Annual Westcoast recon trip part 3

A watched kettle never boils - or in this case a soup. this was a truly community affair.  Sir G.H. kindly donated from his estate a freshly harvested / gluten free bio fresh GE free fruits of his labors from his gardens. Further he went hunting and eventually freed a bird for this meals contributions.  Myself I boiled two chicken carcasses until there was almost nuthin' left of the stock and this all contributed to a extremely flavor-some duck suey - no wait - Duck soup!! So between the tramping / fresh air and flavors added - suffice to say we polished the lot- nothing left. ^^

This friendly local decided to join us for a meal. As you can see he wasn't fussed about table manners and very happily ate from the floor.  At one stage he was even on top of my boot - checking out his wondering meal!!  In the end he didn't much around and got stuck into his meal too.





LOL this reminded us of a cemetery - here lies at rest . . . .    ok a good meal!!  Besides - they needed a good airing and what better way . . . . .








At the end of the tramp we bought some pizza and took back to camp base and then enjoyed a lovely meal complete with a drink.
I wonder if I should copy and paste some of the emails insetting up the shared enjoyment ? ?   MAYBE not (what happens at camp stays at camp - right ^^ ) however suffice to say that a sassy sprightly Italian lass joined a Kiwi rough and ready DIY guy for company! Something along those lines.  It was nice to relax afterwards - even though we all rushed to our cellphones and rung back Christchurch - who we found out had another aftershock - a decent 5.3 mag that rattled the city, cutting out water and power in parts of the city.  Word today is that only a handful of buildings suffered additional damage and one place had to be torn down in a hurry as it was leaning out over the street.









Yess   :)   go on camp and you never know who you meet.  Seems these two got very friendly.  Vinnie being the navigator had a grand view!!  Does that make them officially a pair ? ? ?   Who knows - but they keep meeting in the most unlikely places . . . .   Wonder if I need to have a serious father to son conversation with him!?!?!?!







Daybreak on Sunday - and yes typical westcoast scenery - moody and heavy with moisture hanging around everywhere.  It is a misnomer - we should rename our West-coast to WET-coast!! It rained all the way back home!!






On the return trip we stopped at Arthur's Pass (in the aptly named avalanche shelter) for lunch - which originally was s'posed to be a light sandwich with healthy fillings - like Salmon and Salads complete with Camembert cheese - this changed to Fruitcake only (the one we forget to flambeed and eat last night) only to lay out a meal fit for a starving army. We more or less ate all the left overs in a hand to mouth action - no ceremony here - also no dishes!! Except for the coffee / tea or milo drinks.

Now that we have this trip behind us we just need to sort out our accommodation on the Coast and get transport sorted.  Sadly the City council 10 seater minivans / buses will not be available to get the kids across - so need to be creative in this department.






Oh and one funny thing happened - we split up - Sir G.H. and myself continued on the track, while Stitch and Brush returned to the original entry point - mainly for them to go back check us out with DOC and for us to suss out the rest of the track conditions (which where marginally worse from  here on in). Anyway short story cut  long - at the end point we came across this wedding party who went on location location location for some outdoor pictures.  So imagine the scene - them in their finest livery - all dressed up - best man and flower girls present and a couple of page boys and us rough and smelly tumble characters emerging from the bush and behind them- complete with staves and well - ^^  you know !!  Before the groom realized what was happening, we said - in a loud as poss voice - " We are the local bushman and have a prior right to the Bride - so  have come to kidnapp the lass and take her back to our Liar in the bush"  The Bride was a bit of a goer and said "whohoooooo", hubby well he didn't look to happy about this!!  I am sure  he thought this was somewhere between a joke or a serious matter.  Anyhow we gave her one of our staves and said this is a man beater - or a-round-to-it!!  Funny thing - we ended up in a couple of wedding photos! ^^  A memorable day all round I am sure

Annual westcoast recon trip part2

Scout leaders can read - right?? naturally, but we always reserve the right to investigate any dubious claims, and besides what depth does the water have to be across the road?? 1 cm?? 20 cm?? Anyway - we found out that the sign was there for a reason after all - as it dips below the level of the lake next door and when that floods - there is no road left to drive on . . . . . more like a canoe track . . . .
It did make for some interesting return travel out. 
Message to self - pay more attention to the local signs . . . .

Check out these cool hillibillies - ready for a days of tramping in the rain!!  We decided to go anyway  and check out plan B route seeing that the planned route A - to Cave creek was a wash out.  Funnily enough by the time we got started the heavens stopped crying and we almost had sunshine!! Vinnie - you're a darl!! Had I taken Brodie with me on this recon trip, we would have been doused I am sure - and I really didn't fancy a fresh outdoor shower.  Anyhow the track we went on is a 3 hour loop track around Punakaki and has some fantastic scenery. I would regard it as a easy grade track.  

Sometimes when life gets too much, you just have to go back into your bear-cave?!!!? 
Well looks like it, however this was just one of the many interesting places on the track - walk literally through the rock face. The steps help of course, but you had to bend down and Sir G.h.  had to stoop quite low.  A new experience for his Lord ship perhaps ?  ? Anyhow this particular gem had fallen over the track a long time ago and left a natural tunnel to walk through. Magic

I have a friend in Austria who would drool over this scenery and a simple 3 hour track would probably take more like 6 hours - photo-stop at every 5 paces.  Stitch did good on her walk - we took only some 200 pics ourselves.  Anyhow, a short story long - this is a very typical wild and mossy bush-walk scenery to enjoy. Luckily for us there was a track to follow - imagine having to bush-whack through here.  ^^    

We got to the half way point and made a rudimentary shelter - using two half hitches on the corners and strung the ropes on some trees.
Ahhh our good old scouting skills do come in handy!! Funny thing was, we ended up sitting
O U T -side the shelter, but we proved that the area selected would comfy hold a group of 10 under a larger canvas.  Time to build a campfire (sadly on gas) and get the billie boiling, ohh and lets not forget the lunch meal. 





 
 

Annual westcoast recon trip

And so it began again. Our annual trip is coming round again and it is our job to go over there in a recon mode and suss out the location / activities / roof over the campers head etc etc etc. A Scout leaders job is never done!! :)
All it meant was a jolly good excuse for some of us to get away for a weekend.
So we headed over to our lovely west coast - which is really a bit of a miss-nomer - it should be called our WETcoast, mainly for the amount of rain it collects.


We left on a cold damp Friday evening and after a three and a bit hour drive (that also included a stop at a country Hotel / Pub for a evening meal) we eventually got there. Met the contact, made camp and settled in for the night.


Sat morning - bright and early - having listened to the rain on the roof and the *urm* waterfall outside our place ( a local Scout hall) we got up - fed ourselves and went of in search of the local DOC office to get some info on the track conditions. We mainly wanted to get into Cave Creek and the hours it takes to get there do vary - depending which website you choose to belief.  So it was great to get local advise.








Anyhow the local DOC guy was very good - gave us maps and explained the timing it takes etc etc.
He did say that they had a lot of rain and that the access road might be a bit *urm* wet. So we found out - and at times the road seemed about 1.5 feet or deeper under water.  There is a sign that did say something about not going further if the road is wet . . . . . .    but you know - reading is not our strong suit ^^



A single shingle lane did not make for a easy turn around, and even though a certain Sir G.H. did lend a hand - it was not enough, and eventually it was agreed to, to simple reverse drive  the three and a bit k's back out. Eventually got walking on the alternative route / track - which is a lovely three hour hike through NZ native bush.
Even the local wild life is on friendly terms here and "accompanied "us for a while.

lulu castagnette watch

After many years of lucking I found this store in France  ---->   www.tictactime that actually sells what I wanted.  Only problem being they only post within Europe.
Long story short - after many anxious moments it has arrived here via a relay etc.
even the sec hand has a bear - is it not real cute!!
Thanks  L'il o'l smilie for acting as a postie - I owe you one!!!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Obviously I must be a very lucky guy!!

Christchurch mag 6.3 earthquake February 22

yes well - dunno if you can read the small print?! Had to scan this with the printer gadget thingie - as I could not find it on the web.  This photo was published in this mornings edition of "The Press" and apparently by last night there have been  120 000 Tonnes of silt been shifted - sits in a landfill atm. (60 000 tones yet to be shifted) And yes -I can confirm that the forecast nor-west winds are here can make life pretty unpleasant. The stuff is so fine - it is like talcum powder when dry. Love the way the tonka trucks SCALE the amount of silt . . .

hmmm lets see if I find a youtube clip of the stuff bubbling up . . . .



and




what next I ask . . . . .

Christchurch 6.3 earthquake on 22 Feb 2011

As they say - sh#$%t happens. It so happens that we had a major afterschock - this one centered in Lyttelton and only 5 km deep. This made for one hell of a shake. The image below was taken by someone up on the nearby Port Hills overlooking the Christchurch Central City and surrounding suburbs.  The image was taken within less then one minute after the shaking had finished and that is not smoke - that is the DUST from everything collapsing!!! What an amazing view and yeah - as a City we are  in a great deal of trouble!!



Here is a before and after shot of Durham Street Methodist Church.  The Church was structurally damaged after the September 4 Earthquake and can be seen to be braced with the steel to make it "SAFE".  After the 22 Feb shake - well as you see there is not a lot left standing.  Sadly we think three people may have died - trying to remove and save the rather large and unique Organ from the inside.   Further - there is a unconfirmed rumor that one of the person inside is/was our Optician who has a longstanding interest in music etc. RIP folks


Incredibly - it came down on the day before our 26th Wedding anniversary. Yup - we got married their, had the kids baptized there - so Mamabear is taking this rather hard.
As you can see the door into the building is the only thing left standing.







Another famous landmark - often referred to as the Papanui Building - at the (what would have been at some stage) the Papanui Round-about. After Sep 4 it had cracks in its walls and was highly unstable, and after Feb 22 it moved every time traffic went passed it. I walked past this building every day - soooo

Here is whats left of the building.  It had to come down - it was a danger to the road users.  Most criminally of it all - it has some NZ native timber inside (Kauri and Rimu) that was the original building material and now no longer can be recycled. What a waste

Repair works at the Papanui Methodist church.  The Spire had to be lowered (which can just be seen in the middle of the trees shadow) and some of the bricks had to be lowered.  There is also a crack running full length top to bottom so who knows how much work this will involve.

At point of writing there is no power for more then 60% of Christchurch and running water is a luxury (a n d the water has to be boiled).  I shall have to get the spade out later and start digging a deep hole - the City wide Sewage system has been broken and cant be used.  And yes - you feel every aftershock, every time.  Sigh

Mother Nature - you are on notice - leave my beautiful City alone now - you had your fun - now please - take a hint - bugger of, get lost, take a hike . . . . . . .


28 February
Oh yeah- see we have this thing in scouting- as long as you can still laugh when disaster hits - then things can not be too bad. So when I found this pic on the net amongst the many depressing pictures - I could not resist and have a good chuckle - so here it is shared like.
Enjoy

Christchurch rocks again

 yup - another nice BIG afterschock - right in town
There is extensive damage and some people are hurt

look at this earth graph

Secret Santa visit on a secret location with a Secret present

Hmmmm we had this BBQ planned and we decided that a secret Santa  should visit.  Seems Santa has been, but we are not sure if he has delivered - or indeed collected.  Worrisome is the fact that there is no bag on his shoulders!!
I must have some words with one of his chief elf's about the legal ramifications of breaking and entering!!

Anyhow we agreed to meet at Sir G.H.'s place for the meal.  This time he managed to inform his lady of the expected visitors and all was well.

 You can't mess with a bears food - and if you do so, you do this at your own peril.  Suffice to say we had a fun time and managed to cook everything to  near perfection.  Traditionally this means sausages overcooked (near black) and the fresh meat semi rare.  We did improve on that!!  This was helped by a Johnny-come-lately who paid his penance with some fresh mushrooms - which we we duly fried  up with some butter and garlic - oh yumm!!

The Garlic Bread - Home made!!  yummy and tasty and crusty and - in short supply!!  :0    It went like hotcakes!!
Hmmm must get the recipe from the chef!!
Maybe even put it on my garlic bread critique blog ? ? ?
Now there is a thought!!

 Yes, the Secret Santa managed to get the goodies into his bag and dropped it of at our secret location!! I must say, he did well given that only the members of the sss-society know this secret location.
The way this works is that everyone who agrees to participate gets a present (for a pre-agreed maximum sum of $$'s - say $5 each) and wraps this up and puts it into the sack! Then later when everything is said and done and ready, you get given a "potluck"  present.

Not sure about this - seems a certain member of our sss is after my job as chief spoon/stirrer/ladle.  Or was it a hint for some more gardening work???  Anyhow - it was all very nice and relaxing.  We even managed to get our "held in captive" (courtesy of her majesties hospitality) member woken up via a secret cellphone convo and wished her collectively a Merry Christmas!!
Smilie - we hope to see you sometime again!!
Today two of our members are of to the jamboree - weather forecast for next day is ok - then rain for 2 days - oh what fun!! 

New Zealand Christmas Tree - Pohutukawa

I have lived here now for more then 25 years and have never seen a pohutukawa - our very own New Zealand Christmas Tree.  It is by all accounts a special and unique tree.  It is pretty much a coastal tree and likes it's warmer if temperate climate - and is prolific around the Coromandel Peninsular. It has a relative short flowering season - but you can just about rely on the fact that it will be in full bloom by Christmas - whence its stigma as New Zealand's Christmas tree.  Beats a conifer anytime.  Anyhow - there is this Bay in the Coromandel that had its tree in full bloom and Captain Cook on his first visit (i think ) spotted it at Christmas and saw the flowers and gave it this nick name.  Glad he did.  Incidentally THAT tree is still there today some 300 years later - so it has a long life time!  Actually it grows best in poor soil - and some people are regarding them as a bit of a weed - as the root system is very invasive - in search of water!!
So having never seen this - (living in colder Christchurch) we decided to treat ourselves to a weekend away - full well knowing that we take a risk weather wise and blooming wise.  Turns out the flowering process is about 3-4 weeks late this year.  When we where up there we just started seeing the beginning of this. however there was enough to give you the idea what it must look like in full bloom - just M a g n i f i c e n t ! !
Naturally - one had to take pictures and thanks to digital camera I could be somewhat freer with choice of scenery offered - so I snapped happily away.  A coastal 30 min trip took about 2 hours to complete - every turn we had to stop and get snapping. Anyhow below are some of the better pics to see what I mean
Enjoy

Pohutukawa trees in Thames public park

Pohutukawa half way through flowering - love the golden points

Took many shots to get this bee hovering and pollinating

My favourite pic - taken in the town of Coromandel - I name this "New Zealand's star of David". It took ages to get the sunlight shine through the leaves as they kept moving about in the wind!!

Remote campsite at Port Jackson

Magnificent species and almost in full bloom

Typical Pohutukawa flowers

Typical coastal trees on the long winding road around the Coromandel Peninsula. You will see many of them like this

Hmmm - our luncheon spot - totally remote - shingle drive (30 km plus) and no one in sight - 25 degrees - sunshine - flowering Pohutukawa trees - Mamabear present - picnic lunch - strawberries and a bottle of bubbly - ahhhhh what more do you want on a short term holiday ^^

Post lunch - enjoying the sun and water and peacefulness and remoteness

ooops forgot to add = there was this white wedding on the beach and the sand was white - it looked like a fun party.

Then in this bay we stopped for while and we saw a pod of dolphins - who where very friendly and play-full - and not afraid of people - see pic below - they come up real close . . . .

local dolphin checking out the local girls