Saturday, March 10, 2012
Jennifer and I by Sutherland Falls
Friday, March 9, 2012
Milford Track
Milford Track
Jennifer
After two weeks of adjustments here at Bayswater,completing Olivias Student visa,with chest x-rays and all,tea at the school, I began to really get excited about Jen coming and our next tramp! I felt confident with the idea of packing and relaxed into the anticipation.
Everything seems so so easy with three of us aboard. We all miss Joey and his provocative -pizazz ,but it is an interesting time. Change,oh the pontificating I could fill these pages with on that concept ,it's like the element of time,it is organic and happening always.To be present...oh,the cure!! I feel like this pause here in NZ is like an intense "retreat" in itself. We have no MISSION,it will soon be right in front of our noses but at the present moment and over the last few weeks,this abrupt change- one kid,no job,no destination...just us,our 27 year old marriage,our last high school age child,and... our ripening ages... Really has our patterns challenged. How do we move through this new atmosphere? Everything seems electrified and up for assessments. If you really are reading this and I'm not sure if anyone does,I'm sure you can read: too much time to think....Yes,unlike my Dad,my parents,they are in a vivacious city,with spunk and a very infectious and healthy upbeat energy....Well,our time will come but for now,I'm alone on the boat on a saturday and I am finally writing a few wee tidbits for blog
The MIlford!
Yes! Jennifer arrived,it was grand to see her,at the airport she arrived with jumbo planes filled with contaminated passengers,NewZealand is over the top in their inspections and customs is very strict.By the time she emerged,she was exhausted...over the next few days we walked to break in her world traveled hiking boots.We lunched at the charming Devonport,one of many many beachside towns all over NZ. She got blisters. WE nursed the blisters,planned our packing and food and had a little cocktail party the night before we flew out to Queenstown. We booked a backpackers that nite and on our way back. WE walked with the trepidation of wrong weather wrong bus fears and ate out at one of many outside touristy pretty inviting..expensive restaurants. Queenstown is a ski town and I had a deep memory resurrected from when we were there with Jeremy and Philippa in 1988down at the lake...We couldn't stop thinking about the rain,rain rain..it was the word associated with the Milford track,it's true,it rains ALOT....however,to me,in retrospect,that is IT,it is all about WATER.It is a force ,an energy from the earth and ski and sea,"it is life giving,elemental" , isn't that Buffy St Marie?? There are two main waterfalls both named after the two pals,MacKay and Sutherland. There is a route that the mauris used to use to come inlabpnd to collect greenstone. In 1880 the Europeans cut a pass to the falls.Now 14,000 people hike it every year. Think,Machu Picchu now must restrict visitors to 2500 people per day !
In 1908 a poet,Blanche Baughan said of the track,it's , " the finest walk in the world".
Jennifer and I really loved it.Jen kept saying,against all rules,"it's perfect". She is right.The otherworldly beauty,with this rushing water magic energy that juxtaposed the atmosphere of sweet peace was transcendent. We loved the forty people we meandered along with together we ;stayed in the huts ,cooked,listened to the Park Rangers nightly talks snored and stopped to feel the majesty of it all together..some took zillions of pictures,not me.I had Davids camera which I protected with rain proof care,to find out that it's so waterproof as to actual take pics fully submerged!!! Oh brother,just look on line and you can see,it looks- just like that!!!
More Later
Jennifer
After two weeks of adjustments here at Bayswater,completing Olivias Student visa,with chest x-rays and all,tea at the school, I began to really get excited about Jen coming and our next tramp! I felt confident with the idea of packing and relaxed into the anticipation.
Everything seems so so easy with three of us aboard. We all miss Joey and his provocative -pizazz ,but it is an interesting time. Change,oh the pontificating I could fill these pages with on that concept ,it's like the element of time,it is organic and happening always.To be present...oh,the cure!! I feel like this pause here in NZ is like an intense "retreat" in itself. We have no MISSION,it will soon be right in front of our noses but at the present moment and over the last few weeks,this abrupt change- one kid,no job,no destination...just us,our 27 year old marriage,our last high school age child,and... our ripening ages... Really has our patterns challenged. How do we move through this new atmosphere? Everything seems electrified and up for assessments. If you really are reading this and I'm not sure if anyone does,I'm sure you can read: too much time to think....Yes,unlike my Dad,my parents,they are in a vivacious city,with spunk and a very infectious and healthy upbeat energy....Well,our time will come but for now,I'm alone on the boat on a saturday and I am finally writing a few wee tidbits for blog
The MIlford!
Yes! Jennifer arrived,it was grand to see her,at the airport she arrived with jumbo planes filled with contaminated passengers,NewZealand is over the top in their inspections and customs is very strict.By the time she emerged,she was exhausted...over the next few days we walked to break in her world traveled hiking boots.We lunched at the charming Devonport,one of many many beachside towns all over NZ. She got blisters. WE nursed the blisters,planned our packing and food and had a little cocktail party the night before we flew out to Queenstown. We booked a backpackers that nite and on our way back. WE walked with the trepidation of wrong weather wrong bus fears and ate out at one of many outside touristy pretty inviting..expensive restaurants. Queenstown is a ski town and I had a deep memory resurrected from when we were there with Jeremy and Philippa in 1988down at the lake...We couldn't stop thinking about the rain,rain rain..it was the word associated with the Milford track,it's true,it rains ALOT....however,to me,in retrospect,that is IT,it is all about WATER.It is a force ,an energy from the earth and ski and sea,"it is life giving,elemental" , isn't that Buffy St Marie?? There are two main waterfalls both named after the two pals,MacKay and Sutherland. There is a route that the mauris used to use to come inlabpnd to collect greenstone. In 1880 the Europeans cut a pass to the falls.Now 14,000 people hike it every year. Think,Machu Picchu now must restrict visitors to 2500 people per day !
In 1908 a poet,Blanche Baughan said of the track,it's , " the finest walk in the world".
Jennifer and I really loved it.Jen kept saying,against all rules,"it's perfect". She is right.The otherworldly beauty,with this rushing water magic energy that juxtaposed the atmosphere of sweet peace was transcendent. We loved the forty people we meandered along with together we ;stayed in the huts ,cooked,listened to the Park Rangers nightly talks snored and stopped to feel the majesty of it all together..some took zillions of pictures,not me.I had Davids camera which I protected with rain proof care,to find out that it's so waterproof as to actual take pics fully submerged!!! Oh brother,just look on line and you can see,it looks- just like that!!!
More Later
Sent from my iPad
South Island Golden Bay,Takaka
South Island Golden Bay,Takaka
North Island Takapuna
North Island Takapuna
Then,came January and my highly anticipated trip to Golden Bay,Takaka and specifically,Anahata Yoga Retreat. I was nervous but very very hopeful that this experience could restore the me in me.
It delivered on all fronts; outrageously beautiful,as I ascended in a hitch hiked car I was awash with awe. The dirt road zigzagged up to the top where the retreat in little buildings lay nestled. Many sheep cows and lots if wild horses scattered on the green grass with big parrot like birds called Kakariki cruising high.
On either side of Anahata was the Golden Bay,on one side was the Abel Tasman National Park . It was striking and as I could breathe deep into the beauty,it felt like a ten course meal. " Anahata "is the name for heart Chakra and my heart began to feel like it was home again. It is really an ashram..yoga as a science,as a way to live. Originally ashrams were religious,today,many are a spiritual hermitage. Anahata,run by Swami Muktidharma and his wife,Swami Karma Karuna is not a religious ashram. I did three retreats,The Celebration of Sound,The Science of Life Yoga and Ayurveda and ,Explore Yourself Yogic Lifestyle Retreat.
I loved all the Karma Yogies and my fellow explorers...We ate heaps( Kiwi word) of delectable veggie food,chanted,did yoga,meditation and Karma Yoga.
Karma Yoga was fascinating to me:Karma is action,Karma Yoga is action with a meditative awareness.The aim,just to remind myself,is to combine the qualities of efficiency,renunciation,equanimity,egolessness and duty,into one action,one thought.
It's incredible to recall how we as a family do our chores together. It's always about doing the job FAST,with the least effort and if anything goes wrong it's who to blame? How sad when I experienced working with others,often taking orders that I would normally argue about,having to on a number of occasions,do the job over again and to realize,how much simple joy can be found when we lt go of the competition and the outcome.
I met some fabulous people,some I hope to continue to connect with.
A sailing friend,Pete Hall had just completed his circumnavigation and I knew he lived in Golden Bay. Just before I left I Takaka,13 km down the mountain from Anahata.I met up with him at his sisters gallery. I got another overwhelming showing of NewZealand beauty and tenacity. Petes property,with thousand year old trees is so enchanting and beautiful,a house he built himself with dead trees from the land...soooo cool,and apparently with a Canadian portable sawmill!!! He had a generator that created so much power he didn't know what to do with it all...I noticed the large ol gal porcelain bath tub outside,which got me counting .It's been since Nov.2010 since Ive been in a hot tub! No breaking records,but I did gorge on ruby plump plums in a healthy orchard of fruit trees....
David,is on his way down as I write. It is March9 and Ive still got some other stories to tell,briefly.....
I stayed a month and I hope to remember and live what I learned there;the practices,the capacity for an open heart however vulnerable,the ability to cultivate compassion and the trust in life .How I can love love so many people...
Back home,to Rhythm,on the North Shore and
Olivia attending Takapuna Grammar.....
Bayswater Marina and amongst our neighbors we love,Don Quixote(Americans,now citizens of NZ,Gromit( Canadian),Casulu(Brazilians,now citizens of NZ)
Sent from my iPad
Aotearoa
Aotearoa
New Zealand
Auckland," City of Sails
New Zealand
Auckland," City of Sails
I've started many paragraphs here in NewZealand as a beginning for an overdue blog entry.Over the last week the awareness of time has shocked me,I'm shocked that we have been here for four months,I am shocked that the dentist enlightened me,we do not have the time left here to complete my implant/ crown dreaded procedure....!!! We've discussed a lot about June,the month we plan on leaving this island of the long white cloud and the keen cool interesting young adults who want to join us for the journey to Fiji.Where will we go after that?What do we need to do to make sure Rhythm is ready like a debutant? Will Olivia be launched and confident to stay here until her school year is completed? Will we have explored and experienced these beautiful islands with contented hearts?
What have we experienced?
We loved staying at the hot spot Viaduct Basin Marina downtown Auckland when we first arrived from Opua. Thats north of here,where we checked into the country after six harried days at sea from Fiji.
When Philippa and then Jeremy with Kate arrived before Christmas,David had already been back to Toronto for a month and Olivia and I had found two schools to choose between for the February start.I had also succeeded in the daunting task of choosing and preparing for the preXmas " tramp" the 7 of us would experience together. We had reservation for Christmas eve,the night we would return and an invitation to share Christmas with our new friends,the Romaros at their home on the north shore. We had Kelly Cathcart and her partner,John coming up from south island travels and adventures and Wendy Lyons to celebrate with us when we returned.
The tramp was a highlight,we did the Northern Tongariro Circuit ,stayed in huts four nights and experienced the very typical weather personality here,variable daily- we had hail and rain and cold parts of the first two days,sun and warmth for the last. Philippa had blisters from new boots that were so bad she wore bare feet over the black volcanic stones,as we brushed past" mT Doom ",partially visible,partially cloudy and ominous. I just LOVE the memory of that comfortable,scenic,precious family jaunt.A very special NewZealand souvenir.
Too bad the now infamous horrid summer weather kept us prisoners ,docked with hatches closed and a sense of panic perpetuating confinement....however,Jeremy and Kate energized and hopped on a daily ferry to the pretty waihiki island where they biked and wined at the local vineyards.Looking back,we were9 crowded aboard but everyone pitched in and we really had fun.Now,Rhythm is eerily quiet,be careful what you wish for.
I miss my Mum!DAD!SIS! BRO! friendsssss
Olivia and Joey had lots of friends,many foreign students they met through our school scouring days. The viaduct was central and I personally walked and began to run again. I enjoyed the newly restored Art Gallery,the Auckland Domain( park) and the liberating feeling of just stepping off Rhythm,no dingy coordinations,crew corral,hand held radios to tote...
Then they left.All separately,first Joey,then Philippa and then on NYday,Jem and Kate. Oh,BooHoo....Very sad to see my babies fly away..Olivia an only child,on a trajectory of more change,exciting and challenging.
Happy NewYear NZ and 2012
Sent from my iPad
Friday, November 18, 2011
Yes Yes,too long....Start at Fiji
After Tonga,people just kept getting nicer.
We sailed into Savu Savu ,on the island of Vanua Levu of Fiji,early one hot morning after a few days sail. Joey spotted Beyond sailing towards us,away and out of the harbor . We got on the radio and bemoaned our ships passing..in the day,then relay of intelligence ;we jotted down the need to knows, check in procedures,taxi drivers names, where to find the best curry,where to best view the world cup rugby.....
In Fiji the culture was so vivid and refreshing,with 50/50 Indian/ island natives . I was taken back to my India trip,with the titillating music,the colorful garb,the shelves in shops that include incense and curry and henna and lots of fireworks!! Diwali ,the Hindu holiday was approaching and there was much energy building.
We were ready to love Fiji and we did.The special characteristics of a place centre around the people and the nature. We travel in a loosely tethered community of sailors , within this migrating cluster that undulates in movements like a school of fish,we also greet old and meet new amazing people in every new port. That's a long sentence to say that together,this unfettered group unites as we step off our boats,into our dinghies and onto new land with new people with new cultures to meet. One night when we were staying at a bed and breakfast type place,these two groups really came together for me in a fun and memorable way.
David met Rod in an upholster store.Rod is an Aussie who has built a place on the island of Savu Savu,with his wife. They do a lot of missionary work in the community ,helping build church fences and such. This appealed to David who really enjoyed doing some volunteer carpentry when we were in Suwarrow( Suvarov) in August. He wanted to help and asked us if we would like to move off Rhythm for a few days. we needed regular internet and Rod who is a day trader offered that for us. It was perfect timing as the rain was regular and Joey had an infection on his feet that could only heal in a dry place. Olivia was committed to getting back to her math course, I was also still convalescing from bursitis that had been infected in Tonga. We moved in. Soon Olivia developed a high temperature with flu symptoms. Little math but lots of rest.
We relaxed,well,I actually found it very hard to relax,I still felt," the entrapment "*, however,I walked the beach at low tide, as often as possible which was on the other side of the island from where all the yachts and Rhythm were moored. Early mornings I sometimes walked to town .I found just the act of walking ,listening,seeing,smelling,talking...placed me in the world,a world of open hearted interested people who look you in the eye and I feel like they are really seeing me,or at least looking for me there. Is it just my projections? Is it different out here in " the world" because I am open, I am looking in their eyes longing to see them? I'll keep that investigation open,more on that when I catch up and get to Auckland in my blog ....
Rod had a couple of neighboring woman who would come and help him with laundry,cleaning and some cooking while his wife was now back in Australia .These woman were the essence of what would be a very excellent evening Bale,a dancer,came with her son almost daily to the house and revealed herself to be a dancer. I suggested a nights performance with the sailors. At the end of our stay,she and two other woman and two young girls came to perform .We invited our friends,we asked if we could pass the hat and that all contributions would go towards the local kindergarden. It was such a magical evening,they brought woman:mothers,grandmothers, the men were jamming with their own instruments down at the beach. The little girls were incredible,very talented,all dressed up in the traditional garb,flowers woven into coconut leaves on hips and headship and head . The woman invited the Buratynsky girls from Gromit to do the performance that they learned in Huahine. They whoop and cheer and encourage,such a lot of girl power energy.
Somewhere in there we took a bus trip across the island with Gromit to Labasa ,all day ,past pine forests and cane fields in a bus where we were the only white people. The family stayed overnight and we took our seats back on the bus for the long ride home.Many school kids hopped on as they have no individual school buses.How cool to see them in all the uniforms ,some of the older boys looking like the rugby players we had seen on the big flat screens during the word cup.
Back to Rhythm the next day to find a lot of mold! I suppose I should feel good that all my near coo coo daily ritualistic wiping down of all surfaces in cockpit wasn't for nothing.
We sailed into Savu Savu ,on the island of Vanua Levu of Fiji,early one hot morning after a few days sail. Joey spotted Beyond sailing towards us,away and out of the harbor . We got on the radio and bemoaned our ships passing..in the day,then relay of intelligence ;we jotted down the need to knows, check in procedures,taxi drivers names, where to find the best curry,where to best view the world cup rugby.....
In Fiji the culture was so vivid and refreshing,with 50/50 Indian/ island natives . I was taken back to my India trip,with the titillating music,the colorful garb,the shelves in shops that include incense and curry and henna and lots of fireworks!! Diwali ,the Hindu holiday was approaching and there was much energy building.
We were ready to love Fiji and we did.The special characteristics of a place centre around the people and the nature. We travel in a loosely tethered community of sailors , within this migrating cluster that undulates in movements like a school of fish,we also greet old and meet new amazing people in every new port. That's a long sentence to say that together,this unfettered group unites as we step off our boats,into our dinghies and onto new land with new people with new cultures to meet. One night when we were staying at a bed and breakfast type place,these two groups really came together for me in a fun and memorable way.
David met Rod in an upholster store.Rod is an Aussie who has built a place on the island of Savu Savu,with his wife. They do a lot of missionary work in the community ,helping build church fences and such. This appealed to David who really enjoyed doing some volunteer carpentry when we were in Suwarrow( Suvarov) in August. He wanted to help and asked us if we would like to move off Rhythm for a few days. we needed regular internet and Rod who is a day trader offered that for us. It was perfect timing as the rain was regular and Joey had an infection on his feet that could only heal in a dry place. Olivia was committed to getting back to her math course, I was also still convalescing from bursitis that had been infected in Tonga. We moved in. Soon Olivia developed a high temperature with flu symptoms. Little math but lots of rest.
We relaxed,well,I actually found it very hard to relax,I still felt," the entrapment "*, however,I walked the beach at low tide, as often as possible which was on the other side of the island from where all the yachts and Rhythm were moored. Early mornings I sometimes walked to town .I found just the act of walking ,listening,seeing,smelling,talking...placed me in the world,a world of open hearted interested people who look you in the eye and I feel like they are really seeing me,or at least looking for me there. Is it just my projections? Is it different out here in " the world" because I am open, I am looking in their eyes longing to see them? I'll keep that investigation open,more on that when I catch up and get to Auckland in my blog ....
Rod had a couple of neighboring woman who would come and help him with laundry,cleaning and some cooking while his wife was now back in Australia .These woman were the essence of what would be a very excellent evening Bale,a dancer,came with her son almost daily to the house and revealed herself to be a dancer. I suggested a nights performance with the sailors. At the end of our stay,she and two other woman and two young girls came to perform .We invited our friends,we asked if we could pass the hat and that all contributions would go towards the local kindergarden. It was such a magical evening,they brought woman:mothers,grandmothers, the men were jamming with their own instruments down at the beach. The little girls were incredible,very talented,all dressed up in the traditional garb,flowers woven into coconut leaves on hips and headship and head . The woman invited the Buratynsky girls from Gromit to do the performance that they learned in Huahine. They whoop and cheer and encourage,such a lot of girl power energy.
Somewhere in there we took a bus trip across the island with Gromit to Labasa ,all day ,past pine forests and cane fields in a bus where we were the only white people. The family stayed overnight and we took our seats back on the bus for the long ride home.Many school kids hopped on as they have no individual school buses.How cool to see them in all the uniforms ,some of the older boys looking like the rugby players we had seen on the big flat screens during the word cup.
Back to Rhythm the next day to find a lot of mold! I suppose I should feel good that all my near coo coo daily ritualistic wiping down of all surfaces in cockpit wasn't for nothing.
Sent from my iPad
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Enroute to NZ!
It's so strange,when you are conscious of an anticipated journey of all sorts,and - voila- its here,your living it now...we are actually ,right now,motoring out of a reefy pass ,we've checked out of the beautiful darling Fiji,heading out for the final passage to NewZealand. Final passage that is,of our first leg in this intension to circumnavigate. 1100 miles to go ...we have all the chart and weather information technically and humanly possible to buoy the skipper and thus this crew for a safe and informed passage.
David has done a fine job,he has choreographed the trip,we work well at this point as a team,Joey,the second mate,primed after his 18 th birthday Sunday ,has preformed handy magic with the main sail winches, they were full of salt ,now spin mellifluously. Olivia went to town with David to do the last minuet market corral. She has drafted a schedule for our night shifts. Yesterday I walked part way from Vuda Point Marina to Lautoka,"sugar city"with Wendy to do the big last shop..And to devour the oozing essence of a city that, at least fifty percent of the population - is joyously preparing for the Hindu Diwali: festival of lights tomorrow. I just loved..the shops! So much alluring colour and titillating Indian music . So Fun!! Its been a long long time,shopping for unnecessities ,that is... one of those things I hate/ love ,therefore,miss/ don't miss.
We had a final dinner at the marina aboard,Beyond,our good Kiwi friends who completed a five year circumnavigation in Lautoka. I just love their boat,she is the proverbial wee yacht,like, a nautical, " little engine that could" -blue water worthy,aesthetically quaint and steely noble.
It is HOT ,so very hot.While David and Olivia went to check out I went for a swim in the 98.6 degree water,I was disgusted to see that when I came back aboard,every hair on my body was accentuated in a fine black soot..the town processes both pine and sugarcane but,ewwww...
Once we get through-out the tricky reef strung pass,the last detail: we must all dive in to clean the hull,the barnacles ,they slow us down..we unanimously hate this job...hate it!
David has done a fine job,he has choreographed the trip,we work well at this point as a team,Joey,the second mate,primed after his 18 th birthday Sunday ,has preformed handy magic with the main sail winches, they were full of salt ,now spin mellifluously. Olivia went to town with David to do the last minuet market corral. She has drafted a schedule for our night shifts. Yesterday I walked part way from Vuda Point Marina to Lautoka,"sugar city"with Wendy to do the big last shop..And to devour the oozing essence of a city that, at least fifty percent of the population - is joyously preparing for the Hindu Diwali: festival of lights tomorrow. I just loved..the shops! So much alluring colour and titillating Indian music . So Fun!! Its been a long long time,shopping for unnecessities ,that is... one of those things I hate/ love ,therefore,miss/ don't miss.
We had a final dinner at the marina aboard,Beyond,our good Kiwi friends who completed a five year circumnavigation in Lautoka. I just love their boat,she is the proverbial wee yacht,like, a nautical, " little engine that could" -blue water worthy,aesthetically quaint and steely noble.
It is HOT ,so very hot.While David and Olivia went to check out I went for a swim in the 98.6 degree water,I was disgusted to see that when I came back aboard,every hair on my body was accentuated in a fine black soot..the town processes both pine and sugarcane but,ewwww...
Once we get through-out the tricky reef strung pass,the last detail: we must all dive in to clean the hull,the barnacles ,they slow us down..we unanimously hate this job...hate it!
ahem...
6days later
SOG 8.1( speed over ground )
31degrees28.274south
174degrees.53.783east
224 miles to go
"Now",is a very etherial concept,for just before completion of this note ..a note to inform,the skipper became agitated - overwhelmed,and Ive been there before,I'm sure you have to- you know when you try to be cool and level headed to the point where you just didn't rally with enough force and there is that pivot when the mind abruptly changes channels ,sees it all anew and panic obliterates the resolve. To put it simply,the skipper said," What the hell I need help! I'm starving!Stop writing that no longer important email!!"
Therefore,
The now was then and my *now is still in turbulent seas,and this won't be sent until our now is in NZ....
* this passage has been a washing machine but fast, it's a port tac beam reach at60 degrees..bumpy nauseating.. and Its getting colder and colder as we sail south!! How weird is that?? I'm wearing a big Canadian Roots sweat shirt- from Goodwill ,which I miss.Last 2 nights Ive used a fleece blanket!! So odd after months of what feels like perpetual hot flash
I could go on but it will make me queasiest .I'm sure you've got a lot to do. You may even
be doing three other things while reading this,you may be skimming and once you caught the drift of my digressive ramble stopped altogether...that's OK ,I remember..
If you receive this we will be safe and landed and doing loads of laundry and hunting for our buried cold weather cloths...help me God...I haven't put that one pair of jeans on for 1 year this Nov.6,last run ,Nov.7
Miss you
Peg
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