Time Travel

Preparing to leave Kathmandu with Head Guide F’dorje.

Looking back, it seems, becomes more common as the years advance, for when I read of a blogger friend’s adventure to Nepal in 1982, I was immediately transported to my own travel experience in 1992. Early that year I read an advertisement for small group walking tours in the foothills of Mt Everest, Solukhumbu, Nepal. It so appealed; lots of walking, wonderful scenery, a different culture, this was for me! And, I should add, this would be my first trip overseas. I wrote to the company immediately, received the information, and three weeks later I landed in Kathmandu along with my walking buddies; Diane the leader, Jill, Annie and I – strangers until we met at Auckland airport! Note: Solukhumbu is the area where New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary had built schools, hospitals and given other support, since he had famously scaled Mt Everest alongside Sherpa Tensing in 1952.

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The beauty around us

I don’t know the name of these

These past months have seen me with numerous dental and periodontist visits and quite frankly I’ve not felt great – hence the lack of scintillating posts. However, Kerry and I recently visited a nearby community garden at Forrest Hill (Grow Forrest Hill), to see how differently other gardens are run, compared with our Devonport community garden (Ngataringa Organic Garden). While he chatted to members, I took photos of some beautiful flowering plants. I love nature and colour, and focussing on beautiful colourful subjects is a good way to avoid ruminating on one’s troubles I’ve found. I do hope you enjoy the images I’ve selected.

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The best laid plans for a short southern sojourn

The delightful town of Kaikoura

Kerry and I booked a short but interesting trip to Kaikōura, as part of a Great Journeys NZ trip. This included: a train ride, an overnight stay in a nice hotel, a dolphin excursion (or whale, or albatross watching), and a return train ride from Christchurch. We flew from Auckland to Christchurch, stayed overnight in an hotel, and with some excitement grabbed a taxi early next morning and headed to the station to catch a north-bound train, as Kaikōura is in the North Canterbury region in the South Island. We lugged our bags into the crowded station, went over to the ticket office, and after a quick exchange with the staff, found that our train had departed … Let me gloss over that part and leave you to fill in the dots any way you wish.

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