Icy covering on my bike after a night of -4 degrees But the little jaunt did not diminish the building and expectations as I pencil in the stops in Europe
I listen to the roar of the surf, the winds at the edge of the roaring 40’s
or the silence of a fishing village in winter
Apollo Bay is quiet hamlet where I can take to the surf or walk through the giant forests.
Its a place that has offered me serenity and peace since I was just a boy, travelling here and camping in the dunes under a tarpaulin strung from my uncles car.
View of the Melbourne CBD across Hobsons Bay from Williamstown
Melbourne is my home town
A large sprawling modern city
A beautiful city in many ways.
A CULTURAL CITY
With a strong sense of the Arts
Offering major exhibitions
Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei exhibition
Both inside and out of the galleries
Projections onto the National Gallery wall
A Sporting and Multicultural City
Local Australian Football
Melbourne is a great sporting city,
Hosting an Olympic Games, ,the home of the Australian Tennis Open, Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne Cup, the Boxing Day Cricket Test, the MCG and the birthplace of Australian Football.
But it is community level football that in many ways captures the multicultural nature of Melbourne. Where the locals teams include the players with heritage from every continent – migrants old and new and indigenous Australians all in the game.
And on the sidelines the Lebanese mothers wear their Hijabs in the home teams colours.
Sometimes there is a special moment, a wonderful day , that makes one reflect on where you are, where you spend most of your time and the special things about it.
It was a early autumn day in Melbourne.
I had been waiting to find the time to go to the National Gallery to see the wonderfully curated exhibition of the works or Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei.
A free Saturday morning gave me the opportunity.
Then in the afternoon my son played footy in a team that embodies the multicultural spirit of Melbourne a team made up of local people whose heritage stemmed from Polynesia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa and captain coached by an indigenous Australian.
As I stood at my sons game and ate a kebab wrapped in a European style bun, talking to the retired primary school teacher who had taught “80% of the kids” I reflected on how special my home town is.
The Trans Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) had just been signed in New Zealand
The protests that had taken place in Auckland were moving to Waitangi
The Treaty Ground.
For Waitangi Day
Waitangi Treaty Monument
A major issue for the Maori is that the provisions of the TPP may over ride major aspects of the Treaty of Waitangi.
Waitangi Day – 6 February 2016
For the visiting sailor it was the calm anchorages of the Bay of Islands that called
Paradise Bay (Oneura Bay) behind Urupukapuka Island was calm and the water welcoming on this Waitangi Day
Looking across Paradise Bay
Then on to Okahu Passage to climb to the top Waewaetorea Island
The little chartered boat in Okahu Passage
And views across the Bay of Islands
Looking west along the Bay of IslandsLooking West along Te Rawhiti Passage
And back to Paradise Bay by sunset
Sunset behind Paradise Bay
Waitangi – The Boat
Classic Yacht – Waitangi
The Waitangi is one of the most beautiful classic boats I have seen and have been lucky enough to sail on
Waitangi has a rich history which included being restored by a group of sailors in Williamstown – my home port in Victoria, Australia. As it turned out I was only a couple of degrees of separation from one of the syndicate that restored Waitangi and so had the joy of sailing on her.
She was a true restoration with no winches and only human strength to raise and trim the sails. I remember hauling on the ropes – three of four of us to set the top sail.
And now here she lies in the New Zealand Maritime Museum just under the great big red boat Steinlager2 which won the round the world race.
These are my three aspects of significance about Waitangi emerging from a recent trip to New Zealand.
January 2019 – First Published 31 Dec 2015 – This beautiful town, in Victoria, my home state in Australia is under attack by enormous bush fires. My heart goes out to the townspeople who have always made me welcome many of whom are being evacuated by military helicopter as I write. Australia is on Fire and many towns like this are facing destruction. This is what Climate change means
These great riding/driving routes converge at Omeo
Bikes at the Golden Age Hotel, Omeo
But my first visit there is the most memorable.
As a child of 10 or 11 I traveled to Omeo to stay with a family for the summer holidays.
My father had died a couple of years earlier and Legacy had arranged the holiday for me.
Nearly 50 years on my memories are sketchy.
The train trip to Bairnsdale then being picked up by the mail van, a Kombi van of the era for long winding climb to Omeo, punctuated by stops to drop off mail and me to be car sick.
I have some enduring memories of the family I stayed with.
Unfortunately I cant remember their name. But for a young boy from the industrial part of Melbourne it was eye opening.
They had a house cow and I used to separate the milk from the cream with a hand separator.
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