Christchurch Mayoral election wakes up

Now this is funny.... having worked under Mayor Parker at BPDC I know hes a good bloke, and for the record he has my vote as ChCh Mayor
Here

and Here

However....Sideshow Bob? Thanks to the Stuff website (and vandals) for pic and links

Atiu Part 2 - Birds, Caves and Bush Beer

Well back to Atiu... after coming to grips with the place I hooked up with the local tour guide Marshall Humphreys and had a stunning few hours getting into the two main reasons I went to Atiu- the Kopeka and the Tumunu.

The Kopeka is an extremely special little bird, a bit like a swift. It's claim to fame is that it lives deep in the Anatakitaki Cave system, and flies around completely blind using a sonar like clicking noise to make sure it doesn't faceplant into any walls, stalactites or lost humans. Just amazing to see it in action.

Anatakitaki Cave entrance

Marc, hostel mate, decends the ladder into the Anatakitaki Cave led by Marshall

Tree roots that grow through rocks- solid as! You could play a tune on em if you wanted

The walk in to the cave was impressive, about an hour in the jungle through the razor like rock of the Makatea, the old coral reef. A bit of plant interpretation along the way was informative- I now know what a Noni tree looks like. If you've ever had Noni juice you know what I'm on about... not the sweetest taste in the world but a wonderful kickstart for any ailing immune systems. I know also know what respective plants to eat to ward of the flu, stomach pains and a few other ailments. The final highlight of the Anatakitaki cave was of course a dip on an underground pool, most refreshing!

Walking though the Makatea

After walking out it was leg 2 of the tour, the Tumunu. Atiu is the only island left in the Cooks that does this, sort of a throwback to the Missionary days when alcohol was outlawed. The Atiuans responded by retreating into the jungle for secret drinking sessions with a hugely potent homebrew. A bit like the Fijian kava sessions if you like. The Tumunu itself is a hollowed out stump of a coconut tree which holds the beer, which is in turn dished out the the leader of the session shot by shot. And I can assure you after half an hour of swigging the stuff you are pretty damn relaxed, they reckon the stuff is about 30% alcohol, and of course they take great delight in getting the visitors hammered. The price of admission is a friendly wave and either $5 bucks donation or some ingredients for the next batch to be brewed. It tasted ok, kind of tangy, not beer like at all, more like a mulled wine if you like. Just with a kick!

Next day, fully recovered and thankfully no hangover it was off walkies around the island- I'll get to that in Atiu Part 3, so standby!

More about Marshall and his tours can be found at his website, which I have to give a plug to! (Clickety here) There's some very cool pics of the Kopeka there too, I recommend a look!The craziest thing was 4000 odd km from home I got to go for a walk with Marshall, who knew about me through Tenure Review- it is a very very small world!

Ramping up the Training

Well the Kepler is looming, just over two months to go. Made a spur of the moment decision late last week to enter the Sri Chinmoy Half Marathon around Hagley Park to see where things are at after some good baselining since Raro.

I'm still in shock...1 hour 41 mins, about 14 mins quicker that my previous best half marathon! Things are looking good. Perfect conditions for a run really, cloudy cool and refreshing.

Hayman Mania

Questions

1. Which one of the above pics is Carl Hayman?

2. Will he be shot be the French Anti Terrorist squad if he carries on this behaviour?

3. Isn't his scrummaging terrifying enough?

4. Why would he possibly want to hide The Beard?

Razor Review- Snow Patrol; The Sequel- Christchurch

Aren't we lucky this year with live music? We are even seeing major acts such as Muse and Snow Patrol playing twice on our shores in one year, brilliant stuff.

After seeing a gig as incredible as The Cure last time it was going to be hard for Snow Patrol to follow up. However, they played a great show- and as it turns out their last show for some time, they are taking a hiatus for 12 months from any touring, hopefully to hit the recording studio in the meantime.

Iain Archer (Snow Patrol and Reindeer Section collaborator with Gary Lightbody) and OpShop played solid and occasionally excellent warm ups before the Energizer Bunny himself Lightbody hit the stage with the main act. I'm not sure how long they played but it was a much better show that the Auckland one earlier this year- but then perhaps the headspace was better for going to a gig this time round as well.

These guys clearly love NZ, and the high praise of our country was genuine in intent, right down to the lime green NZ RSA t-shirt that Lightbody wore for the duration of the gig.

The played all the hits and the best songs from both Eyes Open and Final Straw, some real crowdpleasers. The band, especially the singer, play with such unbridled pleasure that the energy through the crowd was infectious. We were a handful of rows from the front, right where you can see the whites of the eyes of the band. If I can be that close for Muse in November its going to be one of the years highlights.

A great night in what can sometimes be an unreliable venue soundwise, we all left with grins. Back in February I gave them a 7 out of 10. This time they get an 8.5 out of ten.

Come back soon!

Atiu Part 1- A Slice of Forgotten Paradise

Nothing could have prepared me for Atiu. No amount of reading websites, books, talking with the old man, nothing at all could have given me a clue of what I was in for when I left the Pacific Resort and jumped on that Bandeirante Aircraft and headed a few hundred kilometres ENE from Rarotonga.

First look at Atiu

This is the stuff South Seas legends are borne from. A 27 sq.km island in the Pacific Ocean, population approximately 600, down from 1000 a decade or so back. Half the numbers are lively and boisterous kids, many of whom are raised by grandparents. I guess many of the working age folk gravitate to Raro or NZ, leaving a bit of a generation gap. I understand its actually Cook Island custom for the first born to be given to the grandparents. The people there are just so friendly and giving, after just a few hours on the place my initial shock of no longer being at a resort had worn off and people were saying hi to the highly conspicuous honkey boy from Christchurch as if I'd lived there all my life.

View from Are Manuiri- Home for 3 days

The island itself consists almost entirely of a raised coral reef, that at some point was shunted up out of the sea by tectonic activity. This exposed fossilised landscape is locally known as the makatea, and I tell you what you wouldn't want to walk on it barefoot, or fall over, you would easily do serious damage- and given Atiu is primarily a subsistence economy island with limited infrastructure I suspect you really don't want to bother the health system too much there!

Oneroa Beach, no not the Waikeke one!

The populace all live within 5 'villages' in the centre of the island that really feel like one, which in itself is unique. Each village seems to have its own rugby field, tennis court, and church. The churches are definitely the flashest buildings on the island, without a doubt.

Zion Tapu

No one seems quite sure why they abandoned the coast, but the history of the island is one of fierce warriors and proud folklore, and even cannibalism. No doubt all this was assisted by the impregnable nature of the makatea for any potential invaders. Today this means the 4WD track around the coast is a stunning remote experience walk, with crashing surf over the relatively young coral reef and lagoon, with bountiful fruit and food on display (yes I picked my own pawpaw, bananas and coconuts as is the Atiu way) and a diverse wildlife of pigs, poultry, birds, humpback whales and highly territorial crabs -yes I was chased by a few big ones, including the ubiquitous coconut crab- about the size of a dinner plate!

The Coral Garden

Talk about back to nature. Home on the island was in Areora Village nestled among the locals at a hostel named Are Manuiri. It was laid back and I had company in the form of an ex truckie from the US named Marc, who is on a mission to become a fully-fledged Cook Island resident. Good luck to you my friend and thanks so much for the impromptu Gun N Roses concert!

Anyway thats it for this installment, standby for Atiu Part 2- Cave Birds, Bush Beer and the Ranfurly Shield!

Razor on Tour- Rarotonga, Resort Style

Downtown colours in Avarua

A two week holiday in the tropics in the middle of winter? What a great idea! Massive thanks to Mark and Alex for giving us the excuse needed to abandon the frost, snow, wind and office for the sun, beaches, lagoons, fish and island time that is the Cook Islands. Inspirational idea.

Left ChCh and then Auckland on a frosty morning, and flew in comfort on the flash harry 777 Airbus. Own personal movie screens, free booze, good company. 4 hours later touchdown, 27 degrees and sunny. And we shared the flight with the new Cooks Governor General and the NZ G-G so there was a full royal island welcome upon arrival. Nice! Rarotonga customs? No worries. Bags took a while unless your name is Jo...then you get preferential treatment everywhere you go it seems...nice scam!

The Pacific Resort is nice. Real laid back. It's also for sale after our visit...I'm sure thats just coinicidence though! First thing you do when you get there is throw away your watch, you're on Island Time now after all. Go for a snorkel, swim with the fishes....the multitudes of fishes, every colour under the sun. Even found Nemo. Water temp in the mid 20-s, just like the air- only worry is sunburn, theres nothing in the lagoon that'll eat ya!

Muri Blue Lagoon

Then its cocktail o'clock, dinner on the beach and chill time. Perfect.


Day 2...go get your Cook Islands drivers licence...this will be a whole other post, a story in itself!
Then more swimming, more cocktails, more beach dining. Ride the scooter round the island in a leisurely hour or so, Raro is still a pretty laid back place, not crowded, nor too overdeveloped. Was hard to remember the last visit 24 years ago, but not too much seems to have changed. Life is hard in the Raro lane!

Day 3- wedding day. Keep Mark and Alex away from each other, don't want any bad luck after all. We shot off to Market Day at Avarua, fun exploring a true island-style market place. The weather didn't play ball, windy and wet, but man was the surf roaring its approval of Captain Thompson's nuptials. It all went off with a hitch, just as planned, wonderful ceremony and reception under the marquis on the beach. Congrats guys!

Days 4, 5 and 6...more swimming, exploring, lazing, drinks on the beach, crawling round the island. Whats an office again? One by one the Wedding Party filtered off, back to the Land of the Long White Cloud. Raro's weather was a mixed bag, some crackers and some slightly chilly ones, but the daytime temps are always over 20 degrees, even in mid winter, usually more like the mid 20's.

Dog gone fishin

Next installment... Atiu, a true remote experience.

Home again

Back in town after two totally amazing weeks in the Cook Islands. Stand by for the Razor on Tour series of pics and stories... I want to go back!