Sir Edmund Hillary: 1919 -2008

At 9am today (Friday, 11 January) Sir Edmund Hillary (who is known here as Sir Ed) died in Auckland Hospital at the age of 88.

All television presenters are wearing black and TVOne is completely devoted to Sir Ed and his exploits. There is to be a State Funeral. I think it is the first State Funeral in the Country for a non-political figure or Governer General since that for The Unknown Soldier many years ago.

Sir Ed became famous in 1953 when, as part of the British Expedition on Everest, he and Norbert Tenzing were the first people to Climb Mount Everest.

My first recollection (I was 9 at the time) was Dad taking me to see the film entitled, I think, The Conquest of Everest. I have a copy of the film which was shown on television on the 50th Anniversary of the ascent.

A survey here in 1996 named him as the top choice of men and women of all ages and across all ethnic groups - far ahead of any All Black, any political or artistic figure - as the person who best embodied "the spirit and essence" of this small nation.

The papers and television in the UK will, doubtless, be full of the news too but some of the tributes from the Prime Minister (who is on her way back from Europe) and Acting Prime Minister are:

"Sir Ed described himself as an average New Zealander with modest abilities. In reality he was a colossus. He was an heroic figure who not only 'knocked off' Everest but lived a life of determination, humility and generosity.

"The legendary mountaineer, adventurer, and philanthropist is the best-known New Zealander ever to have lived. But most of all he was a quintessential Kiwi. He was ours - from his craggy appearance and laconic style to his directness and honesty. All New Zealanders will deeply mourn his passing.

"The legacy of Sir Edmund Hillary will live on. His exploits continue to inspire new generations of New Zealanders, as they have for more than half a century."

"What struck you when you met him was - he's a big man; a slow-talking Kiwi of an old fashioned variety. He was very modest and you felt radiating out of him - here is a man in a different league to most of us in terms of what he could do and what he was.

"We should grieve but we should also celebrate that life Sir Ed had and recognise that he was a truly great man and a truly great New Zealander."

What more can one say?

A Quiet Day

The heading would seem to imply that most of my days here are not quiet which is far from the truth. Croquet and Petanque could hardly be described as riotous passtimes, nor could cycling, visiting friends (the sort I have anyway) or any of the other things I do. All in all it's a busy life but a quiet one - generally speaking!

Today I had no commitments other than having the car serviced so I decided, as it was a beautiful but not too warm morning, I would go for a cycle. I would take the car to the garage just over 5 k away at Puketapu and cycle from there to Taradale via the Ototara Pa (about which I will blog one day) and back home. Only about 18k but exercise my heart would appreciate because of all the hills. It hasn't had too much challenging exercise since I came back to N Z. This afternoon I cycled to get the car so managed another few fairly good hill cycle climbs to exercise the heart some more.

Near the Pa is the Napier Golf Club. In its grounds adjacent to the road are two statues carved from solid trees which had had to be felled.
I had coffee and did a crossword at The Café Gecko (a lizard which will be the subject of yet another blog) in Taradale. I hadn't noticed it before. The service was very friendly and the coffee good so I'll be back.

Arrived home for lunch, finished my book sitting in the sun and then cycled for the car. On the way I saw a Skylark which I managed to photograph and heard yet another Yellowhammer which I didn't manage to see despite his obvious close proximity to me
and saw a baby Song Thrush whose Mum was nearby.

After I'd collected the car I went to Napier. This evening I started by watching the News: news that will donimate TVOne for the rest of the evening.

A Few of Taupo's Sights

The last few postings have been rather uncolourful so I thought that I'd just liven the page up with a few photos. The Bus operates tours around Taupo and McDonalds Plane is part of the large Taupo McDonalds. I'm told by the Geddes Children that it's great eating in there apart from the fact that everything is on a slope. Of course as you don't have to worry about plates or cups and saucers in a McDonalds the only problem is trying not to slide off your seat.

National Anthem: God Defend New Zealand

Though God Defend New Zealand is our most commonly used New Zealand national anthem, many do not know that God Save the Queen is the official alternative. While patriotic, this particular tune spurs not in a New Zealander what God Defend New Zealand does, sung proudly at any sports event and, in my experience, everywhere else too.

Rotowhenua Road

What's in a name? Well I've long wondered about Rotowhenua Road because I thought it would make an interesting Blog entry. I was most disappointed not to find any reference to it in Ian Mill's excellent book "What's in a Name: The Streets about Napier" which is a mine of information on all sorts of things connected with the streets of Napier and the surrounding townships of Clive and Bayview.

As many Maori place names possess either historical or mythological significance, it is usually misleading to guess at their meanings merely by translating the component parts. Notwithstanding this limitation, Maori place names fall into seven broad groupings: (a) names bestowed by the early Polynesian voyagers to New Zealand or commemorating incidents in their visits; (b) traditional names deriving from Hawaiki – the legendary Maori homeland – or commemorating mythical personages; (c) names commemorating places or incidents during the migration or historical incidents since; (d) names that are descriptive of the places or features they represent; (e) names that are Maori versions of European names or words; (f) names bestowed, officially or unofficially, in European times to commemorate some Maori chief or an incident in the locality; and (g) careless European contractions of original Maori names. In this connection it may be noted that the Maoris themselves often contracted their place names.

So where does Rotowhenua come in all this?

It might have helped the considerations if I'd been able to find out much about the local hitory but so far I've had little success at the Library or in the many books I've researched.

In Maori 'roto' means inland or lake. In all the books on place names that I've been able to find 'Roto' has meant lake as in Rotorua, Rotoaira, Rotokawa and many more. However, whilst there is some standing water in the immediate area which may be described as very large ponds they hardly qualify as lakes. 'Whenua' means ground, country or afterbirth or placenta. If one discounts the last two meanings of whenua as being unlikely contenders for a place name then one is left with the alternatives of Rotowhenua meaning Lake Country or Inland Country/Ground.

All that for a rather uninteresting conclusion - and no photos to relieve the boredom!

Ruapehu

On the day before I arrived in Taupo, Martin, Wendy and the children went up above the snowline on Ruapehu (pronounced Rua paywho). That is something I have yet to experience.

Mount Ruapehu, or just Ruapehu, is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupo Volcanic Zone. It is 40 kilometres southwest of the southern shore of Lake Taupo, within Tongariro National Park. The North Island's major skifields and only glaciers are on its slopes.

Ruapehu is one of the world's most active volcanoes and the largest active volcano in New Zealand. It is the highest point in the North Island and includes three major peaks: Tahurangi (2,797 m), Te Heuheu (2,755 m) and Paretetaitonga (2,751 m). The deep, active crater is between the peaks and fills with a crater lake between major eruptions.

It figures quite frequently in our news bulletins. At least it did when I was last here because the water level behind the dam was rising and a lahar or mudflow was expected. There had been a major one in 1953 which had caused the loss of 151 lives. Since then warning systems had been put in place. The lahar occurred on 18 March 2007 - a week after I had left New Zealand. No lives were lost.

The last major eruption took place in 1995 although there have been smaller ones since; the latest being in September 2007 which occurred without warning and injured one person.

You can read more information and there are more photos at Wikipedia

Ruapehu from on MV Ernest Kemp on Lake Taupo

Ruapehu across Lake Taupo

The Bach

Bach (pronounced Batch) is the name given in New Zealand to structures akin to small, often very modest holiday homes or beach houses. They are an iconic part of New Zealand history and culture, especially in the midst of the 20th century, where they symbolized the beach holiday lifestyle that was becoming more accessible to the middle class.

The true bach is almost always a small structure, often made of cheap or recycled material like fibrolite (asbestos sheets), wrinkly tin (corrugated iron) or used timber. In Hebridean terms the the bach is New Zealand's airidh or sheiling. They were influenced by the backwoods cabins and sheds of the early settlers and farmers. Many baches do not have modern amenities like connections to the water and electricity grid. Department of Conservation figures estimate that more that 50,000 bachs exist around New Zealand, a high number considering the country's population of barely more than 4 million people.

While older baches tend to be relatively poor structures, modern kit structures are becoming popular amongst bach owners. Nowadays, given their positions - usually on a shore or lakeside, they can be very valuable indeed. One on Lake Taupo is on the market for $1m. The grand structures that often replace them are often also referred to as 'my bach'.

Two of Lake Taupo's original baches

A more secluded bach

A bach - yeah right!

A Tallented Trampoliner

A double back-flip? No problem. "Would you like a high slow one or a low fast one?" was Fraser's response when, on the tramp at the timeshare in Taupo I asked him if he would do a double back flip for me so that I could see if I could photograph him in mid air.

These are the results:

Maori Rock Carvings: Matahi's Gift

The cruise on Lake Taupo on the Ernest Kemp took us to see the Maori rock carvings at Mine Bay. They are over 10 metres high and are only accessible by boat. The peaceful spiritual and cultural beauty of these magnificent carvings towering over deep waters are quite awe inspiring.

In the late 1970s master carver Matahi Whakataka-Brightwell came to his mother's land at Lake Taupo and on a boat trip around the Western Bays he saw the cliffs at Mine Bay and saw the opportunity to use them as a canvas for his work.

Matahi decided to carve a likeness of Ngatoroirangi, a visionary Maori navigator who guided the Tuwharetoa and Te Arawa tribes to the Taupo area over a thousand years ago. In recognition of the multi-cultural nature of New Zealand, Matahi also carved two smaller figures of Celtic design, which depict the south wind and a mermaid. The Ngatoroirangi carving took four summers to complete and the carvers took no payment other than donations to cover the cost of the scaffolding.

The carving has become an important cultural attraction for the region and is a wonderful gift and example of traditional Maori knowledge and skills.

A Sail on Lake Taupo

On Thursday before we came home we all went for a sail on Lake Taupo on the 'Ernest Kemp'. Described as a 'vintage steamboat' in some articles on the Web was, in fact, launched in 1980 and is a replica of many boats built in New Zealand in the 1930s.

It has a splendid history and I was rather hoping to tell you about it. Unfortunately I didn't make any notes and can't find anything on the web which is reliable. So I'm just going to show you a few photos and ask you to admite the detailed work which went into the ropework covering almost every part of her iron and brasswork.

The 2 hour cruise was relaxing and interesting - as you will see in the next post.