The Westie Wanderers

Every community needs a group of experienced hikers! West Milton, on the Alpine Highway, has a hiking club who venture out twice weekly. The day I joined them was to explore Quail Island in Lyttleton Harbour. A small passenger ferry took about ten minutes from the quay at Lyttleton to reach the pier on the island



This was a day full of surprises.
What excited me most is that it was from this island that both Scott and Shackelton prepared to leave for their great explorations to the Antarctic. Dogs were trained for the journeys, and preparations were made to tackle the rigours of exploration. It was from this harbour in New Zealand that they left for Antarctica.

At various times the Island had a leper colony, and areas for quarantine from measles.

Quail Island is now a nature preserve with an attempt to restore New Zealand plants, birds, and small wildlife and rid the island of any predators. Vital plants, important to the Maori people for practical use from making cloth to medicinal purposes, are now growing successfully.



Sheltered beaches laden with shells, and granite cliffs caught my eye.





Thanks to the Westie Wanderers for their invitation.

Feast of the Epiphany

"Then the wise men set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, francincense, and myrrh.(Matthew 2:9-10)

Kite Surfing

Back to the beach this afternoon and saw a wonderful sport, kite surfing. Although I thought it was windy, the young men surfing said it wasn't windy enough to plough through the waves with greater speed. As my camera doesn't catch the surfer leaping over the waves, I asked the sportsmen who finally came ashore to show me the equipment. This is an example of the size of one of the kites attached to the surfboard. For those familiar with snowboarding, you can see a close resemblance to this surfboard.

Gaze deeply

Sometimes I am awestruck in churches where holiness and prayer seem to seep from the very walls. Today I visited St. Luke's in the City, in Christchurch, N.Z. where I was very much 'at home'.





The Christmas Crib was unique and nothing like the 'traditional' figures of Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, shepherds and the assortment of animals found in creches.
This crib grabbed my attention, and it took a while to get my mind around what I was looking at. A tall Advent Candle was centrally placed, and from the candle stand
hung many different Icons depicting the birth of Christ.





According to the parish notices, "The Crib is an invitation to look and see, to see beneath the surface, to penetrate through the veil of the superficial and the trivial, to have the eyes of our hearts opened to the mystery of the Divine Presence in the misdt of human flesh, to apprehend the mystery of Incarnation. Be still. Gaze deeply. Give thanks!"





St. Luke's has two Icon wrting groups each week.

New Years Day 2010

What a beginning to the new year! Not much beats the greetings of friends. To top it all, a piper playing a medley ending with Auld Lang Syne welcomed incoming passengers and friends at Christchurch, N.Z. airport to 2010.


After experiencing far too much snow and sub-zero freezing temperatures, I was enthralled once more to be able to walk in the sunshine, plunge into the South Pacific Ocean for the first time, beach comb, and watch the sea kayakers. Outdoors in the warmth!




The sea! The sea! Its sounds of powerful pounding waves, its scary beauty, and luring of us to play as children once again, kept me mesmerized.




Today was a new years day to remember with friends, conversation, long walks, and playfulness.

New Years Eve 2009

The journeys and surprises continue. Several months ago I would have laughed at anyone who had suggested I'd be spending time in Sydney, Australia on December 31, 2009.



After an easy train ride from the International Airport to Circular Quay, I was faced with masses of people gathering and preparing for New Year's Eve festivities. A party was a few hours away.


Bondi Beach had intriqued me for a long time, so, leaving the crowds behind, I boarded a local bus for the beach.

Soon, I was peeling off shoes and felt that gorgeous feel of hot, soft sea sand underfoot.



Well here I was at Bondi beach gazing at the sea... the surfers... the waves.

Had a short chat with some young surfers eager to hit those waves.



There was nothing better to end this visit than a beach picnic lunch with a view!

Happy New Year

Wishing all a joyous and blessed journey in 2010.