F is for Flag: New Zealand flying a possible new flag

In March New Zealand will have the final referendum on the choice of their country's flag.

Either to keep the original flag or this new one.

We have gotten very fond of the new option, strong colours, the silver fern dominant and it still harks back to the old flag, connecting history but looking forward.

S is for Solace of the Wind: Wellington Waterfront bronze

Solace of the Wind, Wellington Waterfront

The 2 metre high bronze of a man perched on the edge of the beautiful waterfront as he leans into the infamous wind is a Wellington icon. The sculptor, Max Patte, said the view and the feel of the wind soothed his soul and inspired him. It continues to inspire and delight.

K is for Koru: the unfurling fern frond

I have watched this koru unfurl over the last few months. The massive fern is a feature of the forest view from Shawni and Craig's deck here in Ngaio.

There is something very beautiful about the koru. The spiral shape of the unfurling fern frond is deeply symbolic for the Maori, it represents new life and growth, and is widely used in art and design here in New Zealand.

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W is for weather: a perfect day in Wellington

Wellington snap-shots on a perfect summer day:

• General Practioner Bar, a grand old 1902 building on Willis Street that was constructed for Dr Henry Pollen. I was also told by a local that it had some good years as a brothel too. Now the burgers are delicious!

GP - lunch stop in the CBD.

• Homes on the Mt Victoria slope are textured, multicoloured and a visual treat floating above the Boat Sheds and Marina.

Mt Victoria homes float above the boat sheds.

• A calm Wellington Bay, the ferry coming in from the South Island, the Oriental Bay fountain and Fred and I lying back on the grass keeping cool.

Oriental Bay Fountain with Ferry.

• Boats in the Marina with the CBD of Wellington in the background.

Chaffer's Marina.

N is for Nairn Street Cottage: a cottage museum in Wellington

A child's toy from the Nairn Street Cottage.. What a story it could tell.

I am so mindful of the era of settlers around the world in the early to mid 1800's given all the ancestral research I have been doing on both my 1820's English settler family as well as my 1850's Dutch family.

So we popped into Wellington's oldest cottage located along Nairn Street in Mt Cook. It was built in 1858, from a pre-cut kit, by the settlers William and Catherine Wallis. What makes it's story interesting is that the home stayed in the family for three generations. The grand-daughter of William then made an arrangement with the City to preserve the charming wooden cottage and its lovely ramshackle garden with herbs, vegies and fruit trees that would have sustained the family over the century.

I loved the toy, from the first generations of Wallis', on wheels, faded, worn and 'up-cycled' with braid offcuts - a sheep or a cat? Not sure.

D is for Dominion Post: daily dose of Sudoku

How I have enjoyed picking up the Puzzles page from the local newspaper, The Dominion, while having a fall white in a Wellington Cafe.

The quiet time on the bed tackling the 3 Sudoku's and the Code-cracker is so nice.

K is for Kaka: the gang came for apples this morning

An early morning surprise visit.
A noisy, boisterous gang of Kaka's flew onto the deck here at Shawni and Craig's home in Ngaio demanding attention and treats.
Delightful.

T is for Tongariro Alpine Crossing: the 19.4 km done

We made it! the gang on the track.

We left the volcanic zone and golden switchbacks and entered the final stretch, the forest.
The downhill started to hurt. Uneven sections of stairs for about 3km! Achy knees for all. Shawni was strong the whole way but found this stretch monotonous. But the end of our 8 hours was close and suddenly we arrived at Ketetahi Hut.
The tramp was done. Well done Fred, Craig and Shawni.
The transport arrived and we headed back to Adventure Lodge and Motel.
Exhausted and so amazed to have completed the Crossing, not for nothing called New Zealand's best one day hike.

 Mangatetipua Stream, the track finishes through a forest.

T is for Tongariro Alpine Crossing: the long descent

Time to descend

The long descent started. 

The switchbacks through the golden tussock slopes were a breather, I could get into a rhythm and walk, so the kilometres started to melt away.

The views across to Lakes Rotoaira and Taupo were special too.

At times there was a slight incline and my body would complain, but in the main this was a less demanding stretch of the crossing.

Beauty in the detail

Golden tussock slopes

Shawni and Craig on the switchbacks

Lake Rotoaira from the switchbacks on the descent

C is for Central Crater: Tongariro Alpine Crossing

From our lunch stop at the Emerald Lakes we traversed the Central Crater which is a dramatic drainage basin rather than a true crater. These images looking back along the track to Red Crater are stunning and as I sit here blogging, it feels mythical already. What a hike!.

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Quiet, sacred Blue Lake, an acidic water body

E is for Emerald Lakes: Tongariro Alpine Crossing

Our first view of the Emerald Lakes as we started the descent from Red Crater

Three lakes make up the Emerald Lakes and they are old explosion pits with brilliant water colourings from the minerals washed down from the Red Crater. Amazing sight as we crested Red Crater.

Other worldly coloured lake.

Shawni and Craig navigating the scree slope.

So now the 11 kilometres of decent started. This had me laughing out loud, a ridiculously steep but narrow scoria slope! I hung onto Fred's backpack and we slipped down, literally. After the loose scree section the path hardens into a packed surface with small loose stones - downhill on marbles, still giggling I held on for dear life and kept sliding behind Fred....

Scoria slope with the old lava flow from Red Crater.

Our 'picnic' spot, steaming vents and just a little smelly too.

The lunch stop was so welcome, we just plopped down, rested for a short while, knocked all the scree out of our shoes and started the next leg of the walk to the acidic Blue Lake, a sacred place for the Maori's.

R is for Red Crater: high point of the Crossing, 1886m

Gaping Red Crater, Mt Tongariro

Remarkable colours of Red Crater

Having slogged up the steep, rocky ridge we were in awe of what came next, we were right on the edge of the gaping Red Crater, looking into the surreal colours and shapes.

It felt raw and ripped and at the same time velvety.

The weather was much cooler, the wind came up, we added a layer and took in this weird, stupendous place.

T is for Tongariro Alpine Crossing: 3500 souls on the path on Devil's Staircase

The track up the valley to the saddle between Ngauruhoe and Tongariro, over lava rocks, is aptly called the Devil's Staircase, it is very steep, stacks of wooden steps twist and turn from 1400 to 1600 meters above sea level.

I battled the whole way, one step at a time, questioning my fitness for this arduous piece of the tramp, the height gain affected me too, made me nauseous and my heart was pounding with each pace. I was testing Fred's patience as he shepherded me up.

It was a long weekend here in New Zealand, Waitangi Day. On a good summers day there can be 1000 people on the Crossing. The estimate for our day on the path was 3500!

That added another level of pressure on the ascent - young, 20 somethings pushing past on the narrow stairs. I just doggedly put one foot in front of the other and crept up and up and up, too exhausted to even weep when I got to the saddle and then needed to tackle the rocky, uneven ascent to Red Crater after the South Crater stretch of flat walking.

Reaching the saddle and the huge, walled amphitheatre

Up in the alpine zone, bleak, eerie and beautiful