Central Otago – The Beautiful South: Jan 2012
Peeking into Queenstown |
They know how to have a decent hill in Central. |
Lavender at Millbrook |
Frankton and Queenstown airport |
Lake Wakatipu |
Lupins. Everywhere in Central |
The Kawarau River |
R.I.P. Memorial to soldier killed in the Kawarau Gorge |
Freedom over Lake Wakatipu |
Looking into Queenstown |
War memorial in Arrowtown |
Architecture at local vineyards is timeless |
Sleepy old Arrowtown. Paradise. |
Millbrook. |
A good Central Otago Hill. |
Ziptrek Queenstown |
Bonfire |
Individuality reflected in a mailbox! |
The ranges around Queenstown |
Cracking pic of one determined Goat! Courtesy of Timaru Herald |
New Years Eve Bonfire |
Bonfire: New Years Eve |
River Swimming. Cold on a 30 degree day! |
Omarama: Interesting Clay cliffs. |
The World Famous Cadrona Hotel. Speights on a hot day = Southern Gold |
Loved this cartoon in the Press. |
The Crown Ranges. Looking towards Lake Wakatipu. |
2011: The Year In Photos
Camping out. Dawn Dec 11: Lake Lyndon |
Hot Air Ballooning. Mid Canterbury Aug 11. |
Redcliffs Snow. The year we adopted Portaloos. Aug 11 |
Seagulls enduring the snow. Redcliffs Aug 11 |
The mighty Kaikouras. A favourite family spot. |
Sunset Sumner Beach. Jul 11 |
Spring has sprung. Blackbird. |
Queensland Australia. Vital hydration supplies. |
Punishment. Swinging on doors is not good. |
Time out away from Christchurch. |
Liqufaction in Ferrymead Estuary. Jun 11 |
Calcutta India. Cooling off. May 11 |
Waiheke Island. Great spot. |
Rangitoto Island from the ferry. |
Calcutta India. Close Shave. |
Spring 2011. Hagley Park. |
A battered city. Sep 11. |
A munted foot. Dont drop a chopping block on a bare toe. |
South Canterbury cropping. |
Community meeting Feb 11. Sumner….Theme: WTF is going on? |
A muppet ship crew! |
We lose Mr Jobs…Apple Legend. |
New city centre opens in Christchurch. Nov 11 |
Arthurs Pass local. Kea. Dec 11 |
Christmas Dec 10. Santa and the team arrive. |
Cool tour bike. Mt Manganui Jan 11 |
Feb quake. St Asaph St…..a building lying on it! |
Boating Mt Managnui Jan 11 |
Beach time Mt Manganui Jan 11 |
Yep….sorry but true! |
Enjoy these pics? Try these other posts…..you’ll love them.
Pics of Home. The Beautiful South
The Mighty Kaikoura: Southern Paradise
A Southern Man Viewing Life in India
The Beautiful South: Snap Shots of Home.
The Southern Alps: Looking across Christchurch City towards the West. |
Lambing time on the farm. The joys of mother ups! |
Cropping in South Canterbury. Awesome colours. |
Mustering the Hunter Hills. Looking across the farm. |
Mist rolling into Sumner. Pre containers and devastation. |
The yellow of Souther Canterbury crops |
Looking West into the Hunter Hiils. Dusk in Spring time. |
Oaks in Hagley park. |
The Grand Chancellor Hotel before demolition started. |
Black bird on the roof. |
A visit to Waiheke Island. |
Looking back at Auckland city on the way to Waiheke. |
Kaikoura. A snap of the Kaikoura range. |
Music in Hagley park. Spring 11 |
Walking, walking, walking. |
The snow of Aug 11 and one of the delightful post earthquake portaloos. |
Blackbird in the snow |
Dusk. Sumner beach. |
Mustering the Hunter Hills. Sheep needing a dog! |
Up high on the Hunters. Enjoying the view. |
Stormy day. Kaikoura. |
Gulls flying low. |
A Southern Man Viewing Life in India May 2011
Sheer heat. Shade from 45 degree daily heat. Calcutta, India |
The mix of old & new. Calcutta, India |
The Calcutta Times, Calcutta, India |
A close shave. Calcutta, India |
Snoozing. 45 degrees, downtown Calcutta, India |
Family wagon, Calcutta, India |
In chaos. Traffic Police. Calcutta, India |
A defining moment. Coming to terms with the reality of a curried omelette for breakfast. India. |
A quick dip. Bathing in Calcutta, India |
A moment of peace before the long trip home. New Delhi, India. |
The very formal: New Delhi India. |
Top spot to stay. The Imperial Hotel, New Delhi, India. |
A good yack on the phone! New Delhi, India. |
Street venders: New Delhi, India, May 11 |
The faces of India. Downtown street market: New Delhi, India May 11 |
Calcutta: Street water fountain. Love the heavenly abode entry! |
Looking from Parliament towards India Gate. New Delhi, India |
A thriving street shop business. Ironing. Calcutta, India. |
Off the beaten track, Side alley. Calcutta, India. |
The awesome small taxi. Top speed 100km, max passengers 13, New Delhi, India |
Presidential Palace, New Delhi, India |
The Blast ANZAC Collection: 2011. A Few Memories
It is ANZAC weekend really. This year ANZAC day falls on the Easter holiday weekend so they roll into one. As I sit here in Christchurch and wonder where the services are I should be attending (most venues have been damaged after the earthquake) I have scrolled through many pics and uploaded a real cross section of some life in the Army. I wish I carried my camera more during my service. Enjoy the memories and remember to celebrate those who did their bit and never made it home. We will remember them.
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The way it was. Hong Kong (British) border post looking towards China. 1992 |
Bush bashing with the Air Force. One of hundreds of helicopter flights with all our kit. |
Sydney, Australia. 5/7 Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, (Mechanised Infantry) on the move. |
B Company, 2nd/1st Battalion, Infantry skill at arms team after kicking 2 Ghurka Regiments butt for the Smith Trophy. Hong Kong 1992 |
Spoiling for trouble. 2nd/1st Battalion, RNZIR on the move and looking for a fight. |
A mate. Captain Johnny McNutt seated in an Apache gunship just prior to being killed in 2001 serving overseas with the NZSAS. R.I.P.. Read more about Johnny here (link) |
Infantry on the move. Dawn raid May 2003 |
Local legends. Roll of Honour for the Hunter district, South Canterbury. My Great Uncle Alan McConnell one of the lucky ones to make it back. He too was an Infantry Officer in WW2. |
Roll of Honour at the Pearl Harbour War memorial to those killed in the Japanese surprise raid on the US Navy Pacific Fleet. Sobering number of men killed. Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. |
Skill at Arms section in action. Nothing like being in the mud! |
Parachute drop, Crete, Greece |
About to get airborne. The Wessex choppers of the Royal Air Force about to lift us off. |
Mates heading on leave in Auckland. Troy Fisher (R.I.P) on the right. |
A hot brew in the field and a good yarn after a hard day. Pure gold for the Infantry. |
A moody Southern sky with light at the end of the tunnel! |
The beautiful Southern Alps of the South Island, New Zealand. A beacon of home. |
Infantry 81mm mortars. Outgoing live. |
Bosnia contingent pic (plus attachments) taken at the New Zealand Memorial marking the battle of Chunuk Bair, Galipolli, Turkey. |
Beach assault landing Hong Kong/China border. B Company comes ashore. |
Parachute training, Whenuapai, Auckland, 1988 |
Infantry fighting patrol. Palm Olive plantation, Malaysia, 1990. |
Parachute rolls…….practising the technique. Tower training. |
Digging up a mass grave, Angola, South West Africa, 1996. Not pleasant! |
Resupply. Borneo Jungle, Brunei. 1994 |
Flying over Borneo Jungle, Brunei by helicopter. |
Ground training. |
130km forced march. 30 plus hours with full battle kit. |
ANZAC Dawn Service 2010. Sunrise over the Cathedral……before the earthquake took out the Cathedral in Feb 11. |
ANZAC Day: The true gold of ANZAC
Local men from Hunter district who served. Lest we forget. |
As ANZAC day looms I always think of my military past. For many years it was 100% of my life, nearly 18 years serving as a Regular Army Officer and now after a 6 year gap, again in the Reserves. When I first left the Army I immersed myself in business to make up the skill gap that I felt I had as a result of so much time in one organisation. Now more and more I fall back on the extra ordinary grounding I got in the Army and the skills it taught me. Sure I got a University education as well (BCom at Canterbury University) but those basic skills are the valuable ones. Things like accepting responsibility, leading, communicating, systems for administration, logistics. How to plan and think through problems. People skills, overseas experience, overcoming fear, physical fitness and the list goes on.
Shared experience = ANZAC Spirit. Hong Kong/China border 1991 |
ANZAC day for me is a time of remembrance. It is a time to think back on experiences, people, sacrifice and those who put country first. Those who didn’t make it home or were killed serving their country come to mind. The big campaigns which cost many faceless New Zealanders their lives and then more recently those killed in combat, accidents or in training that have a much more personal angle given that we knew them and had served together.
Many of my good friends still serve in the Army and some are in harms way right now. They hold senior roles of course nowadays but none in the back of your mind you get that knot in your guts whenever there is a bad news headline in Afghanistan or some other strange place they may be serving. Many of my mates are now out of the Army and flung far around the country and indeed the world in roles ranging from Private security to private and big business. Most have been very successful in what they have pursued and of course fall back on many of those skills taught in the military.
Remembering those who didn’t get home= ANZAC spirit |
I wanted to define what ANZAC day meant to me and whilst the dawn parade is certainly a focal point, I find myself looking at those around me who have not served. I look at their reaction and I wonder why they attend and what it must mean to them given they have not experienced the tight camaraderie the Army offers or the feeling of being in a tight combat team. I don’t understand how they view the day and the words said at services across the country.
If you liked this ANZAC story you will love these others that I have written;
A visit to Crete: Some ANZAC photos (Link here)
Johnny McNutt: A Good Southern Bloke R.I.P. (Link here)
Bush bashing and finding the Canterbury lads: Gallipoli (Link here)
A Life Well Lived: Southern Legend Dan Gregan (The big "D")
Dan Gregan pictured with his Grandson Hugh! |
I now think it is possible to enjoy a funeral. It is after all a final send off for someone you know and care about. Whilst that is sad, when that individual has lived a true, full and happy life it truly becomes a celebration.
Last week Dan Gregan passed away suddenly in his sleep aged 84. He was man who has always been a part of my life. He lived over the boundary fence and any farmer out there knows that is quite a big thing down south! Not only that his family and mine have lived over the boundary fence from each other since the early 1900’s when our family’s drew land from the ballet. His father and my Great Grand parents kicked around together as they broke in the land. My Grand father farmed next to Dan and then my mother did. Dan’s son John now has the boundary and John’s son Sean is my Godson.
Over the last century our families have known each other well, never living in each others pockets by any stretch of the imagination (how can you when you live 4 km apart) but supporting each other through good times and the bad. Storms and disaster, injury and illness, celebration and success have all been present at some stage during those decades.
Dan was an impressive man. Tall, lean and fit with a sharp wit and quiet way about him. He was a gentleman. He was always happy to see you, always got up and shook your hand with his big mit, was always interested in what you were doing and what was happening in your world. He was a savvy businessman and investor, farmer and stockman. He enjoyed the odd whiskey, an occasional cuban cigar, fine chocolate and loved reading his newspaper cover to cover. It is fair to say a blog or Facebook were not his preferred methods of communicating with his many friends and large family, rather he was old school…..a conversationist.
Dan and Jo (effectively a second Mum to me) raised a large and successful family with whom I have been lucky enough to have grown up amongst. All successful in their own fields and now with careers, partners and children of their own at various ages, the older I get the more I value their friendship. So when my mother rang to tell me of Dan’s death it took me by surprise. I sat down for a few minutes, let it sink in, it upset me. I had been lucky enough to spend time with him several weeks before the big earthquake in February when the Gregan clan had gathered to celebrate the christening of his latest wee Granddaughter. We chatted and laughed and I really enjoyed seeing him for the first time in 6 months or more.
His funeral was huge and it really struck me just how many people across all age groups respected and loved Dan. How his sons delivered his eulogy so well I will never know but the mix of humour, story telling and pride was a delight and classic Gregan style. Dan had a strong catholic faith and a love of people, family and friends. He was a man of the land, a farmer, a businessman and a person you listened to, respected and enjoyed fellowship with.
He was a Southern Legend and I’m sure the hundreds who shared his farewell celebration would agree.
I miss him already.
The Blast Personal Gallery: Downtown the day of the Christchurch Quake
There are also some more general photos from around our broken city that I have chosen to share. Some things that I came across;
- Walking with an upset woman who had been getting her hair cut and watched several buses get crushed. She was walking home to Oxford……about 50km just to get out of town.
- Having to get past downed buildings,
- Coming across people crowded silently around a car listening to the radio. Everyone in shock and disbelief as they heard the news and all complete strangers.
- Silence in the city.
- Having to assess whether the Copthorne Hotel was going to collapse on the civil defence bunker. I’m no engineer but it was leaning and 12 story buildings shouldn’t lean!
- Walking through Camner Square as the injured were being gathered and attended to.
- Hastily established cordons with Police and volunteers manning them.
- Members of the public on traffic duty at major intersections keeping traffic going.
- Mud and flooding everywhere.
- Cars buried in mud.
- Holes in the road.
- Buildings full of water.
- A real feeling of community…..people talking and helping each other everywhere.
- The Mayor and his staff standing outside the art gallery after being evacuated due to an aftershock.
- People crying and hugging one another.
- A group of builders discussing whether to head home or stay with their building site that had collapsed. They were concerned it was a danger to traffic. Legends!
- The initial briefings in the Civil Defence bunker and starting to get my head around what the emergency services were dealing with.
- Seeing the first TV images of the PGC building and damage around the city.
- Meeting my brother at his house on the way home and seeing it destroyed.
- Ringing my father and telling him how glad I was he was still with us and unhurt.
- The relief of getting home around 9pm to my family who had coped admirably.
- Standing on the back lawn and looking towards the sky as aftershocks rolled through and being thankful that my family and I had survived something that could have randomly ended our lives.
Stone buildings badly damaged and dangerous. |
Armagh St looking West. People legging it! |
Montreal St……gave this one the swerve as I walked past. |
Sheer power. Tram lines. |
Papanui Road…..a busted up home! |
Needs more than a tarpaulin this one! |
Inside the Civil Defence HQ. Controller Baden Ewart takes stock. |
Hmm…..Armagh St……going nowhere in this car! |
Making temporary arrangements in the garden. A mate in Merivale. |
My brothers house. A cliff falling, Dad in the house but unhurt. Bit close really! |
Cramner Square. The injured and shocked. |
Corner of Armagh and Durham St North. People getting out! |
Looking North on Montreal. Police evactuating city. Normally traffic flows the other way. Note: Umm building lying in middle of the road. I had to run into the city along this street. |
Jammed on Antigua St. Liquifaction and flooding outside office 15 minutes after the shake. |
Looking East on Armagh St. Ground zero an hour after the big shake. |
Working out…..A temporary office for RESULTS.com |
Our Vege garden is destroyed: Redcliffs Supermarket will be rebuilt….in time! |
Sumner residents meeting with Police. Cliffs, rockfalls, evacuations, Loos, water, mutiny, information yada yada! |
The Merc in the hole….Waterfront Redcliffs stuck in a rut! |
The dust settles. View from the top. Day after the quake overlooking the city. |
Pre school and church hall in Linwood Ave |
"Futch" Couper: Southern Legend of the Month……from the "North"!
Futch Couper with Paul Williams. Photo: Marty Sharpe/Dom Post |
Futch at home. Quenching his thirst when we last met. |