KentFolk News: Adrian O's Travels

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2005-01-15: ready for our travels

Well, it took ages getting all the friends and family out of the bags, where they had hidden, but we found them all, yes , even in the smallest pockets. So, where to fit it all, maps, books, music tapes, walkman, camera, films...... yes just a few !!!( dozens ).Boots, trainers, sleeping bags ,air matress, tent .... stove... pots n pans.....clothes ( for 6 months.. and for every climate...first aid kit( we can put the duty free whiskey in there too ..... 4 medicinal of course...) Well, after a few rejiggings it all fits in and is within our allowance `15 kilo each..but can we lift the bloody things.. so where are all those friends now who said "Ill carry your bags for you"... yes, it was ever thus.. no sign of them when you need them... Not true really.. all our Irish music friends gave us the most wonderful send off at a pub in Deal last night.. a fantastic session... thank you all...an amazing turn out ( was it just to make sure that we were really leaving the country... or was it that I owed so much money to everyone and they needed to collect in case we find a corner of the world we like and ...dont come back?????. We are excited now... it is but a matter of hours... and we are off.. Grey whale watching.. elephant seals... and the monarch butterflies of pacific grove all beckon next week....and then its on to New Zealand... watch this space ... we will send reports as and when internet cafes allow...Back to check the final packing.. two really heavy bags... I do hope that Sue will be able to carry them both ok..... we carry the warmth of all your friendships with us as we go.. and go boldly... to seek the world....the adventure begins.............................. Ade n Sue..

2005-01-24: rhapsody in white

They say on a clear day you can see forever, but being Irish I can tell you its further than that.. we finally left Heathrow after they fitted the new engine or something like that.. and we flew north out over Scotland.. on the clearest day youve ever seen.. the icy white of Iceland stretched below then we flew further north across the great glacier of Greenland.. it was stunningly beautiful..all shinning white and cryslal clear, as we went north the sun set but in the twilight below the great carpet of white shagpile was glowing and sparkling.. we skirted the north of Baffin island and the frozen lakes and islands of northern CanADA CAME INTO VIEW.. never seen anything so beautiful.. well not up till then this week.... from down below somewhere in a remote spot a column of white smoke stretched up in the clear sky... and you could almost hear the pipes and a slow air played by Liam oFlynn. WE came down the east coast crossing the Rockies ..still the white carpet spread below.. and the sun rose again for the second time that day.. allthe way over the cascades to san Francisco.. awesome.. We spent 2 days looking around SF .. it was enough.. we saw the sights and ... also the down side.. the addicts and homeless.. so we were glad to get out on to the road.. and what a road.... highway one...white waves .. giant rollers.. all along the sandy beaches.. and te cliffs shrouded in white fog.. awesome sight...We saw the Elephant seals on the beach.. the monarch butterflies wintering over in Pacific Grove.. and we went on a whale watch to see the Grey Whales as thet migrate south to give birth in the warmer waters off Mexico.. we are both filled with the wonder of this beautiful planet we live on.. while the rest of the world north of us is gripped in the big freeze ... it is 60 to 75 here and wew are in shirt sleves... now we prepare to fly on to New Zealand on Wed. .. we will take with us the warmth and beauty of this amazing coast .. somewhere stored within for reliving on a cold winters night.. till we talk again.. all our love... Ade an Sue.. ...... ps for those who worried about Sue carrying all the luggage... yeah.. you were right.. her back gave out on day 2 .. but dont worry .. we bought her an extra bag.. so she can have one on her back.. and one in each hand.. it spreads the weight..I ll keep an eye on the situation.. ( sue says ..if you believe that .. youll believe anything..)

2005-02-01: where are they now

The moon peeped over the edge of her starry sequined black velvet hammock, as the large white bird carried us away out over the Pacific ocean ...leaving behind the wonderful Californian coast..and the Los Angeles rush hour...having survived it.. reckon I can drive anywhere on earth.......for over 12 hours we sailed above the white carpet that covers the greatest ocean on the planet...until at dawn we landed to a beautiful summers morning in the Land below the World ..... or the land of the long white cloud ... as Capt.Cook called it. The thing that came as a wonderful surprise..was the long bright summer evenings.. we were soon set.. we got a great deal on a hire car.. for 10 pounds a day.. and we set out to meet up with our friend Martin from Deal, who had just flown in from Melbourne and was going to join us for the weekend at the Auckland Folk Festival.. and we had a great time..we both got to perform and even were asked to close out a couple of sessions..... Martin with his shanties and meself with some poems and stories.. the boys from East Kent gave a good account of themselves. One night returning from the festival.. late .. 1am .. we found ourselves in heavy traffic.. and were sucked into a parade of customised cars driven by teenagers complete with loud Drum and base..bumper to bumper up the main street... nothing for it but to join them... we hadnt got baseball caps to turn round.. but Martin did have his bush hat..and we wound down the windows and turned up our stereo.. and treated them to some Happy Trails ... and Morvern Shores.. you could tell by the looks we got they were very impressed... we may have started a new trend. The last couple of days we have toured headed up Northland... taking in a Gannet colony.. the Kauri museum.. and a day walking in the Kauri forests......these huge and ancient trees ..are so impressive.. that an simple Irishman finds himself lost for words ( that must be a first I hear you say ) but I did take 5000 photographs or there abouts.. we will soon need a sherpa to carry all the film. Then to top a great day we found this place from where we send this ..... It is really Gardeners Cottage but in New Zealand.. wild wonderful garden.. with the birds singing ...and cabin bedrooms set by the pond..Sue is wandering in the orchard somewhere.. will be hard to leave...but when we do it will be for the Bay of Islands...and the open road.. Eddie Walker on the CD player.. playing "a mind to ramble " till we speak again..... not all who wander are lost.........but I better go and look for Sue .. just in case.

2005-02-11: another world it is

Well dear friends, its been another amazing week, since we spoke last...we have been in a different world..we started underground in a great cave with glow worms all over the ceiling..it was like the milky way on a winters night when you looked up...only the constant drip ..drip..of water gave the game away. We then proceeded with our volcanic trip...visiting the geysers and hot springs area of the central plateau... the top place being the hidden valley of Orekei.. where one has to get a boat across a wonderful lake to get access... huge areas of multi coloured algae in abstract patterns... like an artists pallette gone wild.. with the ever present rising steam.. and gurgling geysers as backdrop.... inspired by walking on the moon.. we headed for White Island... an active volcano.. 50 kms off the NZ coast...to walk inside the crater..( to fulfil a long held ambition ). the journey out was very rough.. never paid so much to be so sick....but the experience was out of this world.. and as we walked through this alien landscape ( camera going 15 to the dozen)...a miasma of steam and bright yellow sulphur on the air....we felt connected to the great processes that have formed this world of ours. Needing a break from volcanic dust and the vapours of hell... we headed to Whirinaki forest.. a superb example of pristine original podacarp forest..we both were bowled over... the huge Podacarps ( some 1000years old or more) with millions of tree ferns underneath... the song of the tui...and the incessant noise of insects.. again took us back to a time when the Earth was covered with such wonders... Sue had said in California that she was changing her religion to Jellyfish ( when we saw the red lion tailed jellyfish.. they were something else... why does anything have to be that beautiful?.. ) then when we saw the giant Kauris in Northland she decided to change her religion to Kauri... and yes youve guessed it... in the podacarp forest she invoked the feminine perogative.... and changed her mind.. yes its got to be Podacarp...( for now !) We then decided to return to the world of the Volcano... and headed for Tongariro.. to do the Tongariro crossing.. an 8 hour walk ( considered one of NZ s great walks) which climbs up and between and along the rims of three great volcaoes... the climb up is fairly tough..we were a little worried.. but we gave a good account of ourselves and could keep up with the younger and more athletic climbers... the views are superb as you climb... ( takes your mind off the sore knees ..) but when we hit the cloud layer the temp. dropped dramaticly.. as did our visabillity... and we held hands as we skirted one of the narrow pathways on the rim of red crater... winds of 30 to40 miles an hour trying to push us over.. as we peered into the white mist...... but it was ..as ever ...all worth it ...as we dropped down to spectacular views over the next ridge.. it was again one hell of a day...we nurse sore feet as I write but it has given us the confidence to maybe tackle the climb to the summit of Mount Tarrinaki next...( the spirtual mountain of the Mauri )...its another 8 hour climb but up to the snow capped peak..and we keep thinking we will never be fitter than we are now... so lets try...... For the first time this week neither of us knew what day of the week it was ...or what the date was... its taken a month.. but we really feel we are travelling.... .....all that is in front of us ....is the road...all that is above us ...is the sky...all that we left behind us.. is within us.. yes ..we carry you all with us in spirit and think of you all... on we go.. not all who wander are lost... planxty on the tape deck...the sun bursts from behind a cloud. the world is filled with light.....this is the life.... Ade and Sue. Well dear friends, its been another amazing week, since we spoke last...we have been in a different world..we started underground in a great cave with glow worms all over the ceiling..it was like the milky way on a winters night when you looked up...only the constant drip ..drip..of water gave the game away. We then proceeded with our volcanic trip...visiting the geysers and hot springs area of the central plateau... the top place being the hidden valley of Orekei.. where one has to get a boat across a wonderful lake to get access... huge areas of multi coloured algae in abstract patterns... like an artists pallette gone wild.. with the ever present rising steam.. and gurgling geysers as backdrop.... inspired by walking on the moon.. we headed for White Island... an active volcano.. 50 kms off the NZ coast...to walk inside the crater..( to fulfil a long held ambition ). the journey out was very rough.. never paid so much to be so sick....but the experience was out of this world.. and as we walked through this alien landscape ( camera going 15 to the dozen)...a miasma of steam and bright yellow sulphur on the air....we felt connected to the great processes that have formed this world of ours. Needing a break from volcanic dust and the vapours of hell... we headed to Whirinaki forest.. a superb example of pristine original podacarp forest..we both were bowled over... the huge Podacarps ( some 1000years old or more) with millions of tree ferns underneath... the song of the tui...and the incessant noise of insects.. again took us back to a time when the Earth was covered with such wonders... Sue had said in California that she was changing her religion to Jellyfish ( when we saw the red lion tailed jellyfish.. they were something else... why does anything have to be that beautiful?.. ) then when we saw the giant Kauris in Northland she decided to change her religion to Kauri... and yes youve guessed it... in the podacarp forest she invoked the feminine perogative.... and changed her mind.. yes its got to be Podacarp...( for now !) We then decided to return to the world of the Volcano... and headed for Tongariro.. to do the Tongariro crossing.. an 8 hour walk ( considered one of NZ s great walks) which climbs up and between and along the rims of three great volcaoes... the climb up is fairly tough..we were a little worried.. but we gave a good account of ourselves and could keep up with the younger and more athletic climbers... the views are superb as you climb... ( takes your mind off the sore knees ..) but when we hit the cloud layer the temp. dropped dramaticly.. as did our visabillity... and we held hands as we skirted one of the narrow pathways on the rim of red crater... winds of 30 to40 miles an hour trying to push us over.. as we peered into the white mist...... but it was ..as ever ...all worth it ...as we dropped down to spectacular views over the next ridge.. it was again one hell of a day...we nurse sore feet as I write but it has given us the confidence to maybe tackle the climb to the summit of Mount Tarrinaki next...( the spirtual mountain of the Mauri )...its another 8 hour climb but up to the snow capped peak..and we keep thinking we will never be fitter than we are now... so lets try...... For the first time this week neither of us knew what day of the week it was ...or what the date was... its taken a month.. but we really feel we are travelling.... .....all that is in front of us ....is the road...all that is above us ...is the sky...all that we left behind us.. is within us.. yes ..we carry you all with us in spirit and think of you all... on we go.. not all who wander are lost... planxty on the tape deck...the sun bursts from behind a cloud. the world is filled with light.....this is the life.... Ade and Sue.

2005-02-18: The Goblin Forest

You know, sometimes you go somewhere for one reason and find you were meant to be there for a different one... ah.. so it was when we arrived to climb Mt Taranaki ( the spirtual mountain for the Mauri ) and found it with its warm white fluffy Aran sweater on ...protecting it from the cold... wet.. east wind ..that wrapped around its peaks...long white skirts flowed down its slopes ..beneath which the edges of green forests were just visible..there we thought ..at least a walk... we entered through a steep staircase that wound its way down into a ravine of ferns and mosses that made Muckross in Kerry look like small potatoes..soon we were lost in a place that defied all conection to the world as we know it. Tall grasses reached forward as if to catch our words.. or was it to ask..... what have you brought us.. brought us... " only a poem" only some words.. I replied. The words in a foreign tongue drifted through the clearing... " resist not the power of magic, but yield to its wonder and spell, ..for underneath all of our noses theres a world where the littlefolk dwell......" as if taking notice and perhaps in acceptance ...of this small token..shafts of sunlight lit the forest floor of the goblin forest..we wandered through pathways of green carpeted moss..past cavernous openings beneath old tree roots.. each containing small mininture fern gardens..beautifully tended .then on up staircases made with lateral rootlets all filled in with green moss....overhead branches were drapped in excessive verdant frippery which gently waved in the breeze..like the tattered sails of an old ship that has been marooned on a foreign shore for manys the year...the main trunks were all wrapped in the emerald coatings... which at times broke out in large bulbous protuberenses that were rhythmicly spaced throughtout the branches....the calling of bell birds.. and the ever present dances of the fantails accompanied us as we went...tip toeing..in awe.. and then when the forest had yielded up its last photo ..the mist descended and we found ourselves on the path outside the forest.. the last vestiges of that green wonderland receeded into the mist that had drawn its soft curtains around it.. and as if a portal had closed we made our way in silence back to our car... as we drove away.. we put.. Sean Ryan on the tapedeck.. an Irish slow air ..on the whistle seemed the only possible ..response.... we had not climbed but we had been somewhere higher.. high.. high..the sort of place that mountains only look up to..........we came ..we saw.......

2005-02-27: On the Edge

We hope you are enjoying the electronic postcards..or the Irish Photography as Sue calls it... if for some the filtration is a little too purple..then there is always the Spam filter I suppose. Well you wont be surprised to hear we have crossed over to the other side...no ..not Madame Petulenka and the spirit world... but South Island. We crossed over on the edge of a great storm.... giant complete rainbow over Wellington harbour as we left...and we arrived in Picton.. to an amazing sunset...the whole sky on fire..a good omen we hoped. Our first port of call ...was a mad dash to Kaikoura...to go on a whale trip..they are yes.. On THe EdGe...of a great deep ocean trench there ..so whales can be seen all year... We saw 3 great Sperm whales.. but the highlight 4 us was... a pod of 200 plus ..dusky dolphins ...all performing and leaping out of the water..superb. We returnrd north to travel the island in an anti..clockwise direction. We walked part of the Quenn Charlotte track... on the edge of woodland and beaches...small coves..with the laughing crystal waters pulsing to the music of the shore...the slow steady flow of a billion broken sea shells rushing to meet a watery embrace..we paused in the cool breeze of a South Island morning..to stare into a canvas of pure blue..the horizon lost in a faint haze...and only some white streaked sponge marks..in an otherwise azure sky... it was like looking at a huge Rothko painting..... in fact our whole week has been on the edge.... of great beaches.. as we also walked part of the Abel Tasman walk...along some of the best beaches I ve ever seen...had to buy some new walking boots... eh... dont that show the pace....first pair wore out in 6 weeks... on the plus side... the flab falls off too...so fighting fit...we made our way to Farewell spit...Capt Cook named it farewell as it was the last thing he saw as he left...it is 38 kms of sand swirling out into the Tasman sea...where the sand from the streams in the southern alps is finally laid down... it is the place that many Artic birds migrate to... and the wildlife was somethind else... yes it really was on the edge ....of the world as we know it...huge sand dunes...90 feet high...so we ran down the front face.... laughing and tumbling like small children... God ...its good to be young............. other sites this week ...have been the old gold fields in the Kaurangi Nat Park... really on the edge... those were tough men... some lived in caves... they even held dances....in giant caves........... we found no gold...but loads of quiet....We are now around the other side of that same park in the Oparara basin..... which really is on the edge of the known world....so remote.....but again...huge caves.. some 200 mtrs long..good photos we hope...time will tell... Being on the edge... strange things happen..like our hotel owner...also owns the local radio station...so last night we did the Irish broadcast,,.. and again tonight...irish tales to the west coast of New Zealand...its been another wonderful week...a small poem to finish.......In silence we sat by the water.....rippling silver lapped low on the shore...and a host of mercurial dancers..displayed to the wading birds stroll..................for one instant in the eternal weaving...at the edge of a lacy white line...through eons and eons eroding...great mountains to powder so fine..........Each, but a spark in the fire of creation...one atom in a world filled with sand........just a speck in the far greater picture....where the waves and the light meet the land.

2005-03-04: More from New Zealand

Hi Everyone, Ade is having a week off so the e mail style and its content will be rather different. First of all a big thank you for all your e mails - its great to hear from you and to know whats going on in England. Now some different news from NZ - besides the landscape and the delights of the natural world we've been struck by how individualistic many New Zealanders are and how unafraid they are to express it through buildings and vehicles. Let me tell you about Paddy Gillhooley and his amazing red and yellow safari truck. Paddy runs trips along Farewell Spit, a 35km long spit of dunes and sand that stretches out into the sea off the north western tip of the South island and is the second generation of his family to have done so. He runs several trucks but the best one and the one that we went on, is an ancient home-converted bedford lorry, painted red and yellow with seats from a coach or train welded onto its floor and a smart covering of carpet on the walls. It had a rusty but stout set of steps that pull down to allow passengers out, but the best thing of all was his air conditioning system - this is a section of wire mesh between the cab and the back of the truck. When you wanted the air conditioning off you had to slide an old piece of metal across the mesh and fix it with gaffa tape! Wonderful stuff! We should also share our experience of Rongo with you. Rongo means peace and is the name of a hostel we stayed in, also in the north of South Island, in a tiny, end of the world sort of place called Karamea. Rongo is owned by Paul, a tall Australian with dreadlocks and bare feet(he does put on his wellies when it is raining) who gave up being a journalist in japan to lead a different sort of life in Nz. The hostel is painted bright rainbow colours and the shed out the back is the home of Karamea radio station and is next to the delightful organic herb and vegetable garden, which was designed and planted by a volunteer. Another volunteer built a most beautiful cactus garden as he had been inspired by Pauls vision of the place - ultimately he wants to create an artists retreat and there is already plenty of evidence of artists work on the hostel walls. We had a great time at Rongo. Normally its young people that have been our companions in most hostels but at Rongo it was a large party of octogenerian walkers that dominated the kitchen, tried to nick your butter and made loads of noise! On the second day that we were there it rained solidly all day and no-one could walk for very long, so in the afternoon Ade was invited to entertain everyone with a storytelling session - having already 'starred' on Karamea radio the previous day with 'the web of life'. It was much appreciated by young and old alike and a jamieson at the local tavern over the road was the fee. In the evening(it was still raining) Ade ,on hostel guitar got together with one of the walkers who played button accordion and we had quite a sing song ending up with a new years eve type Auld Lang Syne. One of the old ladies said she couldnt remember when she had enjoyed herself so much. Ade is so good at bringing people together and although the young people didnt sing (too young to know the tunes) they all stayed to listen and were full of smiles and handshakes at the end. It was great - reminded us of eveings in East Kent. I'm writing this whille Ade is flying over Mt Cook and the Franz Joseph glacier in a helicopter - I opted not to go as, either I would have closed my eyes all the time or deliberately avoided looking down!! So not much point really. Anyway the shots from up there should be amazing and will hopefully enhance a future slide show. Meanwhile hope the snowdrops and crocuses are pushing through the snow back in England and reminding you all that spring cant be far away. All love and best wishes Sue and Ade(when he comes down to earth)

2005-03-06: Misty eyed

As the last stars were fading....we crept quietly out of our hostel trying not to disturb the poor young things ( bless em.. ) that had partied with gusto into the early hours....obviously oblivious to the fact that there was a great wonder to be seen just up the road... at first light..the reflections of Mt Cook and Mt Tasman would grace the perfectly still waters of Lake Matheson.........In that hour of the long shadows...we made our way through the forest...to the edge of that glacial bowl to glimpse ..that echo of the ancient soul of the long receded glacier in the mirrored surface........ bell birds, tui and kea calling in the chill dawn air...added to the the magical atmosphere ...as with quickened heart beats and much anticipation we reached the waters edge....just in time.......for there...in the acendancy of the new day....the perfectly symmetrical composition of mountains and reflection filled the complete still surface.....all worth the effort of an early start. For us it was the final piece in the jigsaw...for...over the previous few days...we had walked up to the terminal edges of both Franz Joseph and Fox glaciers....photographed them and the valleys from every conceivable angle...including ..what was for me one of the most incredible things Ive ever done in my life...photographed them from above....when the previous day at first light..Id taken a helicopter flight over the same glaciers...then hovering by the summits of Mt Cook and Mt Tasman...before landing high up on the glacier at the neve line...where it is more than 300 mtrs deep....awesome as a word dosnt do it justice...yes...it was yet another one of those moments when a Blarney stone acquainted Irishman was totally lost for words....but hopefully the photos will say it all. We were grateful that the promised deluge from the approaching depression had not yet arrived....It was not till we started to head south to the Haast pass that the heavens finnally opened After weeks of searing heat The water fell ..all.in a sheet And after a break of...half an hour We had a most refreshing shower Drizzle...and then a mist...so thin Till at last....the rain set in. ( The early settlers had a verse in this vein ) They also use... If you can see the mountains...it means its going to rain...and if you cant see the mountains it means ...its already raining... a saying that I believe started life in the West of Ireland. But we were not dismayed or downhearted...no...for the mountains took on..that superb quality of steeply rising grey green edges ..... that disappear into the white haze....and the hillsides roared with the sound of cascading waterfalls....the poor camera was red hot..with button pushing...if not a little soggy... for it proved a veritable nightmare trying to keep it dry....we dug out the waterproof gear we had so laboriously carried around for the last couple of months...and with raindrops running down our smiling faces...we walked the dripping forests...celebrating the life giving properties of the downpour that makes this part of the world such a special place...if other people have told you that this is the most beautiful place on earth...they probally ...like us...had summer jobs with the New Zealand tourist board. We now ...head to Milford and Doubtful Sounds..some of the wettest places on the planet...so no doubt...plastic bags.. and rain...will feature much over the next couple of weeks.....home from home for a lad from the Emerald Isle ..I hear you say...well ..no doubt it will all come out in the wash........Till we talk again...all our love... Ade and Sue

2005-03-15: Happy St Patrick's Day

Tis a strange thing.... but it seems that down this end of the world...the role played by the Irish Leprechaun..in the formation of the natural world ...has been lost in the mists of time...so its been our job this week...of all weeks ...to try and set the record straight. Once upon a time..ah...a long time ago it was..as well......there was a particular wee man.................................

He was one foot two...took a half size shoe...and he jumped as high as a flea..(what a thing )
he had bags of gold...was a thousand years old....and he went by the name of....Mac Spring

Now the size of the man..he could sit in yer hand...he could sleep in the bowl of me hat..
For as wee folk go...he was tall..dont ye know...long n thin....not short and......fat.

He'd a large book of spells...he knew others as well...he could magic you off to the moon...
make you swim like a fish...or grant you a wish..make christmas or birthdays come soon...

Now for all of his life..just himself...and the wife....they lived near their home in West..Cork
with no yen to travel...lest their magic unravel...till one day..they met up with a ....stork..

Yes..this elegant bird..was well travelled I heard..he'd once been to somewhere down...under..
well to be quite ...specific...twas below the ...Pacific...to a place filled with..fire...flies.and..thunder

So Mac Spring...twitched his nose..yes..thats how the spell goes..and he landed outside.Wagawaga
But the heat n the flies..hit him straight in the eyes..and blindly he started to......stagger.

Not seeing where he's going...he fell without knowing...right into the path of a....roo
who thought..poor blind little ..Joey..but help I will show..he......and into the pouch..he must..go

Mac Spring..got a fright..twas as black as the night...he yelled all curses n spells ..of his knowing
but try as he might..the old pouch held him tight..there was nowhere else he was ....going

So..he started to BOUNCE..gave each leap..every ounce..Mama Roo thought twas something she'd
eaten
but with reflex reaction she followed the action...and soon became known for her .....leaping

( I can tell you ...it soon caught on.....)

For if each step's 30 foot....for all of your route...then yer distance..is 30 times shorter
Even Qantas (the buggers) put a Roo on the tail of each plane..to make long haul flights even
shorter

So...its the Mac Spring in the Roo..that allows it to do...all the bouncing..and leaping..all over
Its all true...dont ye know...now..would I lie...NO !..but ask me again...when Im ...sober.......

And that wont be till a few days after St Paddys Day...( we've got the headache pills in....)
Look have a good one where ever you are ........up there in the world above...or down here in the lands below...we will speak again soon............Ade n Sue

2005-03-25: The leaving of New Zealand

Well, I suppose the day had to come....but as we are just hours away from leaving this wonderful place...there is a fair deal of mixed emotion about.........but before all that...let me tell you what weve been up to these last few weeks. From Wanaka...we did the 50k drive on gravel into the middle of Mt Aspiring Nat Pk. to walk the Rob Roy Glacier walk...truly one of the greatest one day walks anywhere on earth...climbing tru beech forest....rushing streams and waterfalls for company...the steep climb comes out above the tree line...to wonderful alpine meadows....with the glacier...literally hanging above ones head...well on the peak ..next door...but higher up...so it appears suspended above you...with a multitude of sparkling waterfalls rushing down the slopes...this is
breathtaking...theres been so much of that...that theres hardly any breath left.!

We then proceeded to Fiordland....Milford Sound and Doubtful
Sound...and what more can one say....Truly deserve their status as World Heritage Areas...equal to the Grand Canyon..or any of the other great places..on this world of ours.....we found that using the word...awesome .....so many times a day...it lost its meaning....so we now talk about...Awe--Gasms....Milford in the pouring rain....shafts of light playing on the water tru small breaks in the clouds..rainbows...the towering mountains...in their misty grey green winter coats....topped by freshly fallen snow...every form of water that it can take...all in a single shot....(took a day to dry the camera lenses out. Then theres the road south to Te Anau....stunning scenery with Keas ( the large mountain parrott) for company .......one perched on the roof of the car.. and with trhe window wound down...Sue watched as he cocked his ear..listening to Cold Blow and the Rainy Night..(by Planxty)...dont expect he'd ever heard anything like it before...but Planxty have a new fan down under. We did an overnight visit to Doubtful Sound......on a small boat..just 6 of us.. (much better than the tour type boat we thought)...for 27 hours we sailed the coves and inlets of this AMAZING place....with bottlenose dolphins for companions..we saw sunsets beyond compare..played out on dark silver water..that was more like mercury..with burnished edges to the lapping waves...and a sunrise to die for..well as a photographer...Orange cloud just hanging above the water...we were completely enveloped in mist.. ( poor lenses again ! ) ...yes more Awe--gasms......Look we will just have to show you the shots when we return....and there will be an Art production...to be called Passages..with the poems written as we travel.

In 1896 the sister of my Great grandmother came to New Zealand to live...and we made contact with my cousins...and spent a wonderful night staying at Bill and Joy's as they invited more of my cousins over.....( My dear Mum ..bless her...would have loved to have heard all about them...and seen the family resemblances......and since then we have met another cousin Brenda..and Mike her husband...really has added to our trip. But for our last days here we returned to the mountains...to Mt Cook (Aoraki ) and walked the Hooker valley..another superb walk. We climbed the hills above Lake Tekapo....and finally yesterday walked in the Podacarp forrests north of Geraldine...we have so loved the forests here...there was a heaviness in the heart...if not a little water in the eye....but we will return........and so its on to the big country over the water...red deserts..blue skies.. and heat...( we have been warned ) we start in Melbourne..staying with Sues first cousin who she has not seen since they were 18 ( back in east Kent)..so we are really looking forward to that.. and then on to Tasmania...dont know if Internet outlets will be so readily available there...especially when we cross deserts for 3 weeks...but we will stay in touch when we can.........Farewell to the land of the long white cloud..Kia Ora...and G'day to Australia....We are glad to hear that spring is sprung in the far north.....and expect the daffybells are noddling in the windy gusters...love Ade n Sue

2005-04-08: Under Tasmanian skies

Yes tis us in VanDiemans land, where many of my countrymen ended up..well one way or another... It was very interesting to visit Port Aurthur and get some idea what the convicts lot was like...but thats a story for another time. We spent Easter with Cherile ( Sue's first cousin) and Mark. (and family).in their beautiful home...surrounded by bush...with all the native wildlife in evidence.. and with their wonderful hospitality ( just what poor travellers were in need of after a few months on the road ) we had a great weekend.. ( Thank you guys ..we wont leave it 30 years till next time ). So we headed on to Tassie...we hired a camper van for this and the next leg...and a good move it was too...to be out in the landscape..parked up at dawn and dusk...with the best skies ever seen ( well probally since the dark skies of west Cork..seen with the sharp vision of youth ) ...we had worried that New Zealand would be hard to follow...but Tassie had much to offer...and stunning in its own way...as per before...we followed the trail of national parks and world heritage sites..( Tasmania has 40 % of its land reserved in parks) and superb they are too. We visited Mt Field..where the tallest flowering trees are..nearly 100 metres high..( swamp gums..or Eucalythus Regnans.) ..noble princes whose heads seem to touch the skies above..as they stand up straight....in their stocking feet( peeling bark). and the subtle colours of their strong straight limbs dazzling all who stop and stare...( think herself is in danger of a another religion change )..we walked next day on Timbs track...in the Franklin river area...and found more wonderful rain forests to drool over....walks in St Clair and Cradle Mountains exited us further...and the day walk around Dove Lake proved to be a gem..( a plantswomans heaven ..if you get my drift ) But the highlight would have to be Freycinet Nat Park...with red rock to rival Utah...Silver beaches to rival The Able TAsman...and bird life to rival....well anywhere. Camera working overtime again...yes we restocked with film in Hobart ( once known as Sullivans Cove by the way )..I was down to my last roll..and getting a bit twitchy....but all is well for a time. Our final destination was The Tasman Nat Pk...with its stunning Cliffs... Blowholes...Arches...and long empty beaches...heaven...we just sat and wrote or stared through lenes. or just soaked it in...we parked our van by the sparkling waters and watched the sun go down ...and come up again in the morning..Have tried working on a few comic pieces.(the continuing tale of me Aunty Pat )..but in this beautiful place...photos and words to go with them seems to dominate..and all ones creativity is pulled in that direction. We have a camper van again for the next week as we drive The Great Ocean Road ( Melbourne to Adelaide ) it is meant to be one of the greatest drives on earth..so..camera is ready to go....even if we would linger here another hour or two...we have today reached the half way point of our journey...its good to know that there is as much still to come. After the Great Ocean Road...we will be doing a 3 week trip across the
continent...South to North..by 4 wheel drive..little roads...just red deserts..blue skies..and if Martin is right..FLIES..and more FLIES.. and probally no internet access..so yes... you will get a break from our ramblings...and so till we speak again..here are some ramblings to keep you going..............................


We listened amid rushing air............
Hearing the call of the wild.............
Where the wind made free...with the leafy tree
And the yielding bush...in the face of the storm
fell in twisted form...on a bended knee
............in reverence.

And we looked to eternal skies...
with bright eyes wild...
watching silver shafts...like javlins pierce
the dark recesses of the mountain pass
and by their light and form...were moved to tears
.............in reverence.

For we felt with an open heart....
the call of the wild.......
with a longing deep for the forest green
where the mosses hung like tribal banners
and fern strewn floors...with dewdrops gleamed
.............in reverence.

And we soared with the soul.....
on the spiral climb to the wild....
alpine meadows...where the small flowers peeped
at proud snowclad peaks...and craggy spires
There the watchful hawk with sharp eyes sweept
......the hills...in reverence.

And we laughed in the face...
of the running wild....
sparkling singing streams...that deftly flowed
through gorge and falls..in sheeted drapes
to the turquoise lakes below
...that shone....in reverence.

And we mused ..on moon deprived nights....
out there in the wild......
on the billion stars...glinting like precious gems
emblazoned on that milky highway in the sky
Ah...the wonder of the Universe....
..and we were filled....with...REVERENCE.

2005-04-26: beyond all expectation

Greetings from a town called Alice.....yes 1000 photographs later we are half way across on our continental crossing........when we last spoke,we were about to start the Great Ocean Rd....all the way from Melbourne to Adelaide....and what a road...great coastal scenery..formations such as the 12 apostels...the bay of martyrs..etc..with awesome waves rolling in off that great southern ocean.. we continued along the coast taking in the Coorong Nat Park..all 147 kms of it ...fantastic for wildlife....one of the great wetlands of the world...from our camper van parked by the waters edge each night...we watched large flocks of pelicans adorn the shimmering water with their graceful slow landings. And then on to Adelaide ( which by the way is a beautiful city...if cities are your thing,wonderful gallery and museum..one of the best botanic gardens we have visited....and the most amazing food market anywhere.) Here we picked up our 4 x4 tour...starting with 3 days on Kangaroo Island...another haven for wildlife..and superb rock formations...and our first experience of sleeping out under the stars in Swags ( canvas bag with mattress..which you slip your sleeping bag inside...and all toasty warm...spend your nights starring at the milky way) I must admit we did have some reservations about this trip...roughing it across a continent...especially as we guessed we would be 40 years older than anyone else ( yes some were as young as 16 ) But we need not have worried...it has turned out to be one of the highlights our trip....yes beyond all expectations... our tour guide is a 28 year old local....with a passion for the natural world....who gets us out of our swags at 5 in the morning...to walk us in starlight to the edge of a gorge in the desert...to see the sun rise in the most amazing places....this has not been your conventional tour...we have driven on the old supply roads or tracks....across dried up salt lakes...sometimes camping by the frozen white salt patterns in moonlight...other times by the oldest river banks on earth..( the Finke ) where rivers are still following the same course after 100 million years....we have sat by our campfires...to the sound of the didge....and a few irish tales and poems thrown in ( yes nothing like a captive audience )...walked on the fossil shorelines of Gondwana...perfectly preserved in the rock....we have walked in huge impact craters...way out in the desert...and of course visited and walked all the way ariund Uluru and Kata Tjuta...sunrise and sunset.....in truth it has been the most wonderful experience. Guess what...Yes Herself has invoked the feminine perogative yet again and changed her religion...this time its REd Rocks with Yellow Spinifex and Turquise Gums.....the plant life out in the desert is just unbelievable....nothing like the barren wilderness one expected...there are incredible adaptations everywhere you look. So we have a 2 day break here in Alice...to wash...and wash....and wash...yes red dust gets under the skin...but so does this beautiful land...and then its on again north to Darwin...via more desert wonders and then to Kakadu ( one of the worlds great wetlands...and sites of native art...rock art etc....we will speak again from Queensland in a couple of weeks....we will visit Sues cousin in Brisbane for a few days...they may not know us....having gone feral ......our hair has that Henna look...our skin a shade of rosy red...our luggage ...the look of 1000 years in an Egyptian tomb....and hard pushed to tell us apart from the local inhabitants. But there is a bright look to our eyes...like those that have just fallen in love...this is an amazing continent....on with our rambles...and here is some more rambling to be going on with......
IN a world as old
as time itself
red ochre soils
whose youth was spent
dusted the tall defiant gums
that clung to the rocks with roots finespun
and born of vermillion copper fire
the shadows stretched...as that orb rose higher
amid rounded forms of spinifex lawn
we stood transfixed
in a scarlel dawn.

And there we bathe
in the ruby glow
of an outback daybreak
pulsing slow
the frozen ripples of Gondwanan seas
pressed to our feet...how time does tease
For older slower rythyms still
this ancient landscape seem to fill
in rocky gorge safe from desert harm
tall cycads and jurasic palm
survive from the reptilian age
and bring to life...past history's page
we trembled to that slow slow beat
brief lives in passage where the eons meet
and immersed in the life's rich blood
of that RED RED CORE
were likewise...born again..once more.

2005-05-04: coast to coast

Yes...tis us again...sipping a long cold drink by the water...in humid tropical Darwin... havin made it all the across this amazing lump of land known as Oz.....we made the ocean this morning....some 6500 kms after leaving Adelaide...via a truly wonderful platter of delights....in landscape....birdlife...wildlife..plantlife.. nightlife ( well around the campfire with our fellow travellers ) ...and cultural activities....we now are well versed in the music of " Midnight Oil " and we have sent others off on their travels with a newfound appreciation of "Cajunologie"....." Happy Trails " and "Flook".....and swapped manys the tale around the glowing embers ....under the star studded southern night skies. Since we last spoke to your server....we have experienced the joys of some of the smallest settlements on Earth.. ....well one solitary pub...hunderds of k*s from anywhere...and other isolated outposts of the developed world...( developed in the sense that there was some tin surrounding the hole in the ground...known as a long drop) .......we washed / swam in pools under silver flowing falls in the odd unexpected oasis that sometimes appeared out of nowhere as if by magic. The highlight of the past few days....has got to be our time in Kakadu.. ( a world heritage site on two counts...and there are precious few of those on the globe...one for its global importance in wildlife habitat...the birdlife and plants in the Billabongs were stunning....and two...the simple matter of containing the incredible rock art of the oldest civilization on Earth...50,000 years of human drawings on the walls of caves and on the underhangs of ancient mounds of rock that are to be found in Kakadu and throughout Arnhem land......this is one of the oldest landscapes on the planet ...the rocks in the Arnhem escarpment are 2 or even 2 and a half..........yes.... Billion... years old believe it or no...thats half way back to the beginnings of this world of ours....and it does fell like a very old place indeed....it exudes something...( some of course would say....radiation...as these old rocks contain much Uranium ...Lead....and other toxic elements ( the Aboriginal stories of the Dreamtime recognised this and denotes some of the land as sickness places...where one should not tarry ) that aside...it is a very special place...when one looks at the tales of the Dreaming ( creation) and those red ochre drawings on the rocks...in tandem...the whole place takes on the form of a great theatre...that has been showing the same drama for millenia.....a truly profound and memorable experience. So its with red dust on our clothes and red dust in our souls that we travel on......To Brisbane tonight to stay with Peter and moya ( thats Sue"s first cousin ) for the weekend...yes we have done a series of washings to try and look clean...but that red dust just hangs in there....it will probally be with us for all time I expect. And then its on to the East coast..and the Great Barrier Reef...Rainforests...and stunning beaches...yes I know.... its dirty work....but somebodys got to do it ! Our thoughts are with you...up there in the far north...or wherever else you be on this blue spinning ball we all call home.

2005-05-24: leaving kicking and screaming

tis us again.....in a state of sunshine, clear crystal waters......and the big big Blue.....yes northern Queensland has been all of the things the travel posters say.....and then some. We left Darwin as we last spoke.....but not without some excitment....Sue and another Swedish girl encountered a peeping Tom in the Ladies/shower......so we blockcaded him in his room till the police arrived and dealt with the poor lad..........he was lucky that more than his eyes didnt pop out.....but it provided a bit of entertainment for all on the way to the airport........not knowing that we had much more entertainment to come. For those of you........that are related to / or have worked with / or are are friends with...( delete as appr )... with Sue.....willl most liklely not be at all surprised.....to hear she was picked for the explosives check on our flight to Brisbane........yes ,,,,the works....from fingernails...to watch strap....her bags were hoovered out....( we were very glad they removed some more of that red dust of the outback......as we going to visit Peter and Moya ) but yes Im sure youre thinking....well a more likely suspect there isnt this side of the moon........we could only laugh.....I think some half eaten Mars bars...and some old paper tissues were taken off for further inspection.......so there could be more on this tale....yet to come. Then to Brisie.....and it was great to see the relatives......and they took us up the coast for the weekend......and showed us places called Margate...Sandgate...and Shorncliffe...well they made us feel so much at home....especially as it poured all weekend !!!!!! we did have a laugh ( seriously Guys...thank you so much for a wonderful time....we really enjoyed it....and was just what we needed ) So it was back on the road after that....and what a road....for we headed up to Daintree and Cape Tribulation.where Capt Cook put the big hole in the boat and had to put ashore to do the repairs....he said thats where all his trials and tribulations began....and of course the name stuck....it is the most amazing place....Australias jewel in the crown...not like the rest of the continent..but wet n tropical....exotic and full of the most wonderful life forms.....like cassawaries and crocs...so we got out there walking and soon were up to our knees in the most wonderful Tropical
rainforest.....butterflies as big as birds.......exotic bird life.....the most wonderful plants.......and the 40 shades of green that you may think are associated with a different part of the world......for up here....they get that tropical rain that makes for lush growth.....and
diversity.......the forests are a joy to explore....the sound of frogs....birdsong...and travellers going ohh.....ahhh.....did you see that...and oh my God isnt it great. and then theres the tabllelands behind.....again all green and lush...looking for the most part like English farmland....where you can buy 130 acres and a home with verandas on all sides for about 100,000 pounds....so we bought at least a couple on our way.......and if it wasnt for you kind folks back home ...we may well have proceeded with the purchase. Then we hit the coast where the forests come down to meet the sea...and if this isnt the most wonderful bit of sea ......then Im an Irishman....for the Great Barrier Reef is one of the greatest natural wonders of the world....and we have loved every minute of it....neither of us had been snorkelling before but we have both had a go and love it so much that we keep going back for more... so mamy different types of coral....polyps waving their tentacles in the gentle current....Butterfly fish and Fusillers...drifting slowly by....giant clams...several feet wide....huge wrasse and parrotfish ....weaving between your legs...and a thousand electric blue tiddlers....right in front of yer nose....captivated...is the only word...to be sure.....weve seen inner reefs and outer reefs and numerous islands along the coast.....looking in on a different world is such a privilege ( ******* hell .... now we know how that poor lad in the ladies loo in Darwin felt ) We head on to Fiji next.....and have decided to go island hopping....down the Yasawas....an island chain.....spending a couple of nights on each island.....there will not be any internet so the next you hear of us ....will be when we return to Los Angeles ( thats if our explosives expert is allowed in).....or if the lying about under palm trees on remote island beaches is too much to bear....yes...I know its filthy work....but we will give it our best effort.....then the final leg of our journey will be the passage up through the states of Arizona..Utah ( where we meet up with daughter Anna for a week to walk some of those great parks)...Colorado and finally to
Yellowstone...to complete our passages on either side of this great blue ocean........we will speak again....and of course see many of you before too many weeks are out....thats if we make it to the airport here......for we know weve got to travel on.....but its been so fantastic....that we are both dragging each other kicking and screaming towards the check
in......savouring our last bit of being here.......thank you Australia.. and thank you to all those great people we met here too.....more souls to carry with us as we go.. our hearts are full and theres more water in the eye..........Ok ....im coming......Im coming........just one more minute looking at an Australian sunset.............If we linger another minute we may hear those fatal words ....the flight to Fiji is now closed.......Oh Bugger..

2005-06-18: Letter from America

Well howdy folks,its been some time.....but believe it or not.....this is one of the hardest places to find internet access....probally because everyone has their own at home.......so unlike Aus/NZ..where every little cafe is on line....here we have had to wait till we hit the big places with library access.We are here in Boulder, Colorado....enjoying some cultural activities for a change. But lets fill in the gaps........Fiji......ah yes Fiji......Milton in his blindness...God bless him.....neglected to tell us that paradise could be regained ....if you take the Yasawa flyer ( fast cat ) to the end of the Yasawa island chain.......where there is nothing else except......sand....clear blue water....palm trees.........great coral reefs...( yes more floating and looking through masks ).....and a bure ( small grass hut at the waters edge.....with a sand floor surrounding a square of lino....on which stood our bed and mozzy net....and on the bed every day...fresh flowers )......any arrival or departure on the island.....is accompanied by the most wonderful South Sea singing + guitar/ uke and drum....and it was truly the most woderful place to lie in a hammock and read /write.......the only places to go......were the other side of the island.better known to you movie buffs as the Blue Lagoon...yes this was where the movie was made.......or Lau's teahouse ( open 24 hours we were told.....some of those would be on monday....some on tuesday...etc) where Lau would make you a cup of tea and maybe a slice of her home made choc cake.......in between making coral jewelery from bits gathered on the beach.........the tea house had the most wonderful floor of deep sand.....and while you sat on the most basic wooden seat and table you can imagine......your toes running through the fine sand........you could stare at the the greatest abstract painting on earth....for out the glassless window......was a square of superb turquise and blue bands .....all the way to some distant horizon....look need I say more.....you get the picture. The next picture is a littte harder to make sense of.....landing in L.A.and coping with the rush hour traffic....we have been so long away from large places......and living at a slower pace......that we really felt like screaming.......but after a night in a motel.....we headed off to see the great Sequoia ( the Sherman Tree......the largest living thing on earth)....and our sanity was restored somewhat.......we drove to Las Vegas via the Mohave desert.....where daughter Anna was flying out to meet us......and after losing a few dollars.....yes only a few !.....we set off for the most amazing week of National Parks across Southern Utah.......from Bryce Canyon to Arches.....a different park each day.......the red rocks......the vast canyons.....the early rock drawings of the Anasazi on rock panels.....the land of the sleeping rainbows......using an excessive amount of slide film of course......which is becoming harder and harder to find........How quaint they say...still using that old Victorian technology........it was great to travel with Annie for the week....and it was with a few tears in the eye that we saw her off.....back to her life in Chicago. We headed up into Wyoming...to The grand Tetons Nat Park......and Yellowstone......where of course at altitude.....we were able to experience Winter....and walk in deep snow.....and further down the slopes.....SPRING !!!!.....yes Sue had missed the spring flowers of home.......but the Great American West.....has the most wonderful display of spring flowers you did ever see.....vast plains of dark blue Larkspurs.......meadows of Lupins and mules ears....wayside edges of daisies and flowering yucca......the list goes on .....it was a great sight to behold. But like the swallows we see on their migration north to the land of the summer sun.......we have begun to turn our thoughts to the journey home......yes only days away......of course we are excited at seeing all our friends and family again......but life on the road has been the most wonderful experience....and we would wish it on all of you.....who are so inclined...........we will send you all one more e mail on our return....with our observations etc......till then its off to see some live music....a jewish festival....and all that this attractive town in the Rockies has to offer.....Have a nice day y'all

2005-06-30: Journeys end

So we have recovered from the jet lag........and are trying to make sense of this strange new country we find ourselves in.....there is the wonderful compensation of seeing all our family and friends......but ....yes.....a strange sense of loss....at returning to what people call the Real world.......that other real world out there in the wild....still calls daily to the heart.....and we are heading out this very day to.....find some wild stuff to walk in. And as not to be too long at home........are off to Ireland for a few days next week......its so hard to stand still. Its not till one leaves familiar shores....that new vistas are possible......and our journey provoked us to do and think about all sorts of things in a new light...........We found that we could do more than we thought when it came to walking / climbing / swimming and exploring the natural world.......and are resolved to keep up our fitness if possible. We found after all that time in some of the most wonderful national parks in the world.......that we cant live without a large garden......our fingers have been itching to get a planting.......so house hunting or garden hunting is our first priority......the countryside calls. Of course there is the small question of the volumes of film and words collected over the past six months.....to pull together into something meaningful.......but if this journey has thought us anything.....its to go out and make the most of this life....while we can. Thanks to all those wonderful people we met on this journey who enriched our lives with their kindness and friendship........thanks to all those who sent us e mails and kept reminding us of the wonderful folks we had left behind at home. Thanks to Beau....at kent folk.....who has put our whole journey on the kentfolk website ( follow link from poems /story/songs to Adrian o )....it was great to know so many travelled with us ...........what next? ......ah well thats another story.....watch tis space......till then........fellow travellers.....may our paths cross soon . Adrian and Sue

Home is where the heart is
but the heart it likes to roam
so we found it in the dessert
as atop a granite dome
and home was where the spirit soared
with the eagle on the wing
and home was where fast mountain streams
life to mighty forests bring

And home was where a single flower
filled the heart with pur delight
and home was where red sunsets
met the birth of starry nights
and home was in the sunrise
with the west wind at our back
and home was by lake lapping shores
that skirt the woodland track

And home was on the ocean
with all creatures great and small
as home is where the ivy
climbs atop the garden wall
and home is on the lonely moor
with the calling of the grouse
For home is more a planet
than the four walls of a house

For home is all those those wonders
that pervade this ball of blue
and yet this home would not be home
if I didnt mention you

For home describes those cheerful smiles
like harbour beacons after all those miles
that tells the travellers when the journey ends
Youre safe again in the arms of FRIENDS