Every Rose Has It's Thorn

Spent a bit of time in Dunedin for work this week. Always good to get down there, and great to catch up with Chris etc.

However, it disturbs me a little bit that a certain Rodent from Papamoa may have been in town...

The All Blacks Make the Trip Home

They are taking the long way....I don't blame them. I understand thats Daniel Carter in the basket.

Its All Black

Oh dear. I told ya...if Hayman lost the beard the AB's lost their mojo. I even told the TV 3 camera crew at the pub where we squirmed our way through the loss this morning, god I hope that doesn't get on tele!

I wonder if the Pink jerseys might have helped.

Oh well, summers here, its the cricket season now

All Black Jersey

I've sorted out the Grey/ Silver vs Black debate with a jersey that clashes with no other nations. You may have noticed it before.

Failing that theres always this one:

Local Body Elections

Have you voted yet? I can't find this party on the Christchurch political landscape...




Grabs the attention though

Full story here.... its actually quite interesting, not as salacious as you might think

Big Day Out 2008

First announcement today...ARCADE FIRE are coming!!!!! Neon Bible is one of the best albums I've heard this year, stopped me dead in my tracks in a similar way to Hot Fuss by The Killers 4 years ago.

I know where I want to be on Jan 18th...

Global Warming

( www.hagenstoons.com)

I saw a naff report today that Sydney will be 5 degrees warmer by 2070.

Great, I can nip over there for my 98th birthday and enjoy the 45 degree heatwave, can't wait.

Zimbabwe Still Cries

Back in March I posted this link tragic state of Mugabe's Zimbabwe.

The latest is even worse, the bread basket of Africa continues to cry into its barren and starving navel. Someone find oil or nukes there soon, please, so the American Idiots can practice "regime change"?

Inflation in the the thousands per annum, interest rates running at 800%. Unreal.

A couple of weeks ago Zimbabwe beat the Aussies in the cricket. Ordinarily that might have been worth celebrating, but given Mugabe has made the cricket team his own political toy its just a crock of shit, such a sad sad state of affairs, when you can't even bring yourself to applauding a team for beating the Aussies!

Full Story here on Stuff.co.nz

Atiu Part Three- Coffee and Leaving

The Edge of the Deep Blue Sea

Well I only had a grand total of three days on Atiu and it wasn't enough. Reading the visitor book at Are Manuiri it was notable that even people who spend weeks and weeks there think they didn't give it enough time!

For the last day and a bit I did a lot of walking. Plenty of wildlife- local doves, kingfishers, even one of the worlds rarest parakeets, the Kura, which has just been reintroduced to Atiu. No humpback whales though, unlike the day before I arrive. Scariest thing was probably the crabs- big ones, little ones, fiesty ones, chicken ones. You do not want to accidentally step on a Coconut Crab while hopping round the Makatea- these things know how to husk and open coconuts with their bare claws!

Makatea at Oneroa Beach

For the last night Marc and I went down to Roger Malcoms bar and watched Canterbury win the Ranfurly Shield off Waikato- something I wasn't expecting to do on a tiny island 4000km from home! We won't mention the fact that the Shield is gone already...thats a whole other tragic story!

It was a bit of a sleepless night the final night, which meant the Coffee Tour with Juergen was fantastic timing. And Andrea's Art Studio was particularly inspiring, my wall hanging is in the post as we speak. Thanks guys for your hospitality!

Tony and Juergen

It was with great reluctance that I left Atiu....but looking back a month later it is still indelibly marked on my mind (and I still have some imported coffee left!)

I leave you with a couple of website links to look at if you want to know more about Atiu. I completely recommend it!

Juergen and Andrea's site

Roger and Kura's site

Be sure to read the fine print when leaving Atiu airport customs....(click pic for blow up)

One more post to come on the Cooks series...the return to Rarotonga. Walks, climbs and the mighty Tumunu restaurant...standby!

Summer is here

Daylight saving has arrived, the cricket season arrives on Saturday and I'm back on home pitches. Cannot wait!

And Kepler training is ramping up...at work we have a Pedometer Challenge going for the next month, each 10,000 steps = 8km. We have a team of six, called The Muffin Stuffers (I did not pick the name!) and "Studmuffin" is aiming for 16,000 steps per day. They measure our distance against other QV offices around the country up State Highway 1 from Invergiggle, and we are aiming to make it to Cape Reinga with our team- where of course we will begin walking on water and carry on to Rarotonga!

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!

Winter Blues

Tommorrow I'll be here....see you all in a fortnight

Work and Play

Isn't it great when you have a job that takes you to the great outdoors? These are from the Kakanui Mountains in Central Otago.... a privilege. Graham Sydney country this stuff...