Photo of the Day #5 (Forgotten River Col)

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Ross

Forgotten River ColThe Christmas after the Barrier Range stopped us getting to the Olivines (1973?), a more determined push via the Rockburn and Olivine rivers saw us at Forgotten River. Which is a river you don’t forget. [Once when the ODHB had a river theme for naming servers, I got an obscure back-room one named Forgotten. I wonder what became of it?] Continue reading →

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Photo of the Day #4 (Green Hut)

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Ross

Green Hut SilverpeaksOnce upon a time this was the most important hut in my universe. It was called Green Hut because it was green. This avoided confusion with Red Hut or Yellow Hut. Imaginative lot weren’t we? Green Hut is in the Silverpeaks, a hilly collection of ridges near Dunedin. Most tramping trips went past Green Hut one way or the other or both. Continue reading →

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Photo of the Day #3 (Margaret Burn)

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Ross

Margaret BurnThis is a photo from a tramping trip many years ago, almost 40 years ago to be imprecise.  We were attempting to reach the Olivine Ice Plateau from the Dart Valley, via the Margaret Burn. The Margaret Burn drains the Barrier Range which isn’t called that for nothing. Having hauled ourselves up the side of the Dart Valley, we got bogged down by a lengthy Nor-West storm. Continue reading →

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Photo of the Day #2 (Chaweng Beach)

Posted on November 17, 2012 by Ross

Ross at Chaweng BeachYesterday’s photo was one of Chaweng Beach in Thailand in 1977. Today’s are three taken on Chaweng Beach last year. Wyn and I returned to Koh Samui on our travels in South East Asia in August 2011. We were lucky to find a lovely place to stay on the quiet end of  busy Lamai Beach just south of Chaweng Beach. One day we ventured out on a taxi thing to see the infamous Chaweng Beach – it’s everything a tropical beach shouldn’t be. Continue reading →

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Photo of the Day #1 (Chaweng Beach 1977)

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Ross

Chaweng Beach, Ko Samui, Thailand

Maybe I’ll try a Photo of the Day series. This should last me for the next couple of centuries 🙂 Anyway, today’s photo is an oldie, from 1976 – or was it 1977? It’s the only one I’ve got (I think) of Chaweng Beach on Koh Samui, an island off the east coast of Thailand. This was on a visit while traveling with my sister Julia. Continue reading →

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Fun With Lightroom

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Ross

We’re still resting up in Blenheim after a hard week resting up down the Sounds. 🙂 We’ve managed a walk in the Wither Hills. [By the way 2Degrees, that’s the correct spelling of Wither Hills – not Whither as your new tower is mis-naming itself all over town.] We partook of the Garden Fete on Sunday in Seymour Square in Blenheim. And we’ve generally mooched around. Continue reading →

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Back to Blenheim

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Ross

Finally we had to come back. From down the Sounds. We sort of overshot the DoC camp at Kenepuru Head on Tuesday and ended up at a free camping bay site called Totoradale. Windy and sunny and cloudy and lovely. Wednesday we drove up to Kenepuru Saddle which is on the Queen Charlotte Track. We walked down to Punga Cove for a coffee and carrot cake. Very civilised the QCT is. Continue reading →

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Resting Up Down the Sounds

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Ross

We’re still alive and well. We finished our burst at the motels in Blenheim 11 days ago. And then rested up in Blenheim for a few days. Then Wednesday last week we headed out of town in Suzi motorhome. We came to Cowshed Bay camping area near Portage Hotel on Kenepuru Sound – part of the marvelous Marlborough Sounds. We’ve been hanging out there ever since. Today we’re heading on to another DOC camp about 11kms more up to the head of the sound. It’s a lovely hideaway down here and we’re reluctant to leave.

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Justice Jury and Judge Part 2

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Ross

So, to carry on from Part 1 a few days ago, I better conclude my story about my close encounter with the justice system in the 1980s. We, the jury, had done our job and been grateful for the defence summing up that made it so easy. We’d declared him guilty on the major charge and not guilty on the lesser one, and gone home. To reflect on the week in court and get back to work and get on with our lives. Continue reading →

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Justice Jury and Judge – Part 1

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Ross

This is a different sort of blog post from me. This is the thousand words that a picture might struggle to equal. This is a story about a crime in Christchurch in the 1980s. It gave me a view of how the justice system works and sometimes doesn’t work.The memories came flooding back last night when watching the “Beyond the Darklands” TV programme. I didn’t like Nigel Latta’s TV shows on children – he seemed a bit keen on his own jokes. So I didn’t make much effort to watch his current series Beyond the Darklands where he examines some of the more sensational NZ crimes. However Wyn was watching some of them and I came to see that they were a very good exploration and explanation of how some of these bad people come to be bad. Without being overly judgmental  Continue reading →

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Hanging Out at Rarangi

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Ross
Rarangi Beach

Back at the end of September when we finished our three weeks of motel minding in Blenheim we went beach. We started at Rarangi where there is a DoC camp at the far end. Rarangi Beach is a rocky one, fronting on to Clifford Bay. The DoC camp is well arranged with level sites. And flash new toilets, with showers even – albeit of the bring-your-own-hot-water variety. Good job DoC. Continue reading →

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Learning Lightroom

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Ross
Andrew

We’re back working at the motels in Blenheim – seems to be becoming a regular thing. Because it is. And busy-busy again, because it is. I managed a drive out to the airport yesterday – I guess that was getting out for an hour. The flight was late so I got some down time – which was welcome. It’s like when I used to have to wait for a while for an appointment with someone who would then apologise for making me wait. Continue reading →

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Back to the Wither Hills

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Ross
Wyn Wither Hills

Yesterday we continued resting up. And did a few things around town in Blenheim. And finally headed out for a walk later in the afternoon. We were parked up not far from the Wither Hills, so off we went. Wyn had been for a walk earlier when we were working, but I’d not been for a walk there since last summer. The wind was a bit cold so we took a sheltered route up to the lookout, where we had a brief huddle before heading back down. Continue reading →

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Whites Bay Weekend

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Ross
Whites Bay

This last weekend we spent hanging out at Whites Bay, not far from Blenheim. Whites Bay is one of Marlborough’s best kept secrets, so I better not tell you where it is. It is a lovely Department of Conservation camping/picnic area. On a fine weekend, a good proportion of the Blenheim population turns up to enjoy the beach. The beach is a gem, sheltered and sandy and shallow – what’s not to like? Continue reading →

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Busy in Blenheim

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Ross

Just when I was doing so well…. We went and got busy working at the motels in Blenheim early in September and now it’s early in October! 21 days straight at the motels and busy busy. No time for blog. Then we crashed out at the beach for 4 days before we were back at the motels working again from last Monday until we finished Friday night. Then it was back to the beach where we’re crashed out. We’ve got four more days before we start back at the motels. So much for semi-retirement! Work – the curse of the gypsy class…. Meantime we’re alive and well.

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