. It was all about equipment, focusing on what camera, lenses, computers, peripherals & software you thought you would need in the coming years to get to the professional level you aimed for.

I have nailed down that I'm not interested in giving up my full-time job, so really I only aspire to being a freelance amateur-pro photographer focusing mainly on nature, landscape & travel photography. So whilst I don't intend to trade in my trusty Sony A200 dSLR in the forseeable future, I had to research all the exciting equipment which I keep telling myself 'NO' to.. sheesh it's tempting stuff. Still I think I'm pretty sorted at the moment, and thankfully my photography wont require expensive lighting rigs, studios, and I don't aspire to the client-approval land of instant jpegs flying across the highspeed internet connections around the world. Interesting assignment though!

Enough babble, be good people.

Link to updated Facebook HOME album
Link to Facebook Cragieburn Snow album
Link to Facebook Coast album

SIGN IT DAGNAMIT

2009-11-28T19:24:00.004+13:00

Copenhagen... sure it's a lovely place for a stroll, a nice brekafast + a romantic weekend away. BUT I sincerely hope the bigwigs who head for the UN Climate Change Conference in December don't have that on their mind.

I, and many many millions around the world would like the leaders of their nations to sign a deal. Not just a loose, not too binding, "tomorrow we'll change" kinda deal, but a comprehensive action plan to lock nations into reducing our global carbon emissions. It's the only way.

Check out 350.org

It's all coming together

2009-11-21T13:19:00.004+13:00

The last couple of weeks have been a pretty good culmination of some hard work over the last year or two.

I'm happy to say that my permanent residency came through, enabling me to stay in New Zealand for the forseeable future. I managed to get it all approved on the day I would have had to stop working on my working-holiday visa, so I didn't cause any waves at work and didn't leave myself out of pocket through a working hiatus.

Following that, I enjoyed El's last short hop to New Zealand over in Christchurch. She joined me for the weekend, and the next time she comes to NZ, she'll be moving here to live with me. Very exciting.

Not long after my visa was approved, I had my yearly review with work, which by all accounts went pretty well. It was really nice to get some recognition for what I've done for CVNZ this year (other than seeing the project site grow and scores of volunteers completing the program happy and smiling and saying they want to come back), as I feel I've worked pretty hard for them, going a fair way further than my job necessarily entails. It looks like there may be a positive future career for me with Conservation Volunteers, and it's important to me to feel I am developing and learning new things in the role the whole time ~ stagnancy is something which I don't tolerate well.

I've also made the next step in signing up for an Ecotourism Diploma with the local polytecnic. This is part of the developmental goals for work, and a long-time personal interest in travel and environmentalism. The modules include; Ecosystems of Aotearoa, Ecotourim Guiding, Interpreting Cultural Tourism, Sustainability, Ecotourism Research Project, Outdoor Kayaking. I'm hoping to start the Ecosystems module in the coming month before Christmas. Could be an interesting move for my future career, I would hope it could offer a good balance to my business/analytical abilities as well as keeping a strong connection to conservation, travel and environmental education.

So it's an exciting time for me at the moment, and only 4 weeks to Christmas holidays in Australia!!

Opening my eyes

2009-11-15T16:44:00.004+13:00

It's always good to get started on something new, and in this case for me, it's Portrait Photography.

It's really not something I've ever been very good at, I've always enjoyed Travel, Landscape or Nature photography in the main, but the latest assignment of my photography course set me the following;

Submit a photo of a man and a photo of a woman using natural light and artificial light and explain why you lit them the way you did and reveal the Vanity Index you were using. Be creative and use your imagination. If you don’t have lighting gear improvise with table lamps or whatever you have at hand for the artificial light. Do your best…I will critique them and I will be ruthless.

So here's my results in photo form (I wont bore you with my explanations);

'We will not die quietly'

2009-11-13T21:17:00.003+13:00

From the 350.org Team;

Dear Friends,

Since October 24, when you helped lead thousands of events around the world calling for climate action, we've seen new political momentum behind the climate solutions that science demands. After meeting with dozens of delegates during the last round of UN climate negotations in Barcelona, I can tell you first-hand that your local climate leadership is making a real difference--and helping clear the political space for national leaders to take ever-bolder stances on the climate crisis.

Earlier this week, President Nasheed--the leader of a low-lying nation faced with the very real threat of imminent extinction due to rising seas--delivered a powerful speech at the opening of the "Climate Vulnerable Forum." In his speech, he calls for a survival pact in a plea so eloquent that you need to read it for yourself and sign the survival pact today.

The "Climate Vulnerable Forum" included many of the nations on the very front lines of the climate crisis, nations that are grappling with the impacts of the climate crisis here and now.

The focus of President Nasheed's speech was to bring attention to the dire consequences of ending the Copenhagen Climate Talks this December with a weak or non-binding agreement.

I'll let President Nasheed's words speak for themselves:

We are gathered here because we are the most vulnerable group of nations to climate change.

Some might prefer us to suffer in silence but today we have decided to speak...we will not die quietly.

Members of the G8 rich countries have pledged to halt temperature rises to two degrees Celsius. Yet they have refused to commit to the carbon targets, which would deliver even this modest goal.

At two degrees we would lose the coral reefs. At two degrees we would melt Greenland. At two degrees my country would not survive.

As a president I cannot accept this. As a person I cannot accept this.

I refuse to believe that it is too late, and that we cannot do any about it. Copenhagen is our date with destiny. Let us go there with a better plan.

Nasheed called on all nations to push for carbon neutrality in order to ensure the survival of his country and all the most vulnerable people around the world:

After all, it is not carbon we want, but development. It is not coal we want, but electricity. It is not oil we want, but transport. Low-carbon technologies now exist, to deliver all the goods and services we need. Let us make the goal of using them.

Finally, he made the distinction between what might be considered a good deal in Copenhagen, and one that would ensure the end of his people:

At the moment every country arrives at the negotiations seeking to keep their own emissions as high as possible. They never make commitments, unless someone else does first.

This is the logic of the madhouse, a recipe for collective suicide.

We don't want a global suicide pact. And we will not sign a global suicide pact, in Copenhagen or anywhere. So today, I invite some of the most vulnerable nations in the world, to join a global survival pact instead.

These are bold words, bolder than most people understand.

Here's the backstory: President Nasheed and other leaders of some of the world's most vulnerable countries are already being pressured to back down from their commitments to strong action. For example, when African countries stood up at the UN Climate Talks in Barcelona last week and demanded rich countries commit to strong climate targets, European capitol's placed immense pressure on them to back off, so much so that the chair of the African negotiating bloc was forced to leave the negotiations.

Leaders like Nasheed need our support. Your actions on October 24th opened the door for bolder leadership. And the deliveries of photos from Oct 24 events to over 110 countries in Barcelona (and cities all over the world) are helping turn grassroots action into political momentum.

Now, with just a month to go before Copenhagen, we must stand together. All of us, from presidents and politicians to scientists and citizens, must seize this moment and take this movement for survival to the next level.

Please join us.

Onwards,

Teresa Niño and the 350.org Team

Facebook Link

What is 350? 350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Scientists measure carbon dioxide in "parts per million" (ppm), so 350ppm is the number humanity needs to get below as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change. To get there, we need a different kind of PPM-a "people powered movement" that is made of of people like you in every corner of the planet.

Nature's Poetry

2009-11-13T20:14:00.004+13:00

I’m lucky as I get to spend time in some beautiful locations of New Zealand, and this week we’re up in the mountains of Canterbury’s High Country ~ Cragieburn to be precise.

As we’re up around 800m the precipitation has turned to snow, and snow is for me, one of nature’s most amazing events.

Looking out the window I can see hundreds of soft fluffy flakes falling from my view, obviously there are millions of snow flakes falling in this area right now, and to think that each and everyone of those is unique is mind boggling. I have written at length of how the mystery and beauties of nature intrigue, teach and capture me and my imagination, but snow fall is just one of those amazing things that are taken for granted.

When seen en masse, snow fall is spectacular but tracing one flake’s journey from source to eventual destination is quite incredible. Evaporating from one of the great expanses of water, the vapour rises and collects on dust particles in the atmosphere to form clouds. It’s moved by the forceful winds that brush over our lands, and across to where we sit and watch the clouds begin to unleash their burden. Sometimes it is possible to single out an individual snowflake high up in the sky and watch it falling, its course interrupted by small gusts of wind, eventually making contact with one kind of surface or another. In this case, the snow is falling largely onto the trees and forest floor, changing form almost instantly to become a small rivulet running down the leaves of the beech trees, or moistening the leafy forest floor. Watching snow slowly build its soft blanket along the ground and in the trees is one of my joys, for little we do as humans, whether it be great works of art, poetry, or literature, can match such a natural occurrence.

The way the world is slightly muffled when it is snowing is fantastic, it allows quiet contemplation, enjoyment of the close up instead of the bigger picture. I think that’s why it suits so well for curling up with a good book, the crackle of a wood fire (or hum of a heat pump these days), and soft strands of music floating through the room. Instead of an inconvenience, I always look on snow as an opportunity ~ it can transform our immediate environment so drastically.

Having this kind of awareness of the world around me is something that has only increased with so much time spent out in the wilderness areas of the lands I travel to. I could entertain myself for all my time left on this world with the ‘little things’ that this world has given to us, for free, with no strings attached, which we can wonder at. I can only hope we’re able to protect this for future generations to enjoy, to wonder about the same questions as we do, and to help make sense of their place in the global ecosystem we inhabit. We are but creatures within a greater system, not superior to other animals or the environment around us, I hope this realisation reaches more people before we lose more vast natural areas and species in this world which we seem hell-bent on 'mastering'.

Inch by Inch: JUBILANT!

2009-11-06T15:16:00.003+13:00

Can't quite tell you how excited I am today.

Today I have become an honorary Kiwi! Well, in the sense I am allowed to reside here for the long-term future at least, as not only a temporary work visa was granted today, but also my Permanent Residency under the Skilled Migrant scheme.

I've done it.. secured my forseeable future in the upside down, green pastured, sheep ridden lands of New Zealand!!

I am a very happy man.

From Time Travel & Ecology, to Bike Tracks & Volunteers

2009-11-05T17:03:00.000+13:00

Something is wrong. I’m on the wrong side of the mountains, and it feels a little odd. This week, for the first time since I have been in New Zealand, I find myself staying on the eastern side of the Southern Alps for more than a weekend.

We’re over here working on a new project on the Waimakariri River just north of Christchurch ~ Poynters Nature Reserve to be precise. The reserve used to pretty much be derelict land, with 4x4’s, dirt bikes, and those who liked to dump rubbish and burn cars being the main visitors to the area. Sounds pretty horrible eh?

Well only 4 years later, the land has seen a major turnaround already. Environment Canterbury (to be known henceforth as ECAN) have done an amazing job in rezoning the land usage to preserve some land for off road vehicle usage, some for mountain biking, and some for biodiversity recovery. We’re naturally working in the bio-recovery area, mainly doing significant environmental ninja-ing by planting natives with a vengeance along riparian sections (river edge to you and I) to slowly begin the restoration back to a semblance of how it may have once been.

The Waimakariri is a braided river, meaning it looks a bit like a delta with banks of gravel and sand building up and changing its course. When the Europeans started to settle the swamp that used to be Christchurch, it seemed like a bad idea to have a huge river which flooded vast sections, so they began to ‘engineer’ the river to obey man’s desires with big flood defences, to which part of the plan included planting Willow trees as the root system stabilised their workings. Today the willow and poplar trees dominate the area along the rivers (and are still being planted by the ongoing engineering works) and instead of trying to wipe them out, they are just an accepted part of the environment over this side of the mountains.

Conservation is as much about making the trade offs and balance of human usage as saving anything and everything that is left and preventing humans from stepping foot in the area ever again. I think sometimes Conservation gets a bad name for wanting to ‘lock up the land’, but projects like this show that there is a great balance that can be struck which will benefit all parties, and still enable a decent area to recover and create a corridor for biodiversity to leap frog its way across the Canterbury Plains.

I’ve also brought my hardcore reading materials with me this time. ‘Conservation; Linking ecology, economics & culture’ by Mulder & Coppolillo is one which I am wading through in chunks as it has some interesting info and points of view, arguments and case studies discussed within. It’s really more of a text book for a uni course, but it’s helping me to think more analytically about the work I do, about my own personal understanding and view on conservation, and to read a little more information which isn’t so populous as National Geographic or the likes. If you’re studying environmental science, conservation biology or the likes, it’s a good one to pick up (if you haven’t already been buried by your reading list!).

This more studious reading is somewhat juxtaposed to my recent reads, which have included The Time Travellers Wife (by Stephanie Niffenegger) just finished recently. A beautiful story of life, love & loss, crafted quite amazingly by a lady who apparently used to be a Creative Writing teacher if my sources are correct. I know I may lose a few ‘bloke points’ here (who’m I kidding, I don’t have any of those) but my emotions were somewhat jerked around by this book, and the idea of living a life such as these characters do was stirring and I was sincerely welling up toward the end, whilst I was on the plane back from Australia a week or so back. Beautifully written, and highly recommended, and a big thanks to Mister Chris for the tip off.

Anyways, enough of my rambles, but if you have any hints on what I should be buying next then let me know. Be good y’all.

"You're either an activitst, or an Inactivist"

2009-10-25T20:08:00.005+13:00

An astonishing show of support for 350.org and its message swept the world yesterday. It seems to have hit front page news in just about every country with a newspaper, or so it seems.

Courtesy of the 350.org website

The kiwis took it upon themselves to organise over 130 actions (large and small) in support of the 350 message. Over 5200 actions around the world, in 181 different countries ~ it's amazing to know there are so many activists out there.

Sadly our own action (Tauranga Bay) wasn't able to go ahead as we weren't able to secure the plants and ran out of time, but as you can see from the image above I had my own little personal session and sent it off to 350 to add to the collage of amazing photos from around the world which can be seen on the 350 website.

Here's a little bit more about the message we're trying to spread;

What does the number 350 mean?

350 is the most important number in the world--it's what scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Two years ago, after leading climatologists observed rapid ice melt in the Arctic and other frightening signs of climate change, they issued a series of studies showing that the planet faced both human and natural disaster if atmospheric concentrations of CO2 remained above 350 parts per million.

Everyone from Al Gore to the U.N.’s top climate scientist has now embraced this goal as necessary for stabilizing the planet and preventing complete disaster. Now the trick is getting our leaders to pay attention and craft policies that will put the world on track to get to 350.

Is 350 scientifically possible?

Right now, mostly because we’ve burned so much fossil fuel, the atmospheric concentration of co2 is 390 ppm—that’s way too high, and it’s why ice is melting, drought is spreading, forests are dying. To bring that number down, the first task is to stop putting more carbon into the atmosphere. That means a very fast transition to sun and wind and other renewable forms of power. If we can stop pouring more carbon into the atmosphere, then forests and oceans will slowly suck some of it out of the air and return us to safe levels.

Is 350 politically possible?

It’s very hard. It means switching off fossil fuel much more quickly than governments and corporations have been planning. Our best chance to speed up that process will come in December in Copenhagen, when the world’s nations meet to agree on a new climate treaty. Right now, they’re not planning to do enough. But we can change that--if we mobilize the world to swift and bold climate action.

I hope you are able to sign on to any petitions for your local governments, MP's and Prime Ministers/Presidents to add to the overwhelming public opinion that a binding global climate deal must be made.

Here's the kiwi one: Sign On
Australia ones: Seal The Deal & ACF
And the UK one: Friends of the Earth (this can be changed for any country)

Please sign up, be an activist for the day!

Fourth?!

2009-10-23T23:04:00.004+13:00

I kinda don't want to write and send my post below down a notch, but I guess the blog must go on.

National Geographic has released their latest "Best & Worst Locations" photos and ratings.

I'm sad to say the South Island of NZ only made it to fourth, behind the Norweigan Fjords, and 2 Canadian entries. But in fact, on closer inspection, it's tied 3rd with Gaspé Peninsula, Quebec.

That's not bad going I guess, but then with glaciers, soaring snowy mountains, stunning limestone formations, rainforest, UNESCO landscapes, beautiful beaches, 'great walks', stunning lakes, endemic wildlife, and a plethora of other interesting places to go and things to see, you can kind of understand how it would be in the top 5. I think putting the South Island below the fjords, a couple of National Parks in Canada & a Canadian peninsular is still a little harsh.

To explain a bit more abotu why; The National Geographic's Center for Sustainable Destinations convened an independent panel of 437 experts in fields from historic preservation and sustainable tourism to travel writing and archaeology to assess 133 iconic places around the world.

The panel based its decisions on six criteria: environmental and ecological quality, social and cultural integrity, condition of historic buildings and archaeological sites, aesthetic appeal, quality of tourism management, and outlook for the future. The results appear in the November/December 2009 issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine.

I guess I should concede that whilst we have a small population, the tourism here is swamping the islands (not to the point that I can't still drive most of my time on open roads) and certain sites especially. Still, it provides some employment for the population and is helping us to lift from recession.

Tis a pretty pretty place, gotta admit I'm kinda happy I get to live and work here!

She Said Yes

2009-10-19T21:45:00.001+13:00

Written September '09

Today I'm a proud man. I'm writing this post shortly after my parents, Elinor, and El's parents have all left New Zealand after their holidays; partially to enjoy this spectacular country, partially to see me, partially to wine and dine their way around the South Island, and partially to celebrate.

When they booked their holidays, the celebrations were only contextualised as a meeting of parents who shared a relationship through Elinor and myself's happiness, but events took on a more celebratory note back in August.

On my last visit to Melbourne, I had with me something quite precious to myself, not just for its monetary value, but because of what it meant to me. I brought with me a fairly small, contemporary style white gold sapphire engagement ring which I had bought in Borneo back in July. I think of Borneo as a turning point in my life, one which put me on a new path, one which brought me more confidence and clarity of purpose, and one which lead me onwards to Australia.

Going back a bit; it was about 3 days after getting to Australia in September 2007 that I met Elinor, in a cafe called Beachcomber, where we both worked. For a good while we were friends, workmates and nothing more, but despite us both leaving that place, we remained friends, and somehow a little into the future we found ourselves together and very much in love.

Despite my somewhat forced move to New Zealand, we have continued our relationship, and it has been - despite the distance - a happy year of visits, holidays and stolen weekends. We've remained close and learnt more about ourselves and our relationship through this time. I realised that Elinor was someone who made me incredibly happy, made me a better person, and I wanted my future to be with her.

So on a blustery cold afternoon in St Kilda, after sharing a tasty breakfast on the pier, and after randomly bumping into El's uncle and cousins, we wandered up the breakwater and it was there that I popped open the box to show El the ring. El stuttered a 'Yes, of course' and we spent the rest of the day getting our heads round the idea, supping champagne on Degraves St in Melbourne, and talking about what it meant.

To me, it is committment. To a future together, to marriage in the future ~ whether it be a year or two, and to caring for one another for our lives together.

I'm a happy man, and to be able to share this life with Elinor will make me happy. To share the engagement with our parents, and El's aunt and uncle (Anna & Mick) was special for us. We still have some work to do on living in the same country, but it seems that come February we shall re-start our lives toegther in New Zealand.

As for what the future holds, well that's just the fun bit in life ~ working out what we do, where we go, and what delights we treat ourselves to along the way.

No dates scheduled as yet (though we're toying with sometime early 2011), but a seed planted for an excuse for a future trip to one of the upside down lands to attend a wedding and explore the wonders of Australia/New Zealand/some freakin beautiful tropical island paradise.

Cheers to you all!

A Fiesta of Film

2009-10-19T21:27:00.001+13:00

A big thank you to all thos

e involved in getting the NZ film festival to air in Greymouth!

It's refreshing to see some non-mainstream films on in town, and here's my reviews/comments of the films I've made it to.

The Cove

I thank these brave souls for making this movie, for risking detention and torture, for recruiting those who could make a difference, for having the bravado to do something about this crime and bring it to the attention of the wider public. Every now and then a film comes along that makes you sit up, cover your eyes in horror, but come out at the end of it re-assessing what you thought about things, and wanting to do something about the topic. The Cove focuses on an atrocity which still takes place every year in Taiji, Japan; the annual slaughter of around 23'000 dolphins, the lies and cover up by the locals all the way up to a national level, and the efforts of a small band of activists to make it stop.

Watch the film, seriously the cinematography is fantastic and the subject

matter should leave you thinking well into the future.

Go to the website, sign the petitions & do whatever you can. It has to stop.

Cove Website

Flame & Citron

A story of the Danish resistance movement in WWII, focusing mainly on the activities of two prominent figures ~ Bent Faurschou-Hviid (known as Flame) and Jørgen Haagen Schmith (known as Citron), who both died during the war.

A touching story with various twists and turns, a little heavy on the graphic nature of their assassinations, but overall both an interesting look into the Holger Danske resistance group, the lies and deception, and an interesting character portrayal of both Flame and Citron as the film (and their lives) progress.

In The Loop

They're a bit funny those Brits...

I miss English humour; the dry, satirical, sarcastic and sometimes downright rude. This film ties all of those together brilliantly, in my opinion Armando Ianucci should be knighted for services to comedy. I have been glued to his productions, normally TV based, since The Day Today and Brasseye. If you haven't seen either, you really have to get back in touch with English comedy. He's not so well known as a figure in front of the camera, but his writing is just genius.

Anyway, the film is a lovely political satirical commentary on both British and American politics, which largely had me rolling around laughing out loud like an idiot. I think many of the nuances and geographic in-jokes were lost on the kiwi crowd, despite their apparent leaning toward the English arm of comedic thinking instead of the 'laugh-along sound tracks' of the Americans, yet there were many others in the audience laughing along with me.

A good review;

“A cynical, razor-sharp, truly laugh-out-loud farce about the symbiotic relationship between ineffectual, flip-flopping bureaucrats and the sneaky, petty spin doctors who need them... while we strain to catch the marginal details and sort out the hierarchic squabbling, a war is being jointly planned by the US President and the UK Prime Minister right under everyone's noses. Dr Strangelove would surely chuckle.” — Aaron Hillis, GreenCine.com

Well worth a watch.

Everlasting Moments
The sing-song of Swedish has always intrigued me, guess that’s why I learnt Swedish for a couple of months at Uni ~ I enjoyed it, but didn’t have the free credits to continue sadly.

Can’t say it helped me much with this film, but the subtitles were pretty handy.

Somehow I came out of this film feeling good, though others I chatted to didn’t seem to share my optimism for life once it was over. I think that’s what is so interesting about film ~ two people can watch an identical film, but get such different things from it.

The film centres around a much wronged wife, her drunkard-scoundrel of a husband, their family, and how her winning a camera in a raffle led her down different paths. It was beautiful in parts, painful to watch in others (the domestic violence is never a theme which sits comfortably with me) but interesting and intriguing throughout. The wife’s description of her photos as ‘Everlasting Moments’ struck a chord with me, I was trying to describe a similar feeling to Elinor a little while back – ‘Captured moments in time’ I think I went with.

In summary; a very beautifully shot film with an interesting background sub-plot, good character development, and some great acting. Well worth a watch.

Tulpan
Not too sure what to say about this film.

The critics seemed to love it, with its Kazakh-Russian storyline about life on the steppe tending sheep, trying to find a wife (when there is only one girl in the area), and a constant battle to gain his own flock or leave for the big city. It was amusing in small parts, but some of it felt like you were supposed to be laughing at the lifestyle of those in yourts [LINK]. I always feel like this is reaching a little too much for comedy when you’re laughing at the real lives of others, but then I guess scathing sarcasm of so many British comedies isn’t always a million miles apart from that.

Not one I’ll bother renting on DVD and having another watch of.

350.org Tauranga Bay / Cape Classic

2009-10-15T19:28:00.003+13:00

Calling all the Coasters & Surfers out there for a little support on Saturday October 24th.

Celebrate some of the coast's many perks by watching some great surfing (Cape Classic Surf Contest), buying a whitebait patty or two, and getting involved for a worthy cause with a visual display of support for a fair and binding global climate treaty.

We're bringing 350.org action to the West Coast, so come down to Tauranga Bay on Saturday 24th October and say hi.

Support the cause if you have a blog too, today is Blog Action Day - an annual event held every October 15 that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance.

** UPDATE **

Project cancelled due to non-availability of plants. We'll be supporting 350 in other ways through the year. Sorry folks, but enjoy the surf!!

Inch by Inch: On The Cusp

2009-10-03T13:34:00.004+13:00

One of the most inspirational speeches I've seen on film

It's time for one of those updates again!

A little over a month to go till crunch time. Application and paperwork completed. Final assessment underway. Fingers crossed.

My immigration case officer was good enough to understand the impending timelines, and said he would get the Final Assessment underway, and the fingerprint checks from Australia which we're waiting for to come through could just be a tick of the box at the end.

I think I'm almost there. Always so insistent on making sure I stay on the right side of the thin line of legality and being thrown out; I want this to work out, I need this to work out ~ my future doesn't completely depend on it, that would be a bit dramatic, but things would get quite complicated if there were any hitches. I'm healthy, free of convictions, have all the paperwork to back up the points I have claimed, and now I wait...

Meet & Greet

2009-10-02T20:38:00.005+13:00

There's certain times in your life which are supposed to be scary.

One of those is the meeting of your parents with those of your girlfriend, but somehow I wasn't in the least bit nervous.

Again, I shall backtrack. Elinor was good enough to hop on a flight to Melbourne, whence she was flown into Queenstown to meet myself and my parents (for the first time) and spend some time with us, just to enjoy the delights of that beautiful town on Lake Wakatipu.

We took on some nice outdoorsy activities, such as a drive down the lake to Glenorchy, a trip up the gondola, a cruise round the harbour and a bit of wine tasting at Amisfield.

The young lady seemed to get on well with the old folks, and we even managed to eat ourselves stupid at some of Queenstown's top restaurants. Wai on Steamer Wharf comes very highly reccommended, closely followed by Flame Grill.

Flying back to Christchurch on Friday morning was a bit of a bumpy ride across the Alps but it had us back in town in time to meet up with Ing and Doug (El's parents). This was supposed to be the scary moment (or so I'm told) but in fact it was quite lovely. We sat down in the sunshine, nibbled on nacho's, and chatted happily about this that and the other. Sadly there was only enough time to overlap both of our parents' visits to NZ for just the one day, so we all met up for dinner in celebration.

Anna & Mick (El's aunt & uncle) who were also holidaying in NZ joined us on Oxford Terrace's "Ferment" restaurant, where we supped and munched, talked and laughed, and shared stories. It was actually a very relaxed and very enjoyable evening ~ we're very glad everyone got on so well.

A big thank you to the very nice men at the table who covered the bill, to Mick who serupticiously made champagne arrive at our table, to Elinor for having a very friendly family, and to my folks for being there.

Views From A Moving Vehicle

2009-09-27T20:56:00.007+13:00

It is from the back of our hire car that I am able to write this blog, with the beauties of Westland flying past the window as Dad drives us onwards to Haast, and eventually Wanaka.

Perhaps I should backtrack. My parents are here! 18 months of not seeing one another other than through the wonders of Skype, finally came to an end a few days back in Punakaiki. My folks have travelled down from Auckland, taking in some amazing sights, cruising past national parks, ferrying from North Island to South, and watching whales.

We reunited in Punakaiki after Ma & Pa had taken the tranz-alpine train across the mountainous Arthurs Pass, and settled into their room in the Punakaiki Resort whilst I finished up at work. 18 months of separation soon disappeared into happy comfort over a meal in the Resort’s restaurant and the next evening in The Bay House Café at Tauranga Bay. The Bay House was excellent and I felt that the gastronomic tour of the South Island had begun.

It was delightful to just be back in the presence of my wonderful parents who have been so supportive of my decisions through life, even those that have taken me overseas and away from them.

Our travels brought us south to the glaciers ~ Fox in particular, where we were staying in the very amenable Westhaven Motel for a couple of nights. We managed to take in the delights of both glaciers, the glacial hot pools, and Lake Matheson in one day, dine at the Plateau Restaurant on the 1st night and watch the rugby at the pub on the 2nd.

The moving vehicle (an ever reliable Toyota) took us onward through Haast Pass ~ a route inland from Haast through the mountains which has a large number of tumbling bright blue streams and waterfalls to catch your eye as you glide through toward Lakes Wanaka & Hawea. Sadly I was still feeling somewhat rubbish from a vicious head cold that struck the day the parents arrived, so I slept most of the drive down the beautiful Lake Wanaka.

It was Wanaka in which we stayed on the Sunday night, in a rather nice resort hotel called Oakridge Resort. Instead of delighting in Wanaka’s eateries, cafes & abounding ski shops, I went to bed for awhile. I was able to drag myself out of bed around 5pm to take on board an apple juice whilst relaxing in the hot pools of the resort, 4* resorts do have their perks! The gourmet tour continued with a fish meal in the evening (calamari, seafood tom yum and Mum battled against a seafood platter!).

Finally it was time to adventure to new lands that I had not seen before, taking the road out of Wanaka toward Queenstown. It was worth waiting the large part of a year for ~ a beautiful drive following a shallow valley floor through tussock grass land into yet another hilly pass which brought us out for sweeping views down toward Lake Wakatipu, on which Queenstown lies.

Switchbacks brought us winding down toward the buzzing centre of Queenstown, full of more ski shops and tasty looking restaurants. The setting is, as always written, just spectacular; a small town (25’000 permanent inhabitants) nestled on the shore line of a beautiful blue-watered lake, surrounded by snow capped mountains. Our hotel, well it’s pretty plush ~ the St Morritz is one of the better in town, and nice and close to the centre.

Piopiotahi

There’s one activity that you’re told is very important to enjoy whilst you’re in Queenstown. No, it’s not the AJ Hackett bungi (the first bungi jump in the world) or the shotover jet, the white water rafting or the handgliding; it is a trip out on Milford Sound.

Piopiotahi, as the maori knew it, lies only 50-60km from Queenstown, but this is straight line distance over a rather dangerous mountain ridge. So, opting for a great package with Real Journeys, we travelled in their specially designed bus (tilted seats, extra big windows) a couple of hours through more beautiful tussock land to Te Anau, and then onward to Fiordland National Park. I think it is about 5 hours of total driving, and we stopped off at a couple of short walks along the way to stretch the legs and enjoy the Mirror Lakes before heading through the Homer Tunnel (an amazing 1930-54 project undertaken largely with pick axes and wheelbarrows to bore through a mountain to open a pass to Milford Sound.

We were delivered to our ‘Milford Mariner’ ship which was a great looking replica sailing ship also owned by Real Journeys. It’s hard to do any justice to Milford Sound’s stunning glacier-carved scenery of steep sided rock walls/cliffs, blue waters, snow capped peaks, tumultuous high waterfalls, marine life and many photo opportunities. I have some photos, but I know they shant be anything in comparison to being there, so I can only urge all those who are able to head to Milford, just to do it. Incredible.

I’ve been to some amazing places on my travels, and I think this ranks up there in the top 5. It is my first time cruising a fiord, and I largely spent my time with my head inclined looking up toward the peaks and waterfalls coming from the tops. Luckily enough, I was listening to the Naturalist (they have one on board to give you a bit of a guiding) as he began to point out the Seals on the rocks to our left. However our eyes were drawn out to the left, where a wave appeared to breaking in the middle of the channel. It appeared strange, and on closer inspection, I realised it was a whale! A Southern Right Whale was in the fiord, a rare occurrence according to the naturalist, who filled in us tourists that even he was excited ~ they may be seen once or twice a year maximum! Beautiful to watch the whale surface, empty its blowhole and then after a couple more short surfaces, disappear back under the waves. Beautiful creatures.

The tour brought us back to base after a couple of hours on the boat, and for most people it was back onto the bus for the 6 hours back to Queenstown. We, however, were very lucky to have arranged a different method to come back. Dad had been told of a coach-cruise-flight option, which Mum was also keen on as it meant less time in the bus. We were off to Milford Sound airport, to take a scenic flight in a 10 seater in Delta Bravo Victor; I was in the co-pilot’s seat, and the other passengers were two-by-two behind us in the tiny little plane. The views were just incredible as we bounced around in the thermals and uplifts above those snowy mountain tops; views of lakes, tarns, more waterfalls, braided rivers and glaciers greeted us. I felt lucky. I am lucky.

Photo Albums;
Puna to Queenstown
Milford Sound

Squeaky and Sam go to Nelson

2009-09-06T21:53:00.002+12:00

Let me introduce you to Squeaky. He’s a little Toyota Townace Campervan, very kindly on loan from my ol’ Raleigh chum, Tara, who also lives in NZ. Tara is heading back to England for 6 months or so, and has been kind enough to make sure Squeaky gets his legs stretched every now & then, by loaning him to me through summer. Thank you Tara, you bloody legend.

Friday 7.30pm
After seemingly a whole day on the road coming back from work in Craigieburn, and endless hanging around in Greymouth, I was settling into the thought of an evening in my cabin, and a night in my bed. Something switched inside me in a moment however (the old ‘seize the moment’ gene I think) and I formed a plan ~ quick dinner at the pub followed by as much driving as I could still handle toward Nelson.

I’d been thinking about Nelson, which is on the northern coast of the South Island, as a weekend destination, I had just never had my own transport before, and shuttle buses weren’t convivial to my working times.

So it was that I drove about 1.5-2 hours in the dark to a little town called Murchison, where I pulled over, erected the shelf-type bed in Squeaky’s trunk, and curled up in my sleeping bag.

Saturday 6.30am
Alarm goes off, and with one eye open I peek outside to the very cold looking surroundings of Murchison. I’d been here only once before, but very little was open at this time in the morning on a weekend. I wondered whether I should be open to my plan to get on the road early either, and then I remembered a conversation with El at about 11.30pm my time, half asleep, when she told me to ring her in the morning to wake her up & say hi. The evil in me took over, and I did just that. She answered, sleepily, and I could hear the smile on her face. A nice start to the day.

Saturday 7am
The petrol station was open, and so I fed Squeaky, and we were off. It’s funny driving another vehicle after being so used to the handling of my work minibus, but we were soon ticking along nicely at a steady 80-90km/h through the empty roads of the valleys toward Nelson.

Saturday 8am
Icy mist & fog enveloped me as I rolled on past Kahurangi National Park. If only I had my camera I thought.. but it’s ok, it’s on its way to NZ soon after another patch up. Still, magical views treating those of us up early enough on the weekend to enjoy them. I must spend some time in this National Park through the summer, even if it is bordered by massive pine plantations. The views from the mountains as you cruise down toward Nelson aren’t half bad either…

Saturday 9am
Nelson Ho!
This is my first visit to the 10th most populous conurbation in New Zealand, and on a weekend which promised stunning blue skies all weekend long. A rare thing at this time of year, but timed to perfection on a weekend I had no plans. I headed to Tasman Bay Backpackers which I had seen a flyer for months back ~ the power of good marketing! Friendly smiles, sunshine and a welcome shower greeted me to Nelson, not much more you could want really.

Saturday 11am
Nelson is famed for its creative community, and every Saturday they have a big craft & food market in the square. My hosts were right in saying it should not be missed, and I picked up a couple of items for myself and others. Wandering markets is a long gone pleasure for me in Punakaiki, so to do so once again was fantastic ~ my parents would’ve been proud (old houses & pretty gardens come another day Mum…).

I even treated myself to some sushi, good organic coffee, and a pre-midday beer in the Mac’s Bar (a beer brewed in Nelson).

Saturday 2.30pm
Further wanderings took me to an Air New Zealand Cup rugby game ~ quite a nice afternoon in the sunshine with the Nelsonian’s cheering on their (eventually victorious) Tasman side.

Saturday 5.30pm
I write this entry from the dock, looking out to sea with sea gulls aplenty squawking around me, kids chasing them, and the sun dipping down toward the misty horizon. I can understand why people want to live in Nelson, it has plenty of hours of sunshine, a warmer climate than the coast, and its proximity to the Abel Tasman National Park & Nelson Lakes National Park allows residents to get out into the surrounding beauty with ease.

Saturday 7.30pm
Dinner plans changed from a posh restaurant on the harbour to the hustle and bustle of the local fish & chip shop which was packed ~ always a sure sign of a thumbs up from the locals. If I were a restaurant owner, I think I would feed 10 or 12 friends every night for the first 2 weeks, just to make sure I looked busy and get the passing trade in. Anyway, fish & chips back at the hostel were supplemented by a nice Hawkes Bay Reisling, and sporadic chats with some North American students who had just been out tramping the Abel Tasman track, meanwhile trying to get through my latest book – Gladwell’s “Outliers”. A fascinating read, challenging the status quo of how we think about success – highly recommended!

Sunday 6.30am
Not sure what all this early wake up malarkey is about, but decided to get going with the day. Sat and read (damn this book is a page turner) for another hour or so before the hostel workers started and I could properly check out. Thought it best to take on some advice about best breakfast spots too ~ always trust the locals.

Sunday 8am
Not quite time for a drive in the countryside just yet, more important things on my mind; Breakfast of champions – Eggs Benedict – by the market square. Watching the market slowly come into being was a great way to start the day as the warming rays of the sun slanted down into the square. The Sunday market was more of a bric-a-brac / second hand affair, not quite as much interest to me, but still good to see recycling & reusing of the old household items.

Sunday 9.30am
Fully fuelled and ready for a drive in the countryside – both myself and Squeaky for that matter. Instead of driving out to Abel Tasman for a walk in the national park, I decided to take what was more of a diversion back to the west coast, to an area I’d heard good things about – Nelson Lakes National Park. I couldn’t help but be stunned by the vast vast pine plantations in the Nelson area; every type of pine you could think of (Douglas fir and Radiata to name a couple), and for miles in every direction. I just didn’t know this was the plantation centre of NZ, or what seems to be at least. Overwhelming.

Sunday 11am
Rolling into St Arnaud village, site of the Dept of Conservation visitor centre for Nelson Lakes and start of numerous short walks, I felt somewhat excited once again. New vistas, new forest, beautiful sunny day once again, and I had read about a forest regeneration project which had begun back in the late 1990’s in this area, on the banks of Lake Rototi. Having done my homework, it was interesting to add a bit of content to my learnings about the project, and then get out into the hub of it all. In this project, they’re intensively trapping and poisoning in the area for stoats, possums and rats, in a hope that it will aid the regeneration of the forest and the life which shelters within it. It’s a simple premise really - these introduced mammals are destroying the biodiversity of New Zealand; rats and stoats are predating the eggs and chicks of the once abundant bird life, and the possums are eating the new growth of a number of important species of trees and shrubs, oh and they eat eggs too. If we can reduce the number of these introduced species to around 10%, then the biodiversity has the chance to recover. Sadly, it will be a never ending battle until the ‘golden bullet’ discovery to wipe out these species entirely.

It was time for a walk along the lake edge, and then loop round into the hilly beech forest. I took the time to sit and contemplate, to enjoy the forest free of human noise other than my own breathing, to gaze out across the lake, and the snow-capped forested mountains. I also took the time to watch the bell birds, tui, south island robin, chaffinch, and a whole host of other birds which I couldn’t identify. They have a number of rare species of birds in this ‘mainland island’ pocket of trapped forest, including the very rare kaka – a bush parrot endemic to NZ.

Sunday 1.30pm
My short walks brought me back to the car park, and so I figured maybe it was time to browse for some lunch on the way back to the west coast. Driving away from the Nelson region left me with a very fulfilled feeling, knowing that it was in close reach for future sorties with friends & family, and of course, Elinor.

Sunday 3pm
The browsing brought me into Murchison once more, and I remembered a café which I wanted to try last time I was here, which is where I now sit scribbling away. I’ve just had a frankly tasty little monkey of a lamb-shank pie, whoever thought of stuffing a whole lamb shank (off the bone of course) into a pie crust and topping it with kumara (sweet potato) mash, should be awarded a medal for services to humanity. Thank you.

Sunday 6pm
Home. Safe & sound. Back to reality. Work tomorrow.

Travelling Enviro Action Festival

2009-09-04T12:21:00.003+12:00

A Day At The Beach

What an awesome project, that is already rolling.

This is coming my way shortly, and I'm happy to say we'll be involved in it as Conservation Volunteers, as the plantings in Punakaiki will be on our turf.

Louis & Guy, the originators of this idea, and the guys who made it all happen, are top lads so I'm happy to give some support and get involved myself.

I'm hoping to either meet up with them this weekend for a bit of the walk, or do some stuff with them through next week.

If you're in NZ, GET INVOLVED!

www.adayatthebeach.org.nz

The British Are Coming!

2009-09-04T12:00:00.002+12:00

In the supposed words of Paul Revere, “The British are coming! The British are coming!”.

Had a quick chat with them today, and except for 10 days back in 2008, I was able to say “you’re in the same country as me!” to my Mum. It’s a nice feeling to know they’re safely arrived in NZ, and beginning their travels through this enchanting land.

‘Spring Has Sprung!’ I wrote a few weeks back, and indeed it has, however that doesn’t mean in the Alpine areas, it’s not still freakin freezing. Indeed, this week we’re back in the Narnia landscape of Craigieburn with a team of 6 volunteers, I mentioned in my previous blog about the snow & rain of day 1, but just to add to that overnight we received around 1-2 inches of fresh snow, so when we awoke everyone started singing Christmas carols.

Being the slave driver that I am, I had the team out in the fields chopping the pines from midday once the thin layer of snow on the valley floor had melted, the clouds had cleared and there was beautiful sunshine to accompany our work. I went through the endless rigmarole of trying to organise the ‘murder weapon search’ style pine-hunting line of volunteers, stop them from getting excited and running ahead, and methodically plodded our way through a very visible section of field knocking down big and small pinus contorta along our way.

It’s nice to think that as we drive back and forth through the area from now on, it will be immediately apparent just where our efforts have been spent. So if you pass through Cragieburn/Broken River area in the near future, have a look out across those expansive plains filled with little Christmas trees, and consider that people from all over the world have come to help slay these invasive trees to ensure that the tussock grasslands remain just that, and don’t turn into monocrop pine forests!

And so, my thoughts drift to those of my friends who may just be passing soon – my parents, Elinor, Elinor’s folks – Doug & Ing, Em & Ellie (see you in Wanaka/QT buddies!!) and who knows who else.

The British are coming! The British are coming…

I really should make sure my house is nice and tidy for the impending guests of honour.

Humans & History

2009-09-04T11:56:00.002+12:00

A half day is always a treat when you’re working, but which I enjoyed today.

Once our 4km of trail maintenance was completed in the rain & snow, we were allowed to curl up in the heat of the log fire-warmed environmental education centre.

I selected a good book (Bryson’s ‘Short History’) and settled into wrapping my mind around DNA, Ice Ages past and then the origin of Hominids. I’m enjoying the book, even though I’m having to take on the swings of topics and layman’s descriptions in my stride.

It was an interesting reminder to read that ‘every living thing is an elaboration on an original plan’, mere incremental evolution has taken us humans to our present state, yet trace the genetic line back far enough and then go forward again, taking a branch off, and you could end up with a carrot, or a hamster, a tree or an octopus.

“It cannot be said too often: all life is one. That is, and I suspect will for ever prove to be, the most profound true statement there is.” (Bryson)

As I sit here gazing out of the window (I’m pretty good with typing without looking) watching the trees sway against the breeze, and the snow falling gently from above, that all the billions of different things alive on our planet came from one original point, is both mind blowing, enchanting and exhilarating all in one moment.