Doug versus the volcano

The title of my post today hearkens back to a Tom Hanks movie, Joe Versus the Volcano, that Jeanne, Allie and I watched many years ago. Although I do intend to pit myself against this volcano and climb to its heights, fortunately, I do not believe myself to be dying, nor do I intend to throw myself over its rim and into its depths in order to appease the gods of the mountain, something that Joe mistakenly thought at one time was a good idea.  And let me reassure those of you who may now be concerned about Joe's wellbeing. I don't of course want to give the ending away, but be assured that it was a happy one for all concerned. Well, for Joe at least. 

Volcanic cones dot our area. I can't imagine what this land that became Auckland must have looked like when they were all active. What a hellish place it must have been. Here is a link to a map showing the sites.

https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/655-auckland-s-volcanoes

The cone I've chosen to climb today is Mt. St. John, which happens to be one of the smaller ones. I think you'll enjoy seeing the top and the surrounding city. Let's go up...

 This path turned out to be about 100 yards long and gets much steeper after you make that little corner to the right up there. 

 Here I am on top and am looking into the crater.

 There is a path than circles the rim.

 This is a shot of the far side of the crater

 These depressions must have been additional lava channels. There is another one over at the outside edge of the cone to my right. 

 My next Doug vs. the volcano will take place there, on Mt. Hobson. That's about one half mile away. 

That cone is One-Tree Hill, although since it's one tree was cut down as an act of protest some time ago, I now call it None-Tree Hill. 

I zoomed in on it for this picture. It's actually at least twice or three times as far away as Mt. Hobson is. 

This video begins and ends looking toward a fog-shrouded peak which I'm quite sure is Mt. Eden. That makes four cones that you've seen today. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCyAbrFA1AE&feature=youtu.be

 I'm heading back down. There were 64 steps down to the top of the path.

The edges of cliffs are great places to study tree roots. I feel as though I have X-Ray vision and the soil is transparent to me.    -djf

    

My ramble in Remuera

It's 8:45 Saturday morning and I've just turned into the shortcut that will take me toward the Sturges Road Train Platform. I'm going to take the 9:08 toward Britomart. 

We're pulling into Fruitvale Road and it's foggy. (and the window is dirty) 

By the time I reached Newmarket, it has cleared up, mostly. I'm looking down the South Line tracks. 

I have arrived in Remuera and have climbed to the overpass.

The sidewalks are narrow here.  The town has an 'old-fashioned' feel to it. 

I've come Remuera for a couple of reasons. First, it is the town closest to Newmarket to the South. I intend to explore more of suburbs along the Southern Line in the future. I've been to some of them already. But more importantly, I've come to Remuera because it lies between two volcanic cones. There is Mt. St. John on one side and Mt. Hobson on the other. I want to climb both of them. 

In this post, I'll be showing you shots taken in Remuera. I climbed Mt. St. John but will save those pictures for my next post. Mt. Hobson will have to wait for a bit. One adventure at a time.   

This is Mt. St. John Avenue. On one side are older, but very well kept, and undoubtedly, very expensive homes, nestled against the side of the cone. On the other side lies the campus of The Dilworth Senior School.  (high school)

Oh my. Look what I've found. That is a Thunderbird. Left-side drive. 

There are not many of these in NZ I'll bet.

That is gorgeous. 

There was a time in my life that I ached to own a Thunderbird. I settled for a Sable.  

Two driveways lead to homes farther off the avenue. 

Wow. I'll bet that's worth several million. 

This is a shot between houses showing the terraces that climb the side of Mt. St. John. This photo doesn't do it justice. It flattens it out. 

This is the beginning of the climb to the top of the Mt. St. John Cone. It's next on the agenda. 'Stay tuned.' 

 I'm back on main street in a tiny liquor store, standing in front of the racks, and marveling at their selection.  What I noticed first was the Grappa. 

I've written many times about how my early years of reading fired my imagination. When I read about the south seas islands and learned about foods like taro, breadfruit, and flying fish, I hungered to try them myself. (now I have) 
And I read Hemingway.  How could I read about Jake Barnes, the American jounalist lliving in circa 1920 Paris in The Sun Also Rises, as he sat drinking grappa with his friends, and not want to share in the experience?

I didn't buy any. That stuff is spendy, as Fred puts it.  That's about $36 U.S., but I'm glad I know where to get some if I change my mind. 

The other item up there that I was interested in is the Liquor 43. That is made only in Cartegena, Spain. Now, I can't claim to have ever read about it, but it intrigues me nonetheless. Jeanne (and McKenzie and Kim) are all fond of having, 'a little something,' on occasion, either to perfectly end a special meal, or to add to the comfort of an evening of  bright and witty conversation. (talking smart) That's only $29 U.S. As I write this I find myself weakening...

I'm back to reality at the Remura train platform.

About half-way home I spot the barest hint of a rainbow.  It's been fun rambling in Remuera.  I'll come back again with Jeanne when her knee is up to climbing the volcano.       -djf

One sunny, Saturday morning in New Lynn

I like New Lynn. It's about a 15 minute train ride from our Sturges Road platform. I think it's the largest suburb on the Western Train Line. You may remember that I've done several posts about it, due to its brick and ceramic making past.

This past Saturday I took a ride over there, just to get a little exercise. I began by walking from the train station up to the old clay quarry to see what changes had taken place there since the last time I walked by. There are dozens of apartments going up along the high end of the 40-acre site. The center and lower end are still being leveled, with big meter-diameter pipes being put into place. 

I didn't take any pictures here. 

I then made my way back to the city center. Lots was happening. My post today will show you what I saw as I stood near the War Memorial and just across the street from the mall. 
Take a look first at this short video. A group was handing out information about their upcoming festival. They had a speaker set up and were playing recorded music.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG1Iubbl7T8&feature=youtu.be

Behind the blue New Lynn Memorial Square sign with its map, that you see on the video, is the library. I made my way over there and discovered something new.

 Approaching the library.

 Check out the notice on the window. Hmmm. This is worth following up on.

Matariki refers to the Maori New Year. It can mean 'the eyes of god.' or 'little eyes.' It is also the Maori name for what we call the Pleiades Star Cluster. 
Here is a link.

https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/2322-the-matariki-star-cluster



This poster suggests that I follow the stars to the community center so let's go...

Very cool.

Nearby I noticed that one of the city's early structures is still being supported. It's been braced as you see it for quite a while. Clearly, someone wants to preserve this site, but I wonder when renovation will begin in earnest? 
Maybe I should have included this picture in my recent post of What's in a name. 

The side needs bracing too.

I'm on my way home now. I'm at the ground level bus terminal in New Lynn. It's a busy place with arrivals and departures happening continually. 

 Ah, here comes number 18. This one comes from downtown Auckland, running along K' Road, Great North Road, Grey Lynn, Point Chev and Avondale before arriving in New Lynn.  I've taken it on occasion.

I am now one level below ground and am waiting for my train. As I sit I study one of the many panels that decorate both walls of the train platform, and remember.  One day, after we had done some Christmas shopping and the boys and I were waiting for our train to arrive, we walked the full length of the platform and counted one row of panels. We found that there are 129 of them. (Yes, I know. Talk about useless information, but not really)

The boys were younger then, and multiplying 129 by four total rows and subtracting the nine panels that were missing where the water mains for the sprinkler system came in, gave the boys a 'Grandpa School' lesson for the day. 

Here comes my train. I'm going to get off in Henderson and buy some steaks for tonight. Sirloins are on sale at Aussie Butcher.      -djf

Waterfront walk

I had not walked along Auckland's waterfront for some time and so felt the urge not long ago. The day I chose was dreary, with low clouds, but improved slightly as it progressed. Here is a photo journal of my walk.

See what I mean about low clouds? That's Rangitoto of course, which is 850 feet tall. 

You saw this boat sailing past North Head in a post not too long ago. Here it is tied up. 

This is the boat we rode on during our whale/dolphin watching adventure a couple of years ago. 

Another cruise ship is in port.

This guy looks like it was just too much trouble to fly today.

The car ferry to Waiheke Island is loading.

No passengers aboard today. Not surprising, given the low cloud ceiling. (Or is the correct term cloud base?)  I was surprised that he was up at all.

 Someone has set up a portable skate-board track. 

 The Bacon Brothers are set up next door to the track and are adding a bit of color to the otherwise gloomy day.  

Speaking of color. This is also near the Bacon Brothers.  A mini-library and sun/rain shelter available for anyone strolling along the wharf. 

The needle-like top of the Sky Tower disappears. Let's look more closely at the platform...

A small group is walking.

Three couples 

I'm almost back to Britomart. Now, should I take the train or a bus home?        -djf