Fiji

Posted on June 7, 2015 by SUNGRL

We spent a wonderful, relaxing week in Fiji in the last week of April.  It is called the Land of Smiles because the Fijian people are so friendly and constantly smiling : )

We were lucky enough to be invited over for a friend’s 40th birthday party.  Tim had hired Cloud 9 which is floating pontoon about 45 minutes from Denerau by boat.  We went out there by jet boat which was fun. – there were about 60 of us in total.

Cloud 9 has a bar and a pizza oven on it.  The drinks were flowing and everyone had a great time.  You could jump off into the water which was lovely.  There was a bit of a current so they had some buoys and ropes for you to hang onto.  Not a bad idea given alcohol was involved!  After a few great hours in the sun it was back to Denerau by jet boat – we had such a good time no one really wanted to go back to the mainland.   

       


 



After grabbing some dinner at the Port it was an early night for us – I ws pretty close to “falling over” point!

On the Sunday afternoon we were invited to a friend of Tim’s private residence for drinks and nibbles.  What a place – it was absolutley beautiful and we felt very privileged to have been invited.

  
      Most of the party goers went home on the Monday but we had booked to stay on until the Friday.  Good choice as the weather was fabulous – blue skies and 30 degrees most days : )  We played some early morning tennis, walked and generally relaxed by the pool.  What a life!   

    It was then back to NZ on the Friday.  I had a free upgrade to business class on Air NZ so enjoyed sitting up the front of the plane while Steve slummed it in the back!

   

 Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,100 nautical miles (2,000 km; 1,300 mi) northeast of New Zealand’s North Island. Its closest neighbours are Vanuatu to the west, New Caledonia to the southwest, New Zealand’s Kermadec Islands to the southeast, Tonga to the east, the Samoas and France’s Wallis and Futuna to the northeast, and Tuvalu to the north.

Fiji is an archipelago of more than 332 islands, of which 110 are permanently inhabited, and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about 18,300 square kilometres (7,100 sq mi). The farthest island is Onu-i-Lau. The two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 87% of the population of almost 860,000. The capital and largest city, Suva, is on Viti Levu. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu’s coasts, either in Suva or in smaller urban centres like Nadi (tourism) or Lautoka (sugar cane industry). Viti Levu’s interior is sparsely inhabited due to its terrain.

Fiji has one of the most developed economies in the Pacific due to an abundance of forest, mineral, and fish resources. Today, the main sources of foreign exchange are its tourist industry and sugar exports.  The country’s currency is the Fijian dollar. Fiji’s local government, in the form of city and town councils, is supervised by the Ministry of Local Government and Urban Development.

The majority of Fiji’s islands were formed through volcanic activity starting around 150 million years ago. Today, some geothermal activity still occurs on the islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni.  Fiji has been inhabited since the second millennium BC, and was settled first by Austronesians and later by Melanesians, with some Polynesian influences. Europeans visited Fiji from the 17th century, and, after a brief period as an independent kingdom, the British established the Colony of Fiji in 1874. Fiji was a Crown colony until 1970, when it gained independence as a Commonwealth realm. A republic was declared in 1987, following a series of coups d’état.

In a coup in 2006, Commodore Frank Bainimarama seized power. When the High Court ruled in 2009 that the military leadership was unlawful, President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, whom the military had retained as the nominal Head of State, formally abrogated the Constitution and reappointed Bainimarama. Later in 2009, Iloilo was replaced as President by Ratu Epeli Nailatikau.  After years of delays, a democratic election was held on 17 September 2014. Bainimarama’s FijiFirst party won with 59.2% of the vote, and the election was deemed credible by international observers.

 

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Alps to Ocean, Day 5 – Kurow to Oamaru – Waitaki Valley, South Island, New Zealand

Posted on April 22, 2015 by SUNGRL

After a fabulous breakfast provided by Sue, the caretaker of Campbell Park Estate, we decided to start the day’s cycle from Campbell Park Estate rather than being shuttled back to Kurow – it meant we were short changing ourselves by about 5km but no one seemed too bothered.  Danny, however, wanted to go back to Kurow so Ian dropped him there.  He is a speedy gonzales so it didnt take too long for him to catch us all up again. 

There is some maori rock art work and elephant rocks to see along the way.  I had seen it before so carried onto Duntroon to have a coffee at Flying Pigs Cafe.  It was the last day they were open for this season – they will reopen again in October.

The last time we did the Alps to Ocean ride we rode on the road through to Oamaru but quite a lot of it is now tracked.  The new track goes through some beautiful farmland.  There was a bit of climbing involved and even a switchback which I managed to get all the way to the top of : )




We stopped just before the Rakis Railway Tunnel for lunch – our last picnic lunch of the trip and we managed to finish off all the home baking – rationed to perfection.

Everyone was looking forward to a bit more downhill cycling into Oamaru but it was not to be.  The second phrase that we came to use frequently on this trip was ‘upulating’.  This replaced the term ‘undulating’ which we had incorrectly interpreted to mean ‘gently rolling downhill’.  After going through the historic sandstone block Rakis Railway Tunnel we got onto some rolling country roads and when I say rolling, they rolled up as much as they rolled down!    We all regrouped at Weston to ride the last 6km into Oamaru together.  We rode through the botanical gardens down to the seaside where the A2O trail officially ends.  There were some pretty happy people in the group – we did approximately 260km over the five days.

After the obligatory photo at the finish we rode to Brydone Hotel where we freshened up before enjoying some bubbles before dinner.  We had dinner at The Post which was very nice.  Another evening filled with lots of laughs.  Debbie was awarded Duckhead today for pulling her ‘Deborah from Remuera’ stunt on some unsuspecting Wellingtonian we met on the trail.

The next morning after a lovely breakfast at Tees Cafe we had a couple of hours to wander around Oamaru.  Oamaru is a lovely town with lots of beautiful limestone buildings – this limestone which is quarried in nearby Weston is known as Oamaru Stone.  The Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust owns 17 of these limestone buildings.  Oamaru contains over 70 buildings registered as Category 1 or 2 Historic Places in the New Zealand Historic Places Trust register.

 


 

 It is also the Steampunk capital of NZ.  Steampunk refers to a subgenre of science fiction and sometimes fantasy—also in recent years a fashion and lifestyle movement—that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery.  Although its literary origins are sometimes associated with the cyberpunk genre, steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the 19th century’s British Victorian era or American “Wild West”, in a post-apocalyptic future during which steam power has maintained mainstream usage, or in a fantasy world that similarly employs steam power.   It was then all aboard the bus again for our four hour journey back to Christchurch Airport where I said goodbye to all those returning to Auckland.  I flew home via Wellington where it was raining cats and dogs.  My flight was delayed due to the Chinese Hockey Team taking an age to get on board and sit in the correct seats.  I arrived back in the Hawkes Bay at 8pm that night – I had thoroughly enjoyed my adventure with some of the coolest people I know! 

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Alps to Ocean, Day 4 – Omarama to Kurow – Waitaki Valley, South Island, New Zealand

Posted on April 22, 2015 by SUNGRL

Day four was a bit overcast and gloomy but still no rain.  The first part of today’s ride was on the off road trail to the top of the Chain Hills before descending beside State Highway 83 to follow the edge of Lake Benmore to Pumpkin Point.  We then got to Sailors Cutting which is a popular boating, camping and fishing spot.  It was then back onto the road to climb up the Otematata Saddle which is a slow, steady climb.  The downhill into Otematata was fantastic.  Apparently the NZ Cycleway Trust has secured the land for the off road trail here but it doesn’t have the funding to build the actual track.  


  
 We then turned left onto Loch Laird Rd to head up to the Benmore Dam which meanders along for about 5km before you get to a steep climb up to the dam at the end.

  

  


 We had lunch at the top of the dam before descending down and riding along the shores of lake Aviemore to the Aviemore Dam.  We were then back on State Highway 83 to Lake Waitaki and the Waitaki Dam. 

The Waitaki River is a large river in the South Island of New Zealand, some 110 km long. It is the major river of the Mackenzie Basin. It is a braided river which flows through Lake Benmore, Lake Aviemore and Lake Waitaki. These are ultimately fed by three large glacial lakes, Pukaki, Tekapo, and Ohau. Lake Benmore and Lake Aviemore are contained by hydroelectric dams, Benmore Dam and Aviemore Dam.

The Waitaki has several tributaries, notably the Ahuriri River and the Hakataramea River. It passes Kurow and Glenavy before entering the Pacific Ocean between Timaru and Oamaru on the east coast of the South Island.

Benmore Dam is the largest dam within the Waitaki power scheme, located in the Canterbury Region of New Zealand‘s South Island. There are eight other power stations in the Waitaki Power Scheme.  With a generating capacity of 540 megawatts (720,000 hp), Benmore Power Station is the second largest hydro station in New Zealand behind Manapouri, and the largest dam in the country.

The $62 million construction of the dam and hydroelectric station began in 1958. It was commissioned in 1965, and officially opened by Prime Minister Sir Keith Holyoake on 15 May that year.  It was built for the New Zealand Electricity Department; since 1999 it has been owned and operated by Meridian Energy.

The Aviemore Dam is a dam of the Waitaki River in New Zealand. Built from earth and concrete in the 1960s (and completed in 1968) to dam Lake Aviemore, it is one of the major dams of Meridian Energy, and is used to power a hydroelectric power plant.  It is a part of the Waitaki River Hydroelectric System, a scheme which supplies 30% of New Zealand’s considerable amount of hydropower.

Work began on the Waitaki Dam, the first large state hydroelectric scheme in the South Island since Lake Coleridge, in mid-1928 at a site 7 km from the Kurow railhead. It was the last major dam built by pick, shovel and wheelbarrow, tools anachronistically retained because politicians wanted to reduce the unemployment rate. At its peak 1,200 men laboured in often dangerous and freezing conditions; 350 houses and 700 huts sheltered them from the extremes of North Otago winters, but work conditions and high accident rates made Waitaki a bleak site.

The Waitaki Dam owes its true significance to its role as an incubator for Labour’s social security scheme. In 1928 a site-based Waitaki Hydro Medical Association contracted with the Waitaki Hospital Board to provide medical and ambulance services, paid for by a monthly deduction from wages. Dr David McMillan, ‘the little doctor’, and the Reverend Arnold Nordmeyer, both of whom entered Parliament at the 1935 election, based Labour’s social security scheme on their Waitaki experience. A commemorative plaque adorns McMillan’s old surgery at nearby Kurow.

The dam is 48 m high and 542 m long. Unusually, Waitaki does not have a spillway – the water flows over the top, making a spectacular sight in floods as the flow breaks up on the disrupters on the dam face. When Governor-General Lord Bledisloe opened Waitaki on 27 October 1934, its 30 megawatts provided about half the mainland’s electricity. Modifications have boosted that to the current 90 megawatts.

The old village, once home to 40 staff and their families, has struggled to survive. Covenanted by the Heritage New Zealand but empty since the late 1980s, it was put up for mortgagee sale in 2001, lock, stock, houses, lodge, garages and utilities.  These houses are in the process of being renovated to become part of a tourist accommodation complex but it has been a work in progress for a few years now.


We arrived into Kurow about 4pm.  Kurow has become famous for the fact that our beloved All Black’s captain Richie McCaw hails from here.  The team all headed to the pub for a well earned drink and some hot chips – it was Easter Sunday so they wouldn’t serve you alcohol unless you ordered food – that’s what they told me anyway.  

 

While we were all enjoying the refreshments, Ian and Leona were loading the bikes onto the trailer for the 15km trip to our accommodation for the night – Campbell Park Estate.  

 

In 1857 Mr William Dansey purchased and lived on the sheep and cattle station which later became Campbell Park Estate.  He had the first house built in 1861 and “Dansey’s Hut” still remains on the estate today.William sold the property in 1861 to the Honorable Robert Campbell, the son of a wealthy Scottish family with business interests in England and Australia.  Robert then bought a large workforce of Scottish craftsmen and material from Scotland and Italy and built “The Castle” and stables in 1876.  

In 1908 the estate was sold to the New Zealand Education Board, who used it as a school up until 1987.  The school was closed and in 1988 the estate passed into private ownership.  The estate helped shape the future of thousands of young men, during which time the property was extensively developed into the beautiful and expansive complex that it is today.

An Introduction to Campbell Park School

Campbell Park School looks after boys of below average ability.  It is the only state residential school for boys of its type in NZ.  Boys between the ages of 10 and 17 come to Campbell Park from all over the country, in general because they have not been able to make much progress at ordinary schools.  Established in 1908, the school is administered by the Child Welfare Division of the Department of Education.  It has a roll of about 120.  Campbell Park aims to help the slow learning boy to live happily with others, to earn a living, and to look after himself.  The curriculum combines formal education with practical training designed to enable him to take his place in society as a well adjusted, self supporting member.  Among the staff of more than 60 are several specialists, who can bring out the best in each boy.  The aim of the teaching staff is to encourage the boy to develop self reliance, initiative, and confidence in his ability as an individual.

The current owners who we beleive are American tried to establsh it as a school for American boys but it did not prove successful.  They are now doing up some of the old staff houses for tourist accommodation.  We stayed in three of these houses and they have been beautifully done up.  Leona had organised a tour of the estate for us with Baz & Agnes.  Baz was the Assistant Principal at the school between 1968 until it closed.  His wife Agnes was a teacher aid at the school.  Baz alluded to the fact that he had had his 85th birthday.  They took us past the stables that are awating renovation, past Dansey’s hut, into the castle and the accommodation block.  The buildings are in great condition and it seems such a waste of a resource.

After our tour we headed for the old dining hall to have dinner.  An outside caterer called Gumboots and Pearls had prepared the food and Leona put the finishing touches on it.  The food was wonderful and again we had a lot of laughs over the evening.  Kaye was awarded Duckhead tonight to give her some comfort after Tony had forgotten their 33rd wedding anniversary!  

 

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Alps to Ocean, Day 3 – Lake Ohau to Omarama – Mackenzie Basin, South Island, New Zealand

Posted on April 22, 2015 by SUNGRL

We woke up about 7.30am and my roomie Robyn reported it was raining – I told her that we weren’t leaving until 9.30am and it will be fine by then!  By the time we went for breakfast things were already looking brighter with a bit of blue sky poking through and by the time we biked out of there the rain had stopped and the sun was coming out.  SUNGRL – the forever optimist : )

The new track goes ‘over’ the hill rather than round it so I was looking forward to seeing how this panned out.  The trip notes said that the first 6.3km is easy cycling before a 4km climb from 600 metres to 900 metres.  After completing this 10km we all decided that the trip notes need to be revised as everyone thought that the first 6km was harder than the 4km climb – the first 6km was uphill, windy and over various terrain.  The 4km climb was straight and steady – we even had a tail wind which was a nice change : )  We did learn some new terminology on this 4km though – ‘false summits’, of which there were a few – the trail appeared to reach the high point but kept winding upwards.

  



 
 The views back over Lake Ohau on the climb up were fantastic.  After reaching the true summit at 900 metres above sea level we had a few twists and turns before some fantastic downhill riding through the paddocks.  Just before the Quailburn Road intersection we were met by Rae & Trish who had decided to ride in the van for the first part of the day – there was a large puddle of water which they were encouraging us to ride through – the shoes got a little wet but it was great fun.

We then rode 2km up the road to a historic woolshed where we had lunch.  The woolshed was part of the Quailburn run on the Benmore Station – see below for more information on the Benmore Station.

 After lunch we had about 22km to go before reaching today’s destination which was Omarama.  This riding was mainly downhill and to start with on gravel roads.  It was great fun until I had to get out of the way of an oncoming car and nearly came off my bike in the thick gravel.  Omarama which has a population of about 250 people is primarily a rural service centre, providing local farmers and other residents with necessities and facilities such as grocery shopping, fuel and mechanical services, as well as a post shop.  In more recent years these and similar services have expanded moderately, due to the increase in new residents and visitors, including anglers, artists, astronomers, sailplane enthusiasts, skiers and general tourists.  A significant proportion of permanent village residents are employees of (or contractors to) Meridian Energy Limited, a state-owned enterprise which is responsible for much of New Zealand’s hydroelectricity generation.

Due to the strong gliding conditions and spectacular scenery in the Omarama area, as well as the entire Mackenzie Basin, it is known as a world-class gliding location, gaining fame among sailplane pilots around the world after hosting the 1995 World Gliding Championships.

Omarama is Māori for “Place of Light”, a reference to its extraordinarily pure and clear sky.  Omarama is home of the annual mid winter star party. Local street lighting and other light sources are dimmed or switched off for the duration of the event.  Benmore Peak Observatory is located approximately 13 km north of Omarama, atop the nearby Benmore Range

We got to Omarama about 3pm and everyone was looking forward to a soak in the hotpools – Leona gave them a call and they were fully booked until 10pm!  It was Easter Saturday which explains why they were so busy – note for next time we’re passing through Omarama – book in advance!

Instead of soaking in the hot pools we took a drive out to see the Clay Cliffs.  These reminded me of the fairy chimneys in Cappadocia in Turkey.  The Clay Cliffs are huge sharp pinnacles and ridges with deep, narrow ravines separating them. The Clay Cliffs are made of layers of gravel and silt, deposited by rivers flowing from glaciers existing 1-2 million years ago. Compared to the nearby mountains, which are 250 million years old, the Clay Cliffs are relatively new. Today the gravel and silt layers can be seen as sloping bands as the strata have been tilted since their deposition 1-2 million years ago.  

After our Clay Cliffs excursion it was time for a bit of R & R before dinner at the restaurant at the Heritage Gateway Hotel where again we had lots of laughs.

Benmore Station

Two Scotsmen set off in search of new country to settle.  Having come though Mackenzie Pass and crossed the Tekapo, Pukaki and Ohau rivers, they climbed to the top of the last terrace and saw straight ahead of them north-facing tussock-covered ridges sloping gently to rich grassy plains.  “I’ll take this country” said McMurdo pointing to the range.  “That’s just the country I’ve decided to take” retorted Fraser.

They debated for some time, neither giving way.  They decided to race to Christchurch to register the claim but this was over 200 miles away over very rough country.  In the end they decided to race to a matagouri bush about a mile away.  The winner was to take the land to the left, the loser the land to the right.  McMurdo won the race and named the land Benmore after his birthplace in Scotland.  The year was 1857 and the Mackenzie country was set to change.

By the late 1800’s over 80,000 sheep were being shorn each year at Benmore Station.  During shearing time the number of men working on the station swelled, with often 25 blade shearers on board.  Wool from Benmore sheep was sent to Oamaru and transported by ship to Dunedin.  Wool bales were loaded onto wagons pulled by bullock teams.  The bullocks could pull more slowly and surely than horses, grip the terrain better with their cloven hooves, and didn’t require supplement feeding.  It was a long, slow journey to Oamaru over rough roads, with the bullock teams travelling at a top speed of three kilometres an hour.

The woolshed was constructed in the early 1920’s from beech poles taken from Quailburn Bush.  Pockets of forest in gorges and gullies around Quailburn and Lake Ohau were the only local source of timber.  Beech was used for rails for yards, firewood and in the building of early huts.

Today we can only marvel at the conditions endured by farmers and their station hands.  Mustering was particularly trying as a vast amount of land had to be covered and the weather conditions were often ghastly.  The shepherds used horses on the flat but the high country, rising up to 1,900 metres was covered on foot.  A fall from steep icy slopes was a constant risk.

By purchasing neighbouring runs, Benmore became one of the largest properties in Otago with over 200,000 acres.  A huge public auction in 1916 marked the end of an era for Benmore.  It was broken up into pastoral runs which were then offered for licence.  As a result, twelve large stations and nine smaller ones were created.  The Quailburn Run where the woolshed is was named after the native quail that were found there. 

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Alps to Ocean, Day 2 – Mt Cook to Lake Ohau – Mackenzie Basin, South Island, New Zealand

Posted on April 22, 2015 by SUNGRL

We awoke on Friday morning to see Mt Cook in all her glory.  This is very special as not everyone gets to see her – mountains do tend to attract clouds.  This is the second time I have done this trip and on both occasions I have been very fortunate to see Mt Cook cementing my SUNGRL reputation : )   

 
          After breakfast and a quick look around the very impressive Aoraki Mt Cook Visitor Information Centre we drove back to where we finished our cycle the day before.  We cycled along the shores of Lake Pukaki.  It was a stunning day and the vistas were magical.  We then crossed the highway to cycle the Pukaki Flats which is an expansive area of dry grasslands that are characteristic of the Mackenzie landscape.

 




 Next stop was Twizel where we had lunch at Poppies Cafe which was very nice.  The sun was out in full force so we were in for a hot afternoon.  We headed out of Twizel towards the Ohau Canal which meets up with Lake Ohau.  We then went off road again on a trail that skirts the foreshore of the lake.  It was a lovely track and much nicer cycling than on the road like we did the first time we did the ride in 2012.

 

The lakeside track meets up with Lake Ohau Road 10km before the Lodge which was our accommodation for the night.  The wind seems to get up in the afternoon so we had a head wind to the Lodge which was a bit challenging for everyone.  The Lodge driveway was a welcome sight even though you still have about 500m of a gentle uphill to reach the Lodge itself.  We had a great meal at the Lodge and lots of laughs with the daily fine session.  Raewyn had fallen off her bike just before Twizel and Roberta had admitted to mistaking the Deep Heat for her toothpaste!  Roberta was awarded Duckhead our Dick of the Day award : )  Paul felt the need to give Murray a call to let him know about Roberta’s antics!  

 

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Alps to Ocean, Day 1 – Christchurch to Mt Cook – Mackenzie Basin, South Island, New Zealand

Posted on April 22, 2015 by SUNGRL

The alarm went off at 4.30am so I could make my 6.40am flight to Christchurch.  I encountered a bit of fog on my drive from Havelock North to Napier airport but the airport area was clear so I thought there would be no delays from my end.  I checked in with plenty of time to spare and then found out the flight was delayed due to fog in Christchurch.  The rest of the cycle group were coming from Auckland and they were also delayed due to the fog in Christchurch.  In the end we were all only about half an hour behind schedule.

Ian our tour driver collected us from the airport, we then collected Margaret, Graeme, Trish and Rae from the hotel and regrouped at Natural High’s headquarters.  The bikes were loaded already so once the bags and food were loaded we were off.

Morning tea or actually breakfast for some of the group was at Geraldine.  It was a nice day so we were getting some good vistas as we made our way towards Mt Cook.  We had a quick stop in Tekapo before heading out to the canals for lunch and a warm up cycle of 15km.  It was blowing a gale so we made hard work of the 15km.  Some of the group had gone ahead and stayed on the high road along the canal while the rest of us took a lower road which provided a bit of shelter.  On coming back up to the high road we were met by Trish who was walking her bike – she had been blown off and her bike had ended up on top of her!  The scenery was lovely though and we had some nice views of Mt Cook.  We also saw some salmon farms along the canal.  Some of the salmon were being fed so they were jumping out of the water.  The downhill at the end of the canal was certainly fun : )     

We then drove about an hour to our accomodation for the night at Aoraki Mt Cook Alpine Lodge.  It was a team effort cooking dinner.  In saying that my contribution was pretty minimal as I had a little snooze and by the time I got to the kitchen everything was under control.  Dinner and dessert which was a deconstructed banoffee pie was very nice.

After dinner we went up to The Hermitage which is a hotel that has various exhibitions etc… in relation to Aoraki Mt Cook and mountaineering in general.  We were booked in to do star gazing at 9.30pm – unfortunately there was a bit of cloud which meant it was not possible.  We spent half an hour in the Planetarium learning about the planets and the solar system instead.  It was very interesting but also a bit too relaxing sending some of the team to sleep after their 4.30am starts : )

Aoraki / Mount Cook

Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. Until 2014, its height was officially listed as 3,754 metres, but new measurements have given a revised height of 3,724 metres (12,218 ft).[1] It lies in the Southern Alps, the mountain range which runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination,[2] it is also a favourite challenge for mountain climbers. Aoraki / Mount Cook consists of three summits lying slightly south and east of the main divide, the Low Peak, Middle Peak and High Peak, with the Tasman Glacier to the east and the Hooker Glacier to the west.

The mountain is in the Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park, in the Canterbury region, which was established in 1953 and along with Westland National Park, Mount Aspiring National Park and Fiordland National Park forms one of the UNESCOWorld Heritage Sites. The park contains more than 140 peaks standing over 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) and 72 named glaciers, which cover 40 percent of the park’s 700 square kilometres (170,000 acres).

The settlement of Mount Cook Village is a tourist centre and base camp for the mountain. It is 7 km from the end of the Tasman Glacier and 12 km south of Aoraki / Mount Cook’s summit. 

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One Year on…

Posted on April 21, 2015 by SUNGRL

This time one year ago we were at the airport about to embark on our overseas adventure.  We went, we saw and we conquered.  We had a fabulous time, created lasting memories and made some good friends along the way.  Before we embarked on our adventure a friend gave me the following Travellers Ten Commandments which served us well. 

Thou shalt not expect to find things as they are at home for thou has left home to find things different.

Thou shalt not take things too seriously for a carefree mind is the beginning of a carefree holiday.

Thou shalt not let other tourists get on thy nerves as we are all here for the same reason and thou art paying good money to enjoy thyself.

Thou must know at all times where thy passport lies, for a man without a passport is a man without a country.

Thou shalt not worry, for he that worrieth hath no pleasure.  Few things are fatal.

Remember that thou art a guest in other lands and he that treateth his host with respect shall in turn be respected.  To learn to speaketh “please” and “thank you” in thy hosts tongue will make thee thy host’s friend.

Thou shalt not judge the entire people of a country by one person who was a poor host.

Thou shalt remember to err is human and to forgive divine.

When in Rome, thou shalt be prepared to do as the Romans do.

Thou shouldest remember that if thou was expected to stay in one place, thou would have been created with roots.

Amen

  

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The Timber Trail – Pureroa Forest – Central North Island, New Zealand

Posted on March 29, 2015 by SUNGRL

The Fab Four and Invited Guests took on The Timber Trail bike ride on the 27th and 28th February.  The Timber Trail is nestled in Pureora Forest, between Lake Taupo and Te Kuiti, in the Central North Island. The Timber Trail, originally known as the Central North Island Rail Trail or Pureora Timber Trail, in the North Island of New Zealand is an 83 kilometres (52 mi) cycleway (also used by walkers and hunters) in Pureora Forest Park, fully opened in 2013, with 35 bridges (built by DoC staff, community max workers, or contractors), including 8 large suspension bridges (one of the longest on a NZ cycleway, much more stable than the swing bridges used on older tracks).

It is one of several cycleways developed as part of the New Zealand Cycle Trail and passes through podocarp forests of rimu, totara, miro, matai and kahikatea, as well as some exotic forestry and regenerating bush.  About half the Trail is on the track-bed of an old bush tramway, including a spiral and tunnel. The Pureora Forest has around two metres of rainfall per year and this lush forest is the result.  Rivers flowing from the area contribute to the mighty Whanganui River catchment.  New Zealanders are blessed with more fresh water per person than any others on earth.

We decided to go with Ted from Tread Routes (www.treadroutes.co.nz) who organised our trip from start to finish.  Six out of the eight of us met in Hamilton where Ted picked us up about 4pm on the Thursday.  We then headed to Otorohanga to pick up Sheree and Matthew before making our way to Black Fern Lodge which was our lodgings for the night.  Black Fern Lodge is located in Waimiha which is about halfway between Te Kuiti and Taumarunui but more inland towards Taupo.  Before researching this trip I didn’t quite understand where this was either.    

Black Fern Lodge has two accommodation options – The Lodge and The Forge.  We were staying in The Forge which is a converted shearing shed that has four ensuite bunk rooms which can sleep 4 people in each.  It is really cool and has been very well converted while retaining it’s charm and character.  We arrived there about 6.30pm and our host Maria had prepared dinner for us – all we had to do was heat it up.  There was the usual banter going on between us all and a nervous anticipation in the air.  After our hearty dinner and dessert we retired to our bunk rooms.  


 On Friday morning we donned the lycra and jumped back in the van with Ted.  Because Black Fern Lodge is effectively in the middle of The Timber Trail you have to drive to the start at Pureroa which takes about an hour.  When we got there Ted unloaded all our bikes and we became acquainted with them.  It started drizzling on our drive in but by the time we started the 2km ride to the start of the trail some blue sky had started to appear.  Ted parked the van and bike trailer up securely at Pa Harakeke Eco Cultural Centre as he was riding the trail with us.  One of his team would collect it the next day and pick us up at Ongarue.  

      

   The first 13km of the trail is uphill with the first 6km being a grade 2 and the next 7km being a grade 3 – interesting times ahead!  The trail setting is absolutely stunning – lots of beautiful native bush.  The 7km grade 3 ride was definitely challenging and we were very happy when we reached the summit.  We could see the western shore of Lake Taupo in the distance.  Although it wasn’t raining there was a bit of cloud around and you needed to layer up again when you stopped.  The starting point was at about 550m and we had climbed to about 950m above sea level.  

    



 

      

  

Pure-ora-o-Kahu is the proper name for this mountain.  It comes from a profound and positive story.  Kahu was a woman of great mana (status and dignity).  She trekked to these lands, named Maraeroa, in search of her son Raka-maomao.  It was a difficult trip and she became sick.  At last Kahu and her group came to the northern side of a mountain.  They rested in the sun.  Then they followed the stream to the summit, and offered prayers for Kahu, so the stream became Waimiha (Wai = water, miha = special incantations).  Kahu was bathed in the water, and the miha comforted her.  She revived, and recovered to full health.  The mountain became known as Pure-ora-o-Kahu which translates to The ritual purification of Kahu.

After reaching the summit the trail had an undulating downhill gradient and the next 10km is also considered to be grade 3 which means it is averagely technical from a mountain bike perspective.  It was fun going downhill but you really had to concentrate and get used to the impact on your hands and wrists.  The scenery continued to be spectacular and it was great to be surrounded by native bush and if you took the time to stop and listen you could hear the odd Tui.  


 

We rode until the 35km mark where we then went off the trail for 6km to get back to Black Fern Lodge.  There was a fairly large uphill part on this 6km and even I didn’t have the energy to ride up it.  It was a welcome relief to get to Black Fern Lodge and have a cold drink.  The weather had come out really nice now so we decided to go down to the river for a swim.  The water was quite chilly but nothing that us elite athletes couldn’t handle – our very own ice bath!  I am sure our muscles were all the better for it the next day.  



   



Again Maria had prepared our dinner so all we had to do was heat it up.  Harty, Jen and Kaz were on dinner duty tonight.  Ted also joined us which was nice although I am unsure what his thoughts on all the swearing were.  Jeffo sure can swear!  The team thought a few beers and a bottle of bubbles was in order to celebrate our great day.  Thomas and Harty decided to have a roadie and then a loud discussion after we had all gone to bed – they got a short sharp shift! On the Saturday we woke to a fabulous day.  Ted had negotiated a ride up the hill for us with Kerry from the Lodge – $5 each – so worth it!  Kerry loaded our bikes onto his Bush Lokey and we piled into the back – this was going to save us about a 45 minute walk although he only drove us about 2km.  Ted being the super fit guide that he was rode up the hill and nearly beat us.  


We got to the top of the hill, were reunited with our bikes and off we went.  Steve and Matthew took off first.  The rest of us were about to go when Ted said “who’s backpack is this?”  It was Steve’s – what a wombat!  We decided that Sheree would take it down and we wouldn’t tell him.  We got to the bottom of the hill and Steve was standing there panic stricken – he had realised he had left his bag at the top of the hill.  We took great delight in telling him he would have to bike back up and collect it.  He was white by this stage but then he noticed his bag on Sheree’s back.  I have never seen such a big smile – he was so relieved. After that bit of excitement we were on our way again until Harty’s chain broke – Ted wasn’t too far behind and had it fixed in a jiffy.  We rejoined the trail at the 35km mark where we had left it the day before.

Apart from a 3km climb, today’s ride was going to be mostly downhill.  Because it was a Saturday we came across a few more people on the trail.  It was such a nice day and the bush and the vistas were awesome.  The downhill riding was so much fun.  There are eight suspension bridges on the trail – we went over the second and third longest ones on day one – 115m and 109m respectively and the longest one on day two which was the Maramataha Bridge which was 141m long and 53m high.  They really are an engineering feat and add to the uniqueness of this trail.  








 

 

  



We also rode down the Ongarue Spiral which is at the 74km mark – it was an engineering triumph in it’s day.  The Ongarue Spiral took the tramway up 43 metres (141 ft) on a grade the bush lokeys could cope with (for 6 kilometres or 3.7 miles the gradient averaged 1 in 30).  Below the spiral the tramway was built by cutting a ledge in the ignimbrite cliffs. It continues to drop until reaching the bank of the Mangakahu Stream.  People used to take day trips out just to see it working.  

We then met someone coming the other way (mad) who said there were some bulls roaming about on the last part of the track which passes through private farmland.  We were thinking we were OK as we had farmer Kaz with us.  We saw evidence of these bulls on the track but they had obviously done a runner by the time we got there as they were nowhere to be seen – perhaps they heard farmer Kaz was on her way. Just after reaching the end of the private farmland we came to the end of The Timber Trail which is 83km long.  We then had to bike about 2km on the road into Ongarue.   



  

 The Tread Routes van was a welcome sight for all of us.  Day two had been fun but we were all pretty shattered after our 97km effort over two days.  The bikes were loaded and we were on our way back to Hamilton.  We had a quick refuel stop in Te Kuiti and then dropped Sheree and Matthew back in Otorohanga.  The Black Caps were playing Australia in pool play in the Cricket World Cup (a dress rehearsal for the final to be played at the MCG today, Sunday the 29th March 2015) so the boys were all keen to get home to watch the game. It had been a fabulous couple of days.  It was great to spend some quality time with the Fab Four and Invited Guests even if there was a fair amount of swearing and moaning about posteriors going on!  I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.  Thanks team for helping to create such wonderful memories – Sheree & Matthew, Camilla and Jaff, Jen and Kaz and of course Precious, aka Steve. Ted from Tread Routes was a fantastic guide and I would highly recommend anyone wanting to do this trail to get in touch with him.  He also has the DOC concessions for a number of other trails in the Central North Island – http://www.treadroutes.co.nz.

History of The Timber Trail

The Timber Trail, cost about $5.5m to build. It was one of the seven ‘Quick Start’ Projects announced in 2009, which were publicised as promoting economic growth. The Timber Trail took longer to complete than some later projects, so it was the tenth New Zealand Cycle Trail to be completed since Prime Minister John Key had launched the cycleways with the Green Party.

By mid 2011 only 23 kilometres (14 mi) was open, with tenders still not let for interpretation panels and five bridges.  It was then that the contract with the Ministry of Economic Development for community max and taskforce green workers ended. 12 staff had been trained in 12 months in basic woodwork, track construction, quad bike and 4WD driving and health and safety. DoC employed five from the MED scheme for six months to build 6 to 10 metres (20 to 33 ft) bridges, shelters, other structures, and some track construction. Another went on ‘community max’ with the recreation team.

Ongarue Spiral restoration work began in July 2011. The tunnel was strengthened and the stream re-diverted out of it (it had been diverted in when the tramway was replaced by logging trucks). The tunnel ceiling was reinforced with mesh, a lower bridge built to the right of the original bridge to preserve bits of the original and remnants of the upper bridge preserved in the new Trail bridge.

Negotiations were held to build a 30 metres (98 ft) suspension bridge over Mangakahu Stream to end the trail further east on Mangakahu Rd, but the Trail as built has another 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) of undulating ride keeping north of the stream, roughly following the tramway to within 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) of Ongarue.

In July 2011 Maramataha, Waione, and Waikoura bridges were tested to their 10 person weight limit using water weights to get council consent and 1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi) of track was built (though not surfaced).  Maramataha Bridge was finished in early October 2012 and opened on 1 November 2012.  The northern end Bog Creek and Orauhora suspension bridges were ready by December 2012.

On the 1 December 2012 southern section opening day 150 cyclists rode its four suspension bridges, the tramline and Ongarue Spiral.

The Timber Trail was declared fully open when the Minister of Conservation cut the ribbon on Saturday, 30 March 2013.

After the opening improvements and maintenance continued; in winter 2013 additional pumice was helicoptered to boggy patches on the Mt Pureora section. Other changes are likely. For example there were concession negotiations about lodgings at Piropiro Flats to supplement the existing campground, where stumps had been cleared.

Most of the Timber Trail’s southern section follows the Ellis & Burnand tramway. Their timber sawmill at Ongarue was fed with logs (especially rimu) by a gradually growing network of tramways from 1903 until floods damaged the lines in 1958. From then until closure in 1966 the tramway was converted for use by logging trucks. However, as one of the best preserved bush tramways, it is considered a nationally significant site.

Posted in Central North Island | Leave a comment

Lake Wanaka Half – Wanaka, New Zealand

Posted on March 28, 2015 by SUNGRL

About a year ago I agreed to be part of a team doing the Lake Wanaka Half which is a half ironman distance triathlon – 1.9km swim, 90km cycle and a 21km run.  Of course a year out anything seems like a good idea : ).  To be fair I was going to be the team’s swimmer which given the distances the other team members have to cover is a minor role. I flew into Queenstown early Friday morning – the other six girls were flying in from Auckland at about lunchtime so I decided to go into Queenstown and have a look around.  It is such a stunning part of our country and I really enjoyed wandering along Lake Wakatipu and taking in the vistas.  I then went back out to the airport to meet the others, we picked up our Jucy hire cars and headed out of town.  First stop was lunch in Arrowtown before embarking on our journey over the Crown Range Rd to Wanaka.    We went into town to the race headquarters to collect our race packs.  There were a number of people in town preparing for the event.  Challenge Wanaka which is a full ironman distance race was also happening on the Sunday – 3.8km swim, 180km cycle and a 42km run. Carla had organised our accomodation at a place about 7km out of town called Te Ariki Nui.  It was a beautiful house in a gorgeous setting and they had all these sculptures around the property.  One of these sculptures who we named Jock gave us a bit of a fright as we pulled up in the cars – he was a larger than life axe wielding man.  He was positioned just up to the right of the garage and caught your eye as you pulled up which caused us to look twice to see whether he was real.   The couple that own the property, Robyn & Bill Hall are very well known in the NZ fashion scene through their business High Society which includes the labels Catalyst, Obi, Chocolat and Mosaic.  Bill then got into deep sea fishing where their boat is also called Te Ariki Nui.  Robyn found the four hectare block of land just outside Wanaka on one of her skiing trips where the glass house known as Te Ariki Nui was born.  It has 360 degree views taking in Black Peak, the Buchanan mountain range, Mt Maude, Mt Barker, the Cardrona Valley and the Mt Pisa Range.  It is a glass house that allows them to live right in the environment.  Because the house has lots of glass there is very little wall room for art so that is the reason for all the sculptures around the property. It is a stunning property and we knew we were in for a great weekend despite the small matter of a half ironman hanging over our heads.    There is a flock of Alpaca’s in the adjoining paddock so on Saturday morning we went to introduce ourselves.  There is a bucket of feed on this side of the paddock so we decided to feed them.  They are quite bolshy characters who take to spitting at you if they don’t like what is going on.  After the feeding frenzy we left them to it, came back inside, only to turn around and witness Alpaca sex which was very amusing.  We actually all they were Llamas so the term ‘llarma twerking” was born.

  After all that excitement it was off to town to have a trial swim in the lake in our wetsuits.  The wind had got up and the lake was quite choppy – this wasn’t boding well for raceday.  We had a bit of fun down on the lake and got acquainted with the water.    We then attended the race briefing which was good as I now had a good idea of the swim route which was nowhere near where I thought it was – thank goodness! Saturday afternoon comprised of another yummy lunch and getting the bikes into town to be racked for raceday.  Saturday evening was very relaxed and some of us watched the final of Masterchef Australia before an early night. Raceday dawned and it was a stunner.  The wind had dropped and it was one of those gorgeous South Island mornings – the lake was a millpond and the sun was shining.  I was so happy!    Carla and Jan were doing the entire race on their own so they were ready to roll quite early.    Sue and I were the team swimmers and we were starting about 20 minutes after the individual competitors at 8.35am.  The elite athletes and those doing the full ironman started at 7.15am. We waved Carla and Jan off as they headed into the lake before Sue and I got into our wetsuits and headed into the water to acclimatise.  The water was beautiful and so clear.  We did a bit of swimming and then slowly made our way out for the deep water start.  We decided to hang out at the back and to the right of the pack to avoid getting swam over and kicked in the head as everyone took off.  8.35am arrived and the hooter sounded – we were off.    The first leg was the longest and it took a few hundred metres to get my rhythm but once I did I loved every minute.  The water felt warm and you could see the bottom.  We had sunstrike on the last leg which made it a bit tricky to sight but the last buoy was there before I knew it.  I then had to run about 200 metres in my wetsuit to hand the transponder off to Vicky who was doing the cycle leg.  My swim time was approximately 41 minutes which I was really pleased with – it was actually over all too quickly. I could now relax.  We decided to go back to the house to have showers etc… before heading back to the race zone to cheer the others on.  90km was going to take the girls at least 3 hours so we had a bit of time.  We positioned ourselves at the start of the run leg and saw Carla come by – she was looking good.  It was then time to head back to the bike area so Renee and Sue who was also doing the run leg for her team could wait for Vicky and Shirley respectively.    Vicky and Shirley came in within a few minutes of each other – they did about 3 hours 37 minutes on the cycle leg.  The girls then headed off on their run.  We saw Jan come in about the same time so cheered her along – this was her first half ironman and she was going well.   It was then back to the run finish to wait for Carla to come in.  She did a total time of 5 hours and 53 minutes and came third in her age group.  She is such a legend. Next in was Renee with a time of 2 hours and 10 minutes for the run leg.  Vicky and I ran in with her across the finish line.    Our team time was 6 hours and 34 minutes.  Sue wasn’t far behind and her and Shirley’s team time was 6 hours and 41 minutes. While we were waiting we saw the leading elite athletes coming in – they had completed the full ironman in times of between 8 hours 37 minutes and 9 hours.  Amazing! It had turned out to be a really hot day so it was lovely sitting by the lake enjoying the sunshine.    Jan then came in with a time of 7 hours and 36 minutes.  She was super proud to have completed her first ever half ironman and rightly so.  It was then back to Te Ariki Nui for showers and some celebratory drinks and reflection.  We then enjoyed pizza for dinner before an early night – it had been a big day. Monday morning we all headed back over the hill to Queenstown and I waved the girls off back to Auckland.  My flight wasn’t until 1.30pm so I parked by The Boatshed Cafe in Frankton and walked along the edge of Lake Wakatipu before heading back to The Boatshed Cafe for lunch – the perfect end to a fabulous weekend in one of my most favourite parts of the world.    

  

  

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Sting & Paul Simon in concert – New Plymouth, New Zealand

Posted on March 27, 2015 by SUNGRL

On the 31st of January we went to the Sting & Paul Simon concert at the Bowl of Brooklands in New Plymouth.  It is our favourite concert venue in NZ – a beautiful outdoor ampitheatre.  We went with our music loving friends Catherine & Simon and Pam & Dennis.

The concert started at 7.30pm sharp with both Paul Simon & Sting coming out on stage to sing a few songs together.  They then took turns entertaining us until 10.30pm.  It was one of the best concerts we’ve been too – top class entertainment for three hours solid.  They both came back on at the end and did Bridge over Troubled Water as an encore – WOW!

After weeks of fabulous weather there were a few showers forecast but we only got a small shower which certainly didn’t put a dampner on anything.

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Sting & Paul Simon in actionsting

Sting

Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner CBE (born 2 October 1951), known on stage as Sting, is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, activist, actor and philanthropist. He was principal songwriter, lead singer, and bassist for the new wave rock band The Policefrom 1977 to 1983, before launching a solo career.

He has included rock, jazz, reggae, classical, new-age and worldbeat in his music.  As a solo musician and a member of The Police, he received 16 Grammy Awards, his first for best rock instrumental in 1980, three Brit Awards, including Best British Male in 1994 and Outstanding Contribution in 2002, a Golden Globe award, an Emmy Award, and three Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Police in 2003. In 2000, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for recording. In 2003, Sting received a CBE from Elizabeth IIat Buckingham Palace for services to music, and was made a Kennedy Center Honoree at the White House in 2014.

Sting was born in Wallsend, North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, on 2 October 1951, the eldest of four children born to Audrey (née Cowell), a hairdresser, and Ernest Matthew Sumner, a milkman and engineer.  He grew up near Wallsend’s shipyards, which made an impression on him. He helped his father deliver milk and by ten was “obsessed” with an old Spanish guitar left by an emigrating friend of his father.

He attended St Cuthbert’s Grammar School in Newcastle upon Tyne. He visited nightclubs such as Club A Go-Go to see Cream and Manfred Mann, who influenced his music.  After being a bus conductor, building labourer and tax officer, he attended Northern Counties College of Education from 1971 to 1974 and qualified as a teacher.  He taught at St Paul’s First School in Cramlington for two years.

Sting performed jazz in the evening, weekends and during breaks from college and teaching. He played with the Phoenix Jazzmen, Newcastle Big Band, and Last Exit. He gained his nickname after wearing a black and yellow sweater with hooped stripes with the Phoenix Jazzmen. Bandleader Gordon Solomon thought he looked like a bee, which prompted the name “Sting”. In the 1985 documentary Bring on the Night a journalist called him Gordon, to which he replied, “My children call me Sting, my mother calls me Sting, who is this Gordon character?”  In Time in 2011 he said: “I was never called Gordon. You could shout ‘Gordon’ in the street and I would just move out of your way.”

Sting married actress Frances Tomelty from Northern Ireland, on 1 May 1976. Before they divorced in 1984, they had two children: Joseph (born 23 November 1976) and Fuchsia Katherine (“Kate”, born 17 April 1982). In 1980, Sting became a tax exile in Galway in Ireland. In 1982, after the birth of his second child, he separated from Tomelty and began living with actress and film producer Trudie Styler. The couple married on 22 August 1992 in an 11th-century chapel in Wiltshire, south-west England.  Sting and Styler have four children: Brigitte Michael (“Mickey“, born 19 January 1984), Jake (born 24 May 1985), Eliot Pauline (nicknamed Coco”, born 30 July 1990), and Giacomo Luke (born 17 December 1995). Coco is singer and founder of the London group I Blame Coco. Giacomo Luke is the inspiration behind the name of Kentucky Derby-winning horse Giacomo.

Sting said his children will not inherit his £180m fortune, fearing his riches are “albatrosses round their necks”, that “there won’t be much money left because we are spending it.”  The Sunday Times Rich List of 2011 estimated Sting to be one of the 10 wealthiest people in British music.[103]

Both of Sting’s parents died from cancer in the 1980s (his mother in 1986 and his father in 1987). He did not attend either funeral, saying the media would be disrespectful to his parents.

Paul Simon

Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, actor and singer-songwriter. Simon’s fame, influence, and commercial success began as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, formed in 1964 with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote nearly all of the pair’s songs, including three that reached No. 1 on the U.S. singles charts: “The Sound of Silence“, “Mrs. Robinson“, and “Bridge Over Troubled Water“.  The duo split up in 1970 at the height of their popularity, and Simon began a successful solo career as a guitarist and singer-songwriter, recording three highly acclaimed albums over the next five years.  In 1986, he released Graceland, an album inspired by South African township music. 

Simon was born on October 13, 1941, in Newark, New Jersey, to Hungarian Jewish parents.  His father Louis (1916–1995) was a college professor, upright bass player, and dance bandleader who performed under the name “Lee Sims”. His mother, Belle (1910–2007), was an elementary school teacher. In 1945, his family moved to the Kew Gardens Hills section of Flushing, Queens, in New York City.  The musician Donald Fagen has described Simon’s childhood as that of “a certain kind of New York Jew, almost a stereotype, really, to whom music and baseball are very important. I think it has to do with the parents. The parents are either immigrants or first-generation Americans who felt like outsiders, and assimilation was the key thought—they gravitated to black music and baseball looking for an alternative culture.”  Simon, upon hearing Fagen’s description, said it “isn’t far from the truth.”  Simon says about his childhood, “I was a ballplayer. I’d go on my bike, and I’d hustle kids in stickball.” He adds that his father was a New York Yankees fan.

Simon’s musical career began after meeting Art Garfunkel when they were both 11. They performed in a production of Alice in Wonderland for their sixth-grade graduation, and began singing together when they were 13, occasionally performing at school dances. Their idols were the Everly Brothers, whom they imitated in their use of close two-part harmony. Simon also developed an interest in jazz, folk and blues, especially in the music of Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly.

Simon’s first song written for himself and Garfunkel, when Simon was 12 or 13, was called “The Girl for Me,” and according to Simon became the “neighborhood hit.” His father wrote the words and chords on paper for the boys to use. That paper became the first officially copyrighted Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel song, and is now in the Library of Congress. In 1957, in their mid-teens, they recorded the song “Hey, Schoolgirl” under the name Tom & Jerry, given to them by their label Big Records. The single reached No. 49 on the pop charts.

After graduating from Forest Hills High School, Simon majored in English at Queens College, while Garfunkel studied mathematics at Columbia University in Manhattan.  Simon earned a degree in English literature, and briefly attended Brooklyn Law School after graduation, but his real passion was rock and roll.

Simon has been married three times, first to Peggy Harper in late autumn 1969. They had son Harper Simon in 1972 and divorced in 1975. The song “Train in the Distance,” from Simon’s 1983 album Hearts and Bones, is about this relationship.  Simon’s 1972 song “Run That Body Down,” from his second solo album, casually mentions both himself and his then-wife (“Peg”) by name.

His second marriage, from 1983 to 1984, was to actress and author Carrie Fisher to whom he proposed after a New York Yankees game.  The song “Hearts and Bones” was written about this relationship. The song “Graceland” is also thought to be about seeking solace from the end of this relationship by taking a road trip.  A year after divorcing, Simon and Fisher resumed their relationship for several years.

His third wife is folk singer Edie Brickell whom he married on May 30, 1992. They have three children: Adrian, Lulu, and Gabriel.

History of the Bowl of Brooklands

Captain Henry King established Brooklands farm in 1842, as a model farm for the New Zealand Company, promoters of the New Plymouth settlement. The farmhouse was razed by fire in 1861 at the end of the First Taranaki War, but its chimney still stands in Brooklands park today.[3] Between 1875 and 1880 there was an attempt to establish a vineyard in part of the Pukekura stream valley, but it was unsuccessful.[3] An area of 53 acres (21.5 hectares) became the property of prominent Taranaki businessman Newton King, and a mansion named Brooklands was built there in the first decade of the 20th century. When King died in 1927, he left the sum of £10,000 to the New Plymouth parks and reserves board. However, due to some failed business ventures prior to his death, the money was unavailable, and in 1934 the trustees of his estate gifted the property to the New Plymouth borough instead. Unable to find a use for the house, it was demolished in 1936.[5] The suburb expanded south to its current limits in the 1950s.

A large part of Brooklands is parkland, with Brooklands Park adjoining the New Plymouth racecourse and Pukekura Park. In 1957, its natural amphitheatre and lake were converted into the Bowl of Brooklands, recognised as one of New Zealand’s finest outdoor concert venues. The Bowl plays host to many international acts and is the venue for the New Zealand edition of the WOMAD festival.[2]

The park includes a children’s zoo, opened in 1965 and operated by the District Council.[3] A former colonial hospital building built in 1847 was moved to the Brooklands estate in 1904. Named “The Gables” it is New Zealand’s oldest surviving hospital building, and functions as a gallery for the Taranaki Arts Society.[3]

The world’s only Lawn Bowls Museum is located in Brooklands. It was established in 1980 and has more than 8000 exhibits.[4]

New Plymouth’s main electricity distribution substation is in the Brooklands area.

 

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