tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50140627956919438712024-03-05T08:03:51.451-08:00S/V MojomboUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger160125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-6667565322357029352015-03-10T15:06:00.000-07:002015-03-10T15:06:13.567-07:00That's a wrap Part 4 – by Gary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>Best Experience(s)</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>Gary:</b></span></div>
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<li>Watching my children, indeed my whole family enthused, growing and thriving as we participated in a wide range of experiences simply unavailable had we stayed at home.</li>
<li>Taking Vicki to Europe.</li>
<li>For me, as skipper, my primary concern had to be the safety of the boat and my family. The flip side of this responsibility were the feelings associated with arrival when, after a long passage, we'd make our way safely into port. I'd get quite a distinct buzz as the tension, tension that I hadn't even always registered was there, would fall away. Sadly the euphoria was often quickly replaced by fatigue (approaching landfall was often accompanied by severe sleep deprivation) but still mixed with a certain calmness and serenity. Nice!</li>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>Scariest Experience</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Gary:</span></b> A thunder storm that swept off the coast of Mozambique just a couple of days out from Richards Bay, South Africa. It was my watch and the rest of the crew were fast asleep. I'd watched the cell's fast approach and reefed way down, and put the navigation computers in the oven (oven=Faraday cage=static electricity protection – well that's the theory anyway). The front hit hard; screaming wind, armour piercing rain and deafening thunder all seemingly competing to blast our boat to extinction. The self-steering gave up and <i>Mojombo</i> careened out of control. Thunder bolts as thick as old oak trees were striking the water all around the boat. I knew we must cop a strike – it was simply impossible we wouldn't, we were right in the heart of this violent cell. </div>
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Miraculously the storm swept passed quickly, leaving us becalmed in an oily swell but absolutely intact. The crew slept on oblivious!</div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">Gary's Favourite Photos (A Captains Pick)</b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rasta-man, Grenada.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">School house, Sri Lanka.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salt works, Bonaire.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marine Iguana, Galapagos.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mojombo</i> up for urgent repairs, Christmas Day 2013, Panama.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drumming trance, Nuku Hiva Marquesas.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dunes, fog and more dunes, Namibia.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boat we first set out with,<i> Kallisto</i> in Vavau Tonga.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rainy day, Moorea Society Islands.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Having fun in the Norfolk Broads, England with Paul and Fin.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Buginese fisherman, <span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Wangi Wangi </span><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Indonesia.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Trading boats, Makassar Indonesia.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smurfs, Langkawie Malaysia.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Assembling for the Miss Samoa parade, Apia.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anchored in the lagoon, Bora Bora.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Madagascan trader departing Nosy Be.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ten of us going 'collective' in an <br />
ancient Renault taxi, Nosy Be Madagascar.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Street art, Olinda Brazil.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Christiaan Barnard heart transplant museum, Capetown South Africa.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sand art, Durban South Africa.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lemur, Ankarana National Park Madagascar.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dancers, Kwa-Zulu Natal Province South Africa.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unloading 250 kg bags of rice the <span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">hard way</span><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">, Nosy Be Madagascar.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saint-Pierre with Cirque de Cilaos in the background, Reunion.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>Close</b></span></div>
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Our five-year-plus world circumnavigation has been a truly rich experience full of places, people, culture, nature, food and friendships. A huge thanks goes to anybody and everybody who has contributed along the way, particularly our extended family who have been so supportive, Zeke and Nina's fabulous teachers at Tasmanian eSchool and the wonderful friends we have met/made/visited along the way. </div>
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But now we are done and it's time to get on with something else, so this blog is officially ended. </div>
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Love to you all, Gary, Vicki, Zeke and Nina</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mojombo</i> in Hobart's Constitution Dock with Kunanyi (Mt Wellington) behind.</td></tr>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-28561458956800557102015-03-06T16:18:00.000-08:002015-03-08T15:36:58.769-07:00That's a wrap Part 3 – by Vicki<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1hmqGrFem5lre92ITAgzRpaw1saIKNEhrsocGVKfaO5PhiQoQdXviJJRODRx3IY6-FgK1SU350PV_2l42_PUp-lmnuRBQW1hp8sYlPE2VO86I-Ubit8UlNABYr0h63XZg8t8Icz9MrU0/s1600/DSCF3178+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1hmqGrFem5lre92ITAgzRpaw1saIKNEhrsocGVKfaO5PhiQoQdXviJJRODRx3IY6-FgK1SU350PV_2l42_PUp-lmnuRBQW1hp8sYlPE2VO86I-Ubit8UlNABYr0h63XZg8t8Icz9MrU0/s1600/DSCF3178+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Best Experience</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: blue;">Vicki:</span></b><br />
The Panama Canal transit. To experience this engineering marvel first hand – taking us from one great ocean to another. Highlights I particularly remember:<br />
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<ul>
<li>entering Gatum Lake, looking back down into the Caribbean across the stepped locks</li>
<li>having a great big ship behind us as we went back down on the other side of Gatum Lake</li>
<li>the thrill of going out into the Pacific Ocean – the door opens out you go!</li>
</ul>
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More generally, just traveling was has been a wonderful experience, with the three big Cs, country, culture and cuisine, not to mention the making of wonderful friendships along the way.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Scariest Experience</span></b><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><b>Vicki:</b></span> The water spout we saw south of Sri Lanka. It was so big, so close, and because if it hit us we were going to be SO dead. Our EPIRB, liferaft, HF radio, none of it was going to help in the face of something so big and powerful. There was nothing we could really do.<br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>Vicki's Favourite Photos</b></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Entering Gatum Lake looking back down into the Caribbean.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">A huge ship behind us as we head down into the Pacific.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsrUvKcukw6yIKKSRLeEEbOmKTpr_vFAkxPNONrQIPFci42_cHOu5oI3cOQk92eOnD7osENo8BMAya8FkqtRcqkca8CCxqXyNJ2mnblKOv1Wlue-yebcqAVSrAQfOVF2k1-TEn2sPzHbRN/s640/13.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="249" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">A water spout like the one I saw in the Indian Ocean</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ihbV464BHco9o-APGYXodN7vKY9P3eN98yRUso6_qczJfZ-FHu0cMt5NvjlcC33ifTuJsIgzWCxGXDP-FmNWsjHsu7oe-MldLo-_rgt6QDSVcHaLH0o2Rk_ooNq1pyf_DQd3K7jtxsQ/s1600/P1010472+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ihbV464BHco9o-APGYXodN7vKY9P3eN98yRUso6_qczJfZ-FHu0cMt5NvjlcC33ifTuJsIgzWCxGXDP-FmNWsjHsu7oe-MldLo-_rgt6QDSVcHaLH0o2Rk_ooNq1pyf_DQd3K7jtxsQ/s1600/P1010472+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">We inadvertently hijacked a Bouginese wedding</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLs2vN4OwKwdyMFGe21o_NOSchKeHh_MbITgBModGcUZz_iXdLLEgaEU9Z-8a5sJyE8v7lUFix174jgXxHymwUIX_9f8qW8CEhS4FEFQ4IfmVsYxfbUGAQoCyeN4i4nXbTvOFAG0SVMkA/s1600/P1050445+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLs2vN4OwKwdyMFGe21o_NOSchKeHh_MbITgBModGcUZz_iXdLLEgaEU9Z-8a5sJyE8v7lUFix174jgXxHymwUIX_9f8qW8CEhS4FEFQ4IfmVsYxfbUGAQoCyeN4i4nXbTvOFAG0SVMkA/s1600/P1050445+(800x600).jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">The vegie market in Pt Louis Mauritius</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ-Ri77_HcRaTEy22srgUbJJWmtB_R0uyq0qKrh0lMlW0xwifq1iRB-vIlECiCJrTa7DKv_3KXBF0E4uN7E4CdX8tM8rIi9URMb1pgg_7v4_fO3ZFjXVar5z_d654sP5EZkzrjAJYxttE/s1600/shop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ-Ri77_HcRaTEy22srgUbJJWmtB_R0uyq0qKrh0lMlW0xwifq1iRB-vIlECiCJrTa7DKv_3KXBF0E4uN7E4CdX8tM8rIi9URMb1pgg_7v4_fO3ZFjXVar5z_d654sP5EZkzrjAJYxttE/s1600/shop.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">A deli window in Sienna.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju8uOVp3vkfiDB71NnpC4enRtD_kMV59sgsr1Kk5UVVVJJI4U1vSwUaRzeQyyrpKVI7g2u_bDXt11mASxFOYv0VrEvOaIfH3anZBR64XMyVElk-nRCSUrgTaIDUAIkhHKsWnRZnnI3j7w/s1600/DSCF4897+(600x800).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju8uOVp3vkfiDB71NnpC4enRtD_kMV59sgsr1Kk5UVVVJJI4U1vSwUaRzeQyyrpKVI7g2u_bDXt11mASxFOYv0VrEvOaIfH3anZBR64XMyVElk-nRCSUrgTaIDUAIkhHKsWnRZnnI3j7w/s1600/DSCF4897+(600x800).jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Cartagena Columbia streetscape.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAiXVKGFy28NhPH3n4mDYsYPV2T96dkRFl005WM2dOfDcyiv_IPqVeyA0i6CzvYH4vwRo1IznbFsLptl5FQwsz_QSJ3qY8_TkNpr99MaTs896gDGz4TsrcxISyQVhnmUuCGF16Roty8lQ/s1600/P1010761+(800x601).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAiXVKGFy28NhPH3n4mDYsYPV2T96dkRFl005WM2dOfDcyiv_IPqVeyA0i6CzvYH4vwRo1IznbFsLptl5FQwsz_QSJ3qY8_TkNpr99MaTs896gDGz4TsrcxISyQVhnmUuCGF16Roty8lQ/s1600/P1010761+(800x601).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Racing a sandeq trimaran, Makassar Indonesia.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb0GHyiN-XaFLk8f88lF7UODWzpbZl9gtcNpRu_S6nlThCMOYdspYspqhyb8d6jdypQYVoThC1V29gzzbhzumaovhTybkAP61sSvzuQdFtoYKW9ereSOmpDM6YSkQ4dNEP-rBVley243s/s1600/P1020560+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb0GHyiN-XaFLk8f88lF7UODWzpbZl9gtcNpRu_S6nlThCMOYdspYspqhyb8d6jdypQYVoThC1V29gzzbhzumaovhTybkAP61sSvzuQdFtoYKW9ereSOmpDM6YSkQ4dNEP-rBVley243s/s1600/P1020560+(800x600).jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">SE Asian fishing boats, Langkawie Malaysia</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSbMoEYazwstrMtXU7SWSkirVRpO5YEgnO3jdnTpjtrqcBMXyNTMpVVuAS4TDLh_rk1kkamkLKafUiymiQ2Ai9wUHYsqmo1kHJIbqdzulerutddbmITFZp7jYZlfrqJ9wmbWhA9OW6QY/s1600/P1030504+(800x599).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSbMoEYazwstrMtXU7SWSkirVRpO5YEgnO3jdnTpjtrqcBMXyNTMpVVuAS4TDLh_rk1kkamkLKafUiymiQ2Ai9wUHYsqmo1kHJIbqdzulerutddbmITFZp7jYZlfrqJ9wmbWhA9OW6QY/s1600/P1030504+(800x599).jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Lady in Sari, Haputale Sri Lanka</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQzf9YS4azWsbgt0dBFMPSDnrlgm2oNmLxisTp-K1lrTrAELJHfjrtHnfugZhNGYX4eE9GfIihveFFvIZ0827ZvhL1zorYlvWr9ODgrQ0rcyG_azEAoIGfxREOjoRRvW7sfhesxyqbnBg/s1600/P1040144+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQzf9YS4azWsbgt0dBFMPSDnrlgm2oNmLxisTp-K1lrTrAELJHfjrtHnfugZhNGYX4eE9GfIihveFFvIZ0827ZvhL1zorYlvWr9ODgrQ0rcyG_azEAoIGfxREOjoRRvW7sfhesxyqbnBg/s1600/P1040144+(800x600).jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Sri Lanka England test cricket seen from the walls of Galle Fort, Sri Lanka</span></td></tr>
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<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-MpaiVaYkKVY%2FT9AU5j1IjTI%2FAAAAAAAAAx8%2Fu26HdXIBLL8%2Fs640%2F13.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsrUvKcukw6yIKKSRLeEEbOmKTpr_vFAkxPNONrQIPFci42_cHOu5oI3cOQk92eOnD7osENo8BMAya8FkqtRcqkca8CCxqXyNJ2mnblKOv1Wlue-yebcqAVSrAQfOVF2k1-TEn2sPzHbRN/s640/13.jpg" -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-16102463017304229852015-03-06T14:16:00.000-08:002015-03-06T14:16:08.478-08:00That's a wrap Part 2 - by Zeke<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoxC5yExxbdmTV1FXlT7IMON2ynwKHFJPlDOeZQpHkKJEy7e33KKurFs36RUUHnqKCdhvJPS-xrj-UjxdyLkOQVIYKy4qJgUyJA8Ia96uu0BnFCHhvP25Y4qIJvgnSRhbXnyaTp9ZFXo/s1600/DSCF4523+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoxC5yExxbdmTV1FXlT7IMON2ynwKHFJPlDOeZQpHkKJEy7e33KKurFs36RUUHnqKCdhvJPS-xrj-UjxdyLkOQVIYKy4qJgUyJA8Ia96uu0BnFCHhvP25Y4qIJvgnSRhbXnyaTp9ZFXo/s1600/DSCF4523+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">Best Experience</span></b><b style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"> </b><br />
<b><span style="color: blue;">Zeke:</span></b> The Ariane 5 rocket launch in French Guiana. The museum was a great build-up, I learnt how rockets are built, what they do, how much they cost. Then to actually see one go up! The engines fired, the rocket lifted off and then, after a while, a huge wave of sound slammed in to us. As it went up I watched the booster rockets coming off and falling away. Awesome.<br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>Scariest Experience</b></span><br />
<b><span style="color: blue;">Zeke:</span></b> Seeing a friend's boat wrecked on a reef – scary because we knew these people quite well. By no fault of their own their boat was wrecked on a reef. My boat is my safe home – it made me realize this could happen to me.<br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>Zeke's Favourite Photos</b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi74PfLEtEcJrXfXvuANf_ORJsTO_pJLD_z8J89xK_wx4E7gjIix82dxXhzPmqJ5Gu_wz4mln8_DtKv24wDQeBoI2WTy-6OPQ8VwrPolytRU9oMwy960qouqkE2H-FhLBzy5jhwPSonxwk/s1600/Honey+River+Sept+2012+(800x533).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi74PfLEtEcJrXfXvuANf_ORJsTO_pJLD_z8J89xK_wx4E7gjIix82dxXhzPmqJ5Gu_wz4mln8_DtKv24wDQeBoI2WTy-6OPQ8VwrPolytRU9oMwy960qouqkE2H-FhLBzy5jhwPSonxwk/s1600/Honey+River+Sept+2012+(800x533).jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Mojombo at Honey River, Madagascar (photo by Kim).</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmKKtjaetbbpq_tmjQKYUE0kLmEbY69oi9k_7oWrVJ_QOHBjCAEzb9kDSXXunC506zMCTkt5oi0qeoMPxvLPJN1eS8uDg6Sxa1G7Ons1oATa8F-uw9j7MVVVhq-QLhmLgIAbdrYBHT2xw/s1600/P1060589+(800x322).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmKKtjaetbbpq_tmjQKYUE0kLmEbY69oi9k_7oWrVJ_QOHBjCAEzb9kDSXXunC506zMCTkt5oi0qeoMPxvLPJN1eS8uDg6Sxa1G7Ons1oATa8F-uw9j7MVVVhq-QLhmLgIAbdrYBHT2xw/s1600/P1060589+(800x322).jpg" height="160" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Madagascar traders leaving Hellville in the late arvo.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikPGBtUe5hpUkG_otDZ164nuCRUJreBSgeySWyaaoN7UsZAsw2SrNcR7TqHiOCiHDk2EqUjuufX9bwH4dKegQtd2dCmZD1aT1KO7zINWwwJNnPeZKvRpDTkaDIVZlhFuskIQQWPlFsrXw/s1600/P1060847+(800x478).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikPGBtUe5hpUkG_otDZ164nuCRUJreBSgeySWyaaoN7UsZAsw2SrNcR7TqHiOCiHDk2EqUjuufX9bwH4dKegQtd2dCmZD1aT1KO7zINWwwJNnPeZKvRpDTkaDIVZlhFuskIQQWPlFsrXw/s1600/P1060847+(800x478).jpg" height="191" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Zebras in South Africa.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUCIGmyaC6VS5e64sNrKcVjlI_3CKtSZZD2-mhhOXEwlhfHlgRTDhTwUWkhDztIGnlvFYFk8hgXHn2SgFA6YV-GZWO08Z3JGOP9gNvUl5MmEZ_lO56C3j6zrRISFWOvlN04KvLveC8T0/s1600/P1070938+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUCIGmyaC6VS5e64sNrKcVjlI_3CKtSZZD2-mhhOXEwlhfHlgRTDhTwUWkhDztIGnlvFYFk8hgXHn2SgFA6YV-GZWO08Z3JGOP9gNvUl5MmEZ_lO56C3j6zrRISFWOvlN04KvLveC8T0/s1600/P1070938+(800x600).jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Kolmanskop, Namibia.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtAGaNtE51tDNfXh2fxYE1eSxzRtw91aGZvadhm_Tb_l8hYaX9OejuZzAYpHZijala-tjnW4G9QuWtCF_OZ0rUHi1bSyXrrYLc27813T6esx8HjTvlBBq9TXO9yE1Uk7OwcLBr74zq0RE/s1600/napoleon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtAGaNtE51tDNfXh2fxYE1eSxzRtw91aGZvadhm_Tb_l8hYaX9OejuZzAYpHZijala-tjnW4G9QuWtCF_OZ0rUHi1bSyXrrYLc27813T6esx8HjTvlBBq9TXO9yE1Uk7OwcLBr74zq0RE/s1600/napoleon.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Napoleon's tomb – the original on St Helena and the final in Paris.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPUMmaC8MymelU6rMwOvVTbMXH6-avb7M1QbvW3r2wIgL4CKQ2pRkuWUN4f9O7DdA-vF1F8-MKLcVEXxybHs__pUrAPMcF6UOhjeTCWQv7fcHYEgGy3tmNtjliNJVvfQmlx8Q4DGyFCNM/s1600/rocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPUMmaC8MymelU6rMwOvVTbMXH6-avb7M1QbvW3r2wIgL4CKQ2pRkuWUN4f9O7DdA-vF1F8-MKLcVEXxybHs__pUrAPMcF6UOhjeTCWQv7fcHYEgGy3tmNtjliNJVvfQmlx8Q4DGyFCNM/s1600/rocks.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">A delicate stack of rocks, Lajada Pai Mateus Park Brazil.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy42h1UJGHfAvm1knYSQM7-zan4vaNtw5BdJ7VlWrHpf2vQ92E0S8mE8IgKm0P1ua_SCpv-rNYpmOyk3ddJpQ2OvKgDLLIaDIZY66_tL4iqCs74WLZuVu-X9MPkADFOLZ41Lk5RK7CKD4/s1600/DSCF4221+(800x472).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy42h1UJGHfAvm1knYSQM7-zan4vaNtw5BdJ7VlWrHpf2vQ92E0S8mE8IgKm0P1ua_SCpv-rNYpmOyk3ddJpQ2OvKgDLLIaDIZY66_tL4iqCs74WLZuVu-X9MPkADFOLZ41Lk5RK7CKD4/s1600/DSCF4221+(800x472).jpg" height="235" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Mont-Saint-Michel, France.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeQ9eCky3BtD-TDPObe02xudpjfmjUB584n6e-j9LLfoEIIDJ45dt1goy2HhL888vuZfVaEpFn16uzfkiBIiBVAiFXjpld5bIHx6iWm_gR16Zb3PQGqF2PznafyXMbDzn-yBPbZL9XpIg/s1600/DSCF4037+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeQ9eCky3BtD-TDPObe02xudpjfmjUB584n6e-j9LLfoEIIDJ45dt1goy2HhL888vuZfVaEpFn16uzfkiBIiBVAiFXjpld5bIHx6iWm_gR16Zb3PQGqF2PznafyXMbDzn-yBPbZL9XpIg/s1600/DSCF4037+(800x600).jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Carcasonne lollee shop.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX63JiDIgJRJfuwMVIbppEpCvyjwQKcNF22jXLwIkoqV7G8D6u3Qh_tdvTyHrX4n4rc-aI3Wrn9-kiYNSI70qjGdRGnhqpvQXrdWIO-xxtQQaktPXbPR75AEYSDTjmGdCp2Ng2GkkdPTQ/s1600/P1060260+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX63JiDIgJRJfuwMVIbppEpCvyjwQKcNF22jXLwIkoqV7G8D6u3Qh_tdvTyHrX4n4rc-aI3Wrn9-kiYNSI70qjGdRGnhqpvQXrdWIO-xxtQQaktPXbPR75AEYSDTjmGdCp2Ng2GkkdPTQ/s1600/P1060260+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Chameleon in Ankarana National Park Madagascar.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjEUCU2hM8xgUNQyAWb5bhRxTJpDU6ORU4MTb_cpMHyWIkhKI2Eu0O-veeol43sFNEejEC21R9RiprkD7gBnV-0BawXlmqyhtowMyGdfwjV52PoE6nM88hbYj8iRVbYgFzDSMP2qlCK0/s1600/P1040689+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjEUCU2hM8xgUNQyAWb5bhRxTJpDU6ORU4MTb_cpMHyWIkhKI2Eu0O-veeol43sFNEejEC21R9RiprkD7gBnV-0BawXlmqyhtowMyGdfwjV52PoE6nM88hbYj8iRVbYgFzDSMP2qlCK0/s1600/P1040689+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The lagoon at Salomon Atoll, Chagos from our mast head.</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-36760078586607400622015-03-04T21:02:00.001-08:002015-03-04T21:02:47.847-08:00That's a wrap Part 1 – by Gary and Nina<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXkaG2CCYdEJug8X8d5FEPVxzVu32Xtl_C2dNpbDrwwW0K_lOwAwA-486AFKshWPQU8NzB-3XV2QPHW7mibo0GQI68y_v1yItIqWpn09Cfk16shyrFPn3GVHMobfTyPg-EWxWL1qDOxUI/s1600/DSCF0539+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXkaG2CCYdEJug8X8d5FEPVxzVu32Xtl_C2dNpbDrwwW0K_lOwAwA-486AFKshWPQU8NzB-3XV2QPHW7mibo0GQI68y_v1yItIqWpn09Cfk16shyrFPn3GVHMobfTyPg-EWxWL1qDOxUI/s1600/DSCF0539+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Yum, a candy shop in Norwich England.</span></td></tr>
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Our circumnavigation is complete and this will be my final series of blog posts of our family's adventures in Mojombo. Wanting to finish with a retrospective in some form, I was on the lookout for ideas. Over Christmas in South Australia we went camping with some of the extended family and a 'campfire' quiz of Mojombo's crew revolved around ideas on 'best experience' and 'scariest experience'. Formalising this great idea, I interviewed each of the crew (including myself), also requesting a catalogue of ten favourite photos. I'll present the results in the next few days, starting with Nina below.</div>
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Gary</div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>Best Experience</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><b>Nina:</b></span><br />
Sailing around the world – because it was fun. I saw a lot of things, had great experiences, like:<br />
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<ul>
<li>a rhino charging us in South Africa</li>
<li>a lemur on Zeke's head</li>
<li>the wild, awesome landscapes of St Helena</li>
<li>sailing the Broads of England</li>
<li>exploring Carcasonne [a castle in France]</li>
<li>New Caledonia – pastries and chocolate</li>
<li>Galapagos – very cool – saw a seal pup steal a fish from a boobie, awesome tortoises</li>
<li>winning a sailing race in Tonga</li>
<li>eating fried rice in Sri Lanka.</li>
</ul>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>Scariest Experiences</b></span><br />
<b><span style="color: blue;">Nina:</span></b><br />
The Tana Toraj caves in Sulawesi, they were dark with hidey holes everywhere with coffins in them. There were coffins, skulls and bones lying around everywhere. Our guide told us of one group he took in and the battery in his torch died – how scary would that be? The cave floor had many holes and chasms, I was very afraid of falling – falling in to dead things.<br />
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Tanna volcano. We stood on the edge of a cliff with a pit of boiling lava down below. The ground would shake, lava would bubble and splutter, some would go flying in to the air. Most would fall back but one bit landed on the path next to us.<br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>Nina's Favourite Photos</b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGecC_S2dCUkjiLzrfmKSEnGDZFT4C4uYWPPUBoiMkB9zmySLbSrSWFumQ6m5kgTe79P75nRNgnhyphenhyphenjp0rT8WnZK1RP2wWPLN55w7Yg0P525bTIhOdXGSylSqzaUhyphenhyphenqNOAyCoxdHeBEDFU/s1600/IMG_8995+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGecC_S2dCUkjiLzrfmKSEnGDZFT4C4uYWPPUBoiMkB9zmySLbSrSWFumQ6m5kgTe79P75nRNgnhyphenhyphenjp0rT8WnZK1RP2wWPLN55w7Yg0P525bTIhOdXGSylSqzaUhyphenhyphenqNOAyCoxdHeBEDFU/s1600/IMG_8995+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Me and my friend Ann on an elephant in Sri Lanka.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQbcg2RlHPauvBMuyZvaH0yPS5Qz_AEX8k4hjCBOfZ4Aisp0_Tb1SLlexpJnjWUbv8kV2sV1xODX-7MAUC-rnbywteqt2XXLFyIsmoxxPNXhbfRUowwFP6hyphenhyphen7x3TVFgAJ1xiFed1BeyB0/s1600/IMG_0129+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQbcg2RlHPauvBMuyZvaH0yPS5Qz_AEX8k4hjCBOfZ4Aisp0_Tb1SLlexpJnjWUbv8kV2sV1xODX-7MAUC-rnbywteqt2XXLFyIsmoxxPNXhbfRUowwFP6hyphenhyphen7x3TVFgAJ1xiFed1BeyB0/s1600/IMG_0129+(640x480).jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">More yum – pastries in New Caledonia!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7qM91WWQn_VHSpLRu24E91iF3qokXmtlvbxERofOygf3dnN7CgUjjrdwbNRLfTnVlciMT9Ob2U5vImzxg0yFCJRg6Al_sHcR1KW-7IpT1ykC8r6qn_2t9Z1rdi-gBmW1e4UJ7Ec4yDLk/s1600/P1040334+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7qM91WWQn_VHSpLRu24E91iF3qokXmtlvbxERofOygf3dnN7CgUjjrdwbNRLfTnVlciMT9Ob2U5vImzxg0yFCJRg6Al_sHcR1KW-7IpT1ykC8r6qn_2t9Z1rdi-gBmW1e4UJ7Ec4yDLk/s1600/P1040334+(800x600).jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Lava erupting from Yasur volcano, Tanna, Vanuatu.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj60fg9yjidAsk5FgpjnhIo0El-eEBDLsoqXs6BmKn-F-QfUEAZebrvWCFVuRxmM5MvuMWtBd5HYKJwu3_oXTJqQBNa6M33Rn5VFHMHwkwjTnXMAGZxyy2pw1PhYcnOI059qhryyYsJXR0/s1600/DSCF3589+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj60fg9yjidAsk5FgpjnhIo0El-eEBDLsoqXs6BmKn-F-QfUEAZebrvWCFVuRxmM5MvuMWtBd5HYKJwu3_oXTJqQBNa6M33Rn5VFHMHwkwjTnXMAGZxyy2pw1PhYcnOI059qhryyYsJXR0/s1600/DSCF3589+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Out front of the Roman Colosseum, Rome.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT3N6gLFaFW2n24VvntyKt_efwtRcFAoBA1M2YiSMnYaTMnJOl_9fr-1jv1lvJTLyFuoDcxQ1-0jmStG9tTut1bofoOgYfu83TLBtmO-G7Fu1VDU8CMXZJQigMIOAhuoyM0P0E1Irv6kA/s1600/DSCF3642+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT3N6gLFaFW2n24VvntyKt_efwtRcFAoBA1M2YiSMnYaTMnJOl_9fr-1jv1lvJTLyFuoDcxQ1-0jmStG9tTut1bofoOgYfu83TLBtmO-G7Fu1VDU8CMXZJQigMIOAhuoyM0P0E1Irv6kA/s1600/DSCF3642+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">The excavated city of Pompeii with Vesuvius in the background.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDCyY-xny7VTG8GfGfru2L25SY94D-yPcmUQTaLT7FeNlFgPgwnfxUmPzvThoXYQ3BqjQm4mhZQir9YK26cjwB44kcKmnH62ImMAOIXJVco72rOooM7qeOsfL2DmQn1Uj2byx9v-qqGs/s1600/P1060889+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDCyY-xny7VTG8GfGfru2L25SY94D-yPcmUQTaLT7FeNlFgPgwnfxUmPzvThoXYQ3BqjQm4mhZQir9YK26cjwB44kcKmnH62ImMAOIXJVco72rOooM7qeOsfL2DmQn1Uj2byx9v-qqGs/s1600/P1060889+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">A White Rhino (much more placid than the Black Rhino that charged us).</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ihAGTGiWCoyUtAJL9G4kHjylKX2VBWo3bJekXa2P8IqBFfqvp0CR-UCSGlaJyYr_5rmVseC86_c89DoPg_g0D0XJWjX1-v6-z6flMUfYjhlnMOqjgS_kt3oeBcKuX2eri1_hnKB02N4/s1600/P1070023+(600x800).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ihAGTGiWCoyUtAJL9G4kHjylKX2VBWo3bJekXa2P8IqBFfqvp0CR-UCSGlaJyYr_5rmVseC86_c89DoPg_g0D0XJWjX1-v6-z6flMUfYjhlnMOqjgS_kt3oeBcKuX2eri1_hnKB02N4/s1600/P1070023+(600x800).jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Me patting a cheetah.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyUmMtjuOI9RxTnkWRFGtWKARDAm-y1HakMEVXHeeIf1UgDtAdzY0YhRQxFLkQG8dXOkdCqBAa-lEt3GlLrKhjqvBMrcLF9F_I8fogHQ5HBa8C_8shc3tZ7M3HXycqf4Leny027VpoD8M/s1600/rocket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyUmMtjuOI9RxTnkWRFGtWKARDAm-y1HakMEVXHeeIf1UgDtAdzY0YhRQxFLkQG8dXOkdCqBAa-lEt3GlLrKhjqvBMrcLF9F_I8fogHQ5HBa8C_8shc3tZ7M3HXycqf4Leny027VpoD8M/s1600/rocket.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Watching a rocket launch.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfvCKZ1SnxUOfyG6nwWksfRRbuS0GNU0jVWjlob07RM00UTJ3cLQwRVXRlSVXDhf1TWKDWwhKgeMIN54MMhZMZetgcgOTToSu2hPQfVpUhM9FT1igFmlhVa5XjWtvGv2g6dz9WSbfomg4/s1600/_MG_4781+(427x640).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfvCKZ1SnxUOfyG6nwWksfRRbuS0GNU0jVWjlob07RM00UTJ3cLQwRVXRlSVXDhf1TWKDWwhKgeMIN54MMhZMZetgcgOTToSu2hPQfVpUhM9FT1igFmlhVa5XjWtvGv2g6dz9WSbfomg4/s1600/_MG_4781+(427x640).jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">NYE fireworks in Sydney.</span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-40914707317499088472015-02-04T18:37:00.000-08:002015-02-04T18:37:57.256-08:00Becoming CLODs – by Gary<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEithz7_qNlBBm-3D11jdkdAwu4OwPIrj0zuflQEyNIL24eyGLxedXesXoCL55vCjF17OuOUGAkmeCPkc-X6J7D40f7b-myRFxn5hNYXkmdrEe_DWbxTeJFBgLE3a1_7nwCevbuf2oSYq8g/s1600/DSCF9311+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEithz7_qNlBBm-3D11jdkdAwu4OwPIrj0zuflQEyNIL24eyGLxedXesXoCL55vCjF17OuOUGAkmeCPkc-X6J7D40f7b-myRFxn5hNYXkmdrEe_DWbxTeJFBgLE3a1_7nwCevbuf2oSYq8g/s1600/DSCF9311+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Currently moored in Hobart's beautiful Prince of Wales Bay – here is our neighbour</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We are well embarked on a period transition – shedding our sea gypsy guise and turning back in to 'dirt dwellers'. High school beckons. Zeke and Nina are now fully enrolled, fully uniformed, fully equipped with new backpacks, new sharp pencils the lot – all set to go. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKGPYsZSGPkMTKJxHLmgL4ijM3n1Ou2kNBE8LyDQkEGDpCpp2Uos4iqANlYZnS1UCSKsrAwPaxyseXVXbP4Kn4C09-9ntc5CODo5zEhRrHHipKPsIDCFlekgeWI9OsXddZmyH21nL2gww/s1600/DSCF9324+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKGPYsZSGPkMTKJxHLmgL4ijM3n1Ou2kNBE8LyDQkEGDpCpp2Uos4iqANlYZnS1UCSKsrAwPaxyseXVXbP4Kn4C09-9ntc5CODo5zEhRrHHipKPsIDCFlekgeWI9OsXddZmyH21nL2gww/s1600/DSCF9324+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">So their first day has finally arrived and they climb in to the family car <br />(yep, you heard right, we already have the family car)</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMeS0dGvK0lgY1qZQw47WsDdS6GoJ-Fibcmcrap9KHzmi0-TYIcrDGs4BkoQbYwRAfwPl1OblYD_GIR4ra7xL7kF2LLpG8b9K0ThU5bbA6wWvUOa2BpXvA80oBRYiS-JBc9YY742m8zwk/s1600/DSCF9320+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMeS0dGvK0lgY1qZQw47WsDdS6GoJ-Fibcmcrap9KHzmi0-TYIcrDGs4BkoQbYwRAfwPl1OblYD_GIR4ra7xL7kF2LLpG8b9K0ThU5bbA6wWvUOa2BpXvA80oBRYiS-JBc9YY742m8zwk/s1600/DSCF9320+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Don't they look pleased to be going???</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf-2hh48CGdw-YtZ9nZieW40Y9CXXGFh-9mAy5ImIaDLLH4Nz93ON-iJYtNj6Q5GwwDicHNsubI_mgMGSUW6KO5-p8M9qQfBpipSN0wWcO94_hOROA9r1GIuh0IhZG5HVWAoz9gfGIhCg/s1600/DSCF9323+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf-2hh48CGdw-YtZ9nZieW40Y9CXXGFh-9mAy5ImIaDLLH4Nz93ON-iJYtNj6Q5GwwDicHNsubI_mgMGSUW6KO5-p8M9qQfBpipSN0wWcO94_hOROA9r1GIuh0IhZG5HVWAoz9gfGIhCg/s1600/DSCF9323+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Well at least one person is genuinely pleased – the driver. <br />This is the first time Vicki has driven our new (to the family) car – and she likes it!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRpXIWoOx5LsoZWDmjke16tKi5TIgJvE5Cy290bClbZEJ8oP1EoYt130SieYrNDrHwfXsYwlymZQ0HzD4OmSiaANYkFsMWkCnY13te8E2niKHg5laZ15_aW8VXAvqCa3QW9kDfE_88QlY/s1600/DSCF9326+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRpXIWoOx5LsoZWDmjke16tKi5TIgJvE5Cy290bClbZEJ8oP1EoYt130SieYrNDrHwfXsYwlymZQ0HzD4OmSiaANYkFsMWkCnY13te8E2niKHg5laZ15_aW8VXAvqCa3QW9kDfE_88QlY/s1600/DSCF9326+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Vicki drops the kids in the city – where they transfer to a bus to take them the rest of the way (to purgatory)</span><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">.</span></td></tr>
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CLODs you ask? Cruisers Living on Dirt.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-58240489176329795862015-01-23T17:16:00.000-08:002015-01-23T17:16:08.240-08:00Brrrr.... It's Cccccold – by Gary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2w4lQjBb9udZL9ITQsGY4JvHgqRg0rmUu79lPckmT2Li6nq_gttH-Sqq1fIG8Cwijqhvw-Dw6f3HKV6ddCDVc3BmBMqUnjdIxrI1N_qpoJiEesOS0XlBY_FkWFeKJoBekvnhzHqiV9q0/s1600/DSCF9290+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2w4lQjBb9udZL9ITQsGY4JvHgqRg0rmUu79lPckmT2Li6nq_gttH-Sqq1fIG8Cwijqhvw-Dw6f3HKV6ddCDVc3BmBMqUnjdIxrI1N_qpoJiEesOS0XlBY_FkWFeKJoBekvnhzHqiV9q0/s1600/DSCF9290+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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As we head south to Tasmania the overnights are starting to get seriously cold. The thermals, jumpers, jackets etc. are all gradually pulled out of storage.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-pXr4AD6NDn7SBjdoXz-ejZu6-AaFaL-fHiJquq9C_ktFG2QhwPxzVmqtmknHnqJLjg7gjh5voIH-5CfONhVS8JC43uyiHBBl0mkKLdVhBvi_HKDL2sa9kqSQGbT0ET9rRga_cJFci-Y/s1600/knitter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-pXr4AD6NDn7SBjdoXz-ejZu6-AaFaL-fHiJquq9C_ktFG2QhwPxzVmqtmknHnqJLjg7gjh5voIH-5CfONhVS8JC43uyiHBBl0mkKLdVhBvi_HKDL2sa9kqSQGbT0ET9rRga_cJFci-Y/s1600/knitter.jpg" height="190" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Down below some furious knitting happening – more warmth needed, more warmth needed.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFeBJKmIXwcvVj4i38b-kYvvFKvlk6PxFk6au5pK_kQKdXkvni_LKdofAogrMOtRYtdBXwpd-3oMYR4ROT8wSmwbUlHNTHHdmtmC4qsPHrpd8pGGa8SsjpShydJqPlqN8hMocjqjKh18k/s1600/DSCF9302+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFeBJKmIXwcvVj4i38b-kYvvFKvlk6PxFk6au5pK_kQKdXkvni_LKdofAogrMOtRYtdBXwpd-3oMYR4ROT8wSmwbUlHNTHHdmtmC4qsPHrpd8pGGa8SsjpShydJqPlqN8hMocjqjKh18k/s1600/DSCF9302+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Arriving on the dock at Triabunna (east coast of Tasmania). </span><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Just getting up at night to go stand a watch you have to budget an extra 10 minutes just to pull all this clobber on. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp2FU8V-JHw7oC6mTV03TwvHCEnApLT6lQaUMvldaLx4qIWLJqGgGZ0zs-THkGrexd2d3k-SQNfgAgeIRKBQQxMGz3P9CEoXdLGot9Zp8VVICT3GeV9cIMDWIdzad3tDs7yh1SsTPt-0w/s1600/DSCF9294+(800x599).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp2FU8V-JHw7oC6mTV03TwvHCEnApLT6lQaUMvldaLx4qIWLJqGgGZ0zs-THkGrexd2d3k-SQNfgAgeIRKBQQxMGz3P9CEoXdLGot9Zp8VVICT3GeV9cIMDWIdzad3tDs7yh1SsTPt-0w/s1600/DSCF9294+(800x599).jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vicki has knitted us all some beenies.
Keeps our heads nice and cozy but besides, </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
allows us to melt into a
Triabunna crowd.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-69163552375529885212015-01-23T17:11:00.000-08:002015-01-23T17:11:27.701-08:00Walking Erskinville and Redfern – by Gary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Am4C4c5X9oladVka5bTPRidvi3c9QHV4OU8eoRQw75UCL5mOUmpUjutTuqpUWCrUoLDoX2apPT_-P_ljZ87cdaVzfWX7mfgl9EKuB9P-tsrQmG1Smza6Bgu8oR6691rpY64Igp1yxgg/s1600/DSCF9271+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Am4C4c5X9oladVka5bTPRidvi3c9QHV4OU8eoRQw75UCL5mOUmpUjutTuqpUWCrUoLDoX2apPT_-P_ljZ87cdaVzfWX7mfgl9EKuB9P-tsrQmG1Smza6Bgu8oR6691rpY64Igp1yxgg/s1600/DSCF9271+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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My neice took us for a short walk around Erskinville and Redfern, and of course I had to take a few photos....<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2VPEiyShGT0Ju8I3tYeYjY6-YKxnHAQxgSlyXB7XjKnwqLMnjiIxTuIOqP9oQjjdzTO1NTDH-KVzP8l06zNMhH7CP7CPw7ej95QjgaZ3Uqwodrpox2iOnAq61tDk15M1N4C7eQEk3ufw/s1600/DSCF9272+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2VPEiyShGT0Ju8I3tYeYjY6-YKxnHAQxgSlyXB7XjKnwqLMnjiIxTuIOqP9oQjjdzTO1NTDH-KVzP8l06zNMhH7CP7CPw7ej95QjgaZ3Uqwodrpox2iOnAq61tDk15M1N4C7eQEk3ufw/s1600/DSCF9272+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">A highly detailed vertical landscape on this designer terrace...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_WqTLDZThbMcho98Ll8au46zGTstze0LRGmyWBFRAiSXlRIYwv39IXWwoeLksl9pjcz3bzFmitY_1ZZ6Zufu8jF80C57DJSSBIfYy3eAHbu08JR6SoFqhR7sB3bWb9BYnR86xGWgkiE/s1600/la+house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_WqTLDZThbMcho98Ll8au46zGTstze0LRGmyWBFRAiSXlRIYwv39IXWwoeLksl9pjcz3bzFmitY_1ZZ6Zufu8jF80C57DJSSBIfYy3eAHbu08JR6SoFqhR7sB3bWb9BYnR86xGWgkiE/s1600/la+house.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">… with some Japanese inspiration... very, very elegant.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDoFunHlTW7tONaqXhoSZFHKOxUifdKJfw3-JLV8p3P_67b5tL3PXla8x09Grv-B5O8ElGFt487MLCNYIkXEUnL5qO74jYAHkdVN_tb2E7eCuoADUZyWje_enGTpKkx7rDMiTwLYcZiJc/s1600/DSCF9277+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDoFunHlTW7tONaqXhoSZFHKOxUifdKJfw3-JLV8p3P_67b5tL3PXla8x09Grv-B5O8ElGFt487MLCNYIkXEUnL5qO74jYAHkdVN_tb2E7eCuoADUZyWje_enGTpKkx7rDMiTwLYcZiJc/s1600/DSCF9277+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">And the most amazing tiny terraces.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMBGH9nFFMIimMIiB9WJhzXa0GuVszSy19N8YamWjAJwoZ7wNOaFxPR1otizcRS05Blx6huMyiHRv8I0Snf7T8VM7RIQ8px0jRf_XbP_y0zqj9FA6LX3z428sigtv7D8N8HaX8Hvm2JRk/s1600/workshops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMBGH9nFFMIimMIiB9WJhzXa0GuVszSy19N8YamWjAJwoZ7wNOaFxPR1otizcRS05Blx6huMyiHRv8I0Snf7T8VM7RIQ8px0jRf_XbP_y0zqj9FA6LX3z428sigtv7D8N8HaX8Hvm2JRk/s1600/workshops.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Unfortunately the Eveleigh Railway Workshop historical displays were closed (it was Sunday – I guess they were all at church), but it was interesting seeing how the site had been redeveloped as the Australian Technology Park. According to the blurb researchers, entrepreneurs, incubator businesses, start-ups, mature technology companies and education organisations now share the site.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58RVadtN4sHphpkKe7h8OpiiBRimgHNrwUxPNUobHaOL6U-vX3wsC6QOc0ph9E2gxN7BmbHV-ZMM5AviPZ3DtP3tocOAYBkF5vq2Q4DLNav9rMPmHsoZqZELIUUnmg1iCwltLwGlQ2Jg/s1600/DSCF9288+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58RVadtN4sHphpkKe7h8OpiiBRimgHNrwUxPNUobHaOL6U-vX3wsC6QOc0ph9E2gxN7BmbHV-ZMM5AviPZ3DtP3tocOAYBkF5vq2Q4DLNav9rMPmHsoZqZELIUUnmg1iCwltLwGlQ2Jg/s1600/DSCF9288+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">And then on to a working railroad. Redfern (formerly Eveleigh) Station sits at the convergence of a myriad suburban train lines – wow!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmu6cbyZembfeajTfIqiVAa6C_YXj8YYNNKq8MylvJyaqqel_lH4-I7rg0GtIxZ6MHlcSUa9HGLaKitWyFB17TmLJOskk_lkwlx8OE4kNjuBwa9M0JFNcmosjowMUXNBYdkUwOeWJg8sk/s1600/DSCF9287+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmu6cbyZembfeajTfIqiVAa6C_YXj8YYNNKq8MylvJyaqqel_lH4-I7rg0GtIxZ6MHlcSUa9HGLaKitWyFB17TmLJOskk_lkwlx8OE4kNjuBwa9M0JFNcmosjowMUXNBYdkUwOeWJg8sk/s1600/DSCF9287+(800x600).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">So many platforms!!!</span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-21086366872141061772015-01-11T17:28:00.000-08:002015-01-11T17:28:09.381-08:00NYE 2014; a Cracker Night Out – by Gary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpR507TbQUv7lRqIojaejQCB_UIGqyYMKVNu-jUhV4SC1K1PbOIarCzY61iyURmBqyQ8B-y2va_P_YMECgX0hzYJV9hIctfjGbwtnWVBHBkmFJTojR9_JAlJRuq3E5DotQqiQya4syCUw/s1600/shipping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpR507TbQUv7lRqIojaejQCB_UIGqyYMKVNu-jUhV4SC1K1PbOIarCzY61iyURmBqyQ8B-y2va_P_YMECgX0hzYJV9hIctfjGbwtnWVBHBkmFJTojR9_JAlJRuq3E5DotQqiQya4syCUw/s1600/shipping.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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While an estimated final crowd of 1.6 million people began assembling around the shores of Sydney Harbour for the city's famous New Years Eve fireworks display, <i>Mojombo</i> was shipping aboard its own private crowd – all ten of us; assorted friends and relatives from as far afield as Adelaide and Seattle. We were to spend the night out on the harbour so numbers had to be capped – after all <i>Mojombo</i> has berths for only six!!!.<br />
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We were excited! Press reports indicated Sydney City Council was investing a hefty $6.8 million on the event with over three quarters of a million on fireworks alone; a whopping seven tonnes of pyrotechnics including 11,000 shells and 25,000 shooting comets. All just to make us feel good??? Nah! Council estimates this would be generating extra spending to the tune of $156 million as the city's hotels, bars, restaurants, taxis and tour boats filled up with locals and visitors. And we were trying our darnedest to assist the economic boost with on-board catering included a selection of still wines, champagne, beer, prawns, sushi rolls, cheesecake and much more. What a feast! But nothing compared to the visual feast that was to come as 12 o’clock rolled around.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxfktAsB0VdseINBxJGDLQcqi76q1WN2_XzPZvK3pwTklu38BQMHi5sKCQJQ7L5zAkAslyQwoSOVU9LmWha5mGUOleg-t-Jn5KsLRKWW3MX3wjprKIAKXc0flLPt8GRWcXj6hJH6ca6qM/s1600/marilyn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxfktAsB0VdseINBxJGDLQcqi76q1WN2_XzPZvK3pwTklu38BQMHi5sKCQJQ7L5zAkAslyQwoSOVU9LmWha5mGUOleg-t-Jn5KsLRKWW3MX3wjprKIAKXc0flLPt8GRWcXj6hJH6ca6qM/s1600/marilyn.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">We were flying the Stars 'n Stripes to honour our fly-in Seattle guest Marilyn,.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Our official on-board photographer Nigel...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiliya_4QTPpPFxFIE1Q-pTdrURTVgfsussyh6UaTsW0XVrpDf8H2fjLs4B_7Kq087ehsv2Xygj2-CyEcImI9UHElpn8vigIXjWQCWUHl8vDtr4VWcandBWNQAhUNjGqvQftcH7XB0NQ9g/s1600/_MG_4870+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiliya_4QTPpPFxFIE1Q-pTdrURTVgfsussyh6UaTsW0XVrpDf8H2fjLs4B_7Kq087ehsv2Xygj2-CyEcImI9UHElpn8vigIXjWQCWUHl8vDtr4VWcandBWNQAhUNjGqvQftcH7XB0NQ9g/s1600/_MG_4870+(640x427).jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">… and the rest of the motley crew including dear sister Julie who'd traveled from Adelaide just for the event!</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBGdSv6IPIbMuS1mkGvgZh26SkXOMllHFLkDpsUDKqgfEpPSJxW4dt5OFOsioHh1y8Ul2tMAcB7BTvjgdZCFm-M4KF8fcu66_S9dJnOBlu9yIyfj-sXvlN0tKlqXNPnTHe38-HuxICCUQ/s1600/DSCF9053+(800x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBGdSv6IPIbMuS1mkGvgZh26SkXOMllHFLkDpsUDKqgfEpPSJxW4dt5OFOsioHh1y8Ul2tMAcB7BTvjgdZCFm-M4KF8fcu66_S9dJnOBlu9yIyfj-sXvlN0tKlqXNPnTHe38-HuxICCUQ/s1600/DSCF9053+(800x600).jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">We chose an anchorage in Berrys Bay with fine views of the Bridge, CBD and Opera House.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQHMazzstTI5qW4SzU5LV2QQmVuM5X-XbybesH0itjsg3AZntUgYpfh3Blo0WBNeijkEu8N-Fr53lYFOwaKi__0YulGy4TJDyvqKBYCQlHPD9UPGIYxc8dSF8u-9ixRQGOrM2V5SJrI9M/s1600/crowd5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQHMazzstTI5qW4SzU5LV2QQmVuM5X-XbybesH0itjsg3AZntUgYpfh3Blo0WBNeijkEu8N-Fr53lYFOwaKi__0YulGy4TJDyvqKBYCQlHPD9UPGIYxc8dSF8u-9ixRQGOrM2V5SJrI9M/s1600/crowd5.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Meanwhile those crowds ashore were still growing!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwRSilzC5A56MYKgISnv7WFoxPjFd6z6RrIOP4B5FnU7hVK2SHHIh_RZaZ6B53bP1f3w2x4OnvBsL34A3lmjv1QH7CtxfcVqH74flVp6zRfnnmiRb6DBq-dOmi2CqconfGYaQAjxp0Kc/s1600/Berrys+Bay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwRSilzC5A56MYKgISnv7WFoxPjFd6z6RrIOP4B5FnU7hVK2SHHIh_RZaZ6B53bP1f3w2x4OnvBsL34A3lmjv1QH7CtxfcVqH74flVp6zRfnnmiRb6DBq-dOmi2CqconfGYaQAjxp0Kc/s1600/Berrys+Bay.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">And after a long wait 2015 was finally ushered in with an awesome bang!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoUJ0o0abdQUnPEdDZyuTi7rDtA376wEQph_t_EjPiqTxrOLeKZuh6_eyrS57LeJjI3jf-DKoUXQUoQBcNLVtvRV3Pxe6XzI5fkuLxQiQ9H17f3cHxag7BFq2AVqvc_NNnBQ2o5keTCFA/s1600/_MG_4767+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoUJ0o0abdQUnPEdDZyuTi7rDtA376wEQph_t_EjPiqTxrOLeKZuh6_eyrS57LeJjI3jf-DKoUXQUoQBcNLVtvRV3Pxe6XzI5fkuLxQiQ9H17f3cHxag7BFq2AVqvc_NNnBQ2o5keTCFA/s1600/_MG_4767+(640x427).jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">A real cracker!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgertRGMBXAEUUqLtcexOz16ds7uObvoXBn_1LPdWtrT13CpyDR84OxmmE3nTvpy788FNPL2XfLJO92V-bfnKowCs6VvBhEQ3_I7TrmOw4i9zkmzqicbUR5snS5o-DcbTDOy3l5Cs5D3nE/s1600/_MG_4781+(427x640).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgertRGMBXAEUUqLtcexOz16ds7uObvoXBn_1LPdWtrT13CpyDR84OxmmE3nTvpy788FNPL2XfLJO92V-bfnKowCs6VvBhEQ3_I7TrmOw4i9zkmzqicbUR5snS5o-DcbTDOy3l5Cs5D3nE/s1600/_MG_4781+(427x640).jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">The press boasts:<br />“Sydney New Year’s Eve is renowned globally as one of the most spectacular events in the world.” <br />They say more than 1 billion people across the globe watching the show on television. Well we were duly impressed!</span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-66034354616922580612015-01-06T17:29:00.000-08:002015-01-06T17:29:42.072-08:00Christmas 2014 – by Gary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtaAYBE9HM7ZUjt6gdJYKxr4mxh_lCj8wJw60wt6XGAWwf_gkpUBI8ldRbNAF1PRLCxQ5ZCriGzrHDDE9aKmkKYRsIFsNBLmPCXetckPBt35-g-fhOldyc3xFjiGkPNgsE4ibpAo0octg/s1600/DSCF8987+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtaAYBE9HM7ZUjt6gdJYKxr4mxh_lCj8wJw60wt6XGAWwf_gkpUBI8ldRbNAF1PRLCxQ5ZCriGzrHDDE9aKmkKYRsIFsNBLmPCXetckPBt35-g-fhOldyc3xFjiGkPNgsE4ibpAo0octg/s1600/DSCF8987+(640x427).jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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Christmas got off to a bit of a slow start. Couldn't really get with the program – too many other things happening I guess. Sure there was the Lego tree in the mall, (with its none too subtle message – i.e. buy me, buy me), wonderful David Jones window displays, and we saw lots of parties in the park. In an effort to stir our festive season hearts we put up the Mojombo decorations, but it still wasn't happening. </div>
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Flying to Adelaide to visit the extended family for the break we were starting to get a little warmer, but disaster struck – we'd left Zeke and Nina's presents back in Sydney. Chocolate would have to do as an interim. The big day arrived in our wonderful borrowed house (thanks Kerri) and with some appropriate carols playing in the background we kicked back and made some serious inroads into the chocky – yep now we are beginning to get in to the swing of things. Then its off to the big family dinner at sister Lisa's – finally Christmas had arrived! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3wHt9oE1l1T4KcKl-Dc4OmjLK3qo9bUhmT6Dl7HYCDwHi_OYGVuI4ESe-ujNsX0eXP6B7ikt6bhQufv9HWDOczzXvqlBcaT_3gJcY9v1_NJoWe4RlHHGRH4cpbg7duaMEhAaOsQz8QT4/s1600/rdeers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3wHt9oE1l1T4KcKl-Dc4OmjLK3qo9bUhmT6Dl7HYCDwHi_OYGVuI4ESe-ujNsX0eXP6B7ikt6bhQufv9HWDOczzXvqlBcaT_3gJcY9v1_NJoWe4RlHHGRH4cpbg7duaMEhAaOsQz8QT4/s1600/rdeers.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Yep the lego Christmas tree in Pitt Street Mall was a doozy – weighing in at 3.5 tonnes, built from half a million blocks, taller than a 2 storey house and wider than the family car, its baubles were as big as basket balls. Just in case the message wasn't clear they had a kiddies play tables set up next to it.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRnscUvsa0ICDOMV1-mF-N8ewLEBBPLSeFo9B3y4T86RKXCs1lrEAqB0uenrAoddWCacphLxoX-qT16se7sgT4xYEQmPwlSRYNxDf_430wvUM5eNiUkrU1NrWFqvFxaoMPahbEhEj0ng/s1600/DJs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRnscUvsa0ICDOMV1-mF-N8ewLEBBPLSeFo9B3y4T86RKXCs1lrEAqB0uenrAoddWCacphLxoX-qT16se7sgT4xYEQmPwlSRYNxDf_430wvUM5eNiUkrU1NrWFqvFxaoMPahbEhEj0ng/s1600/DJs.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">DJs put up some seriously wonderful window displays – good stuff.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Some folks were definitely slipping in to the Yuletide groove.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht3QZKdCoGv8ZZYzvc4u2sY2wDQ027hFgLgz6rmfxdgsGyv9PkUObi5J9h0D-McUGcj2_44qe5afpCxJmH0CoDOQ92Fmc-LO0AeEumx7qgSfZ15FZ1KZZSuUnreJOBJgLo8j7xrIg8dyg/s1600/P1070459+(640x481).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht3QZKdCoGv8ZZYzvc4u2sY2wDQ027hFgLgz6rmfxdgsGyv9PkUObi5J9h0D-McUGcj2_44qe5afpCxJmH0CoDOQ92Fmc-LO0AeEumx7qgSfZ15FZ1KZZSuUnreJOBJgLo8j7xrIg8dyg/s1600/P1070459+(640x481).jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">We went out into the Sydney snow with our trusty axe, felled the tree, <br />dragged it back to the boat (on ice skates of course) and got it up <br />before the snow even completely melted off.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT2N5gUa2OS9h93Eb6O_yQTEOJZhlhbxmOIhiRq6V0cr-vimjah-cwbu5__0U8cwXNNDDCQHmlpsdp4oMdOUtO-3Jyqasu2Z9lrWo4rWxAkzGJBcZ0bRSVGIc6vnQLfqE52_s0hw9zIKc/s1600/DSCF9007+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT2N5gUa2OS9h93Eb6O_yQTEOJZhlhbxmOIhiRq6V0cr-vimjah-cwbu5__0U8cwXNNDDCQHmlpsdp4oMdOUtO-3Jyqasu2Z9lrWo4rWxAkzGJBcZ0bRSVGIc6vnQLfqE52_s0hw9zIKc/s1600/DSCF9007+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">In Adelaide, Nina seemed pretty pleased with her Santa pressies.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiep2qXkFLGy66m3RfVlGxCDvP8wS0qoiaH6hh8u69fd_ph6pjlNohVS1-MQZoB8fniiLDFQzpvbQkbq4Twy_Fc08YSNqcSMayMl_amLNJrvTW0dmWmhgC2YfRxtH8hGe19fBjqwl6ucU/s1600/DSCF9042+(640x285).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiep2qXkFLGy66m3RfVlGxCDvP8wS0qoiaH6hh8u69fd_ph6pjlNohVS1-MQZoB8fniiLDFQzpvbQkbq4Twy_Fc08YSNqcSMayMl_amLNJrvTW0dmWmhgC2YfRxtH8hGe19fBjqwl6ucU/s1600/DSCF9042+(640x285).jpg" height="177" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Hail and hearty – the gang's all there!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;">_ _ _</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-89605149072848272182015-01-04T13:16:00.000-08:002015-01-04T13:16:01.908-08:00Drama in the City – by Gary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgMQkuqCazABg0FQKq7S1NSLebMiPU1Xr6IfWZlBGX47t79gV_P5zKh3qxxj_1qVLORMpIrOwqZzkA4H0KZ4f8DeYQGrtZUnGU_x-Ck_IzIssnAYgq9t3ui4N88pIST7ergX-6hIMNbc/s1600/DSCF8931+(640x376).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgMQkuqCazABg0FQKq7S1NSLebMiPU1Xr6IfWZlBGX47t79gV_P5zKh3qxxj_1qVLORMpIrOwqZzkA4H0KZ4f8DeYQGrtZUnGU_x-Ck_IzIssnAYgq9t3ui4N88pIST7ergX-6hIMNbc/s1600/DSCF8931+(640x376).jpg" height="235" width="400" /></a></div>
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We were in Sydney's city centre doing our tourist thing the day a lone gunman held coffee shop staff and patrons hostage; a serious situation with a tragic outcome. Just fresh from hanging out with gentle Pacific islanders for the last year it provided my family an arresting splashdown into modern Australian society.<br />
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As the drama started unfolding we were just finishing a guided tour of the Sydney Opera House – and were unceremoniously ejected from the site with no explanation. The security people were quite unpleasant. We proceeded up to the Mitchell Library to see a special Lindley Dobbs exhibition - unwittingly walking towards the seige site. Part way through viewing the exhibition we were again (politely) ejected without explanation. Undeterred we headed for the Hyde Park Barracks Museum - conceivably placing ourselves in some danger as we passed quite close to the seige site. After some time in this museum we were once again ejected, but this time we finally received some explanation. <br />
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Unsurprisingly, thwarted at every turn in our tourism endeavors, the response of working Sydney-siders, most particularly their press, their security and their law enforcement agencies to this situation became a major focal point of our outing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEoiz0egovPD7sg6Kz1R_y51thpA3rZnq2V3Nsyd-itlbgNaffX0Wi_7dkXYuTR1w4bSE0IyWJlv55UlM6dDLeKJsVgt8bRUu07-0K1LmsyRhQMQLae-PiZcEBXPPpiX5h8cnQpYoN2Is/s1600/places.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEoiz0egovPD7sg6Kz1R_y51thpA3rZnq2V3Nsyd-itlbgNaffX0Wi_7dkXYuTR1w4bSE0IyWJlv55UlM6dDLeKJsVgt8bRUu07-0K1LmsyRhQMQLae-PiZcEBXPPpiX5h8cnQpYoN2Is/s1600/places.jpg" height="103" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">From left to right: Opera House, ejected, no explanation; Michell Library, asked to leave, no explanation; Hyde Park Barracks, asked to leave, explanation given.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjrU41EoH0Y-M2Hyx32sEaI-x1LIJwEI5Q4fVFhBXaIjKiIBKqhrCUsyQ06sQ3qYNcy4w5RTIjJaTdcCjGHl0UW3310sndslpM-MlcrZ7zhawhSY3zbTqaz-6uI6BszQNy71aBps0ZPGo/s1600/DSCF8941+(640x382).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjrU41EoH0Y-M2Hyx32sEaI-x1LIJwEI5Q4fVFhBXaIjKiIBKqhrCUsyQ06sQ3qYNcy4w5RTIjJaTdcCjGHl0UW3310sndslpM-MlcrZ7zhawhSY3zbTqaz-6uI6BszQNy71aBps0ZPGo/s1600/DSCF8941+(640x382).jpg" height="238" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">We knew something big was happening – people everywhere were glued to their mobiles (yes, even more than usual).</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSgVHBwzlfChDmNzb02WAOigHq0V7LQhswpRdbfmwPH1mbxOdqP6aQIpS9ZyglYrFW7CEoDr8APtp7S-q-cls8SyWabJ0p_RUjg6B8RMw03ZzqRgAbgSdvymGA057_gy6TuSkWThcRMbc/s1600/press.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSgVHBwzlfChDmNzb02WAOigHq0V7LQhswpRdbfmwPH1mbxOdqP6aQIpS9ZyglYrFW7CEoDr8APtp7S-q-cls8SyWabJ0p_RUjg6B8RMw03ZzqRgAbgSdvymGA057_gy6TuSkWThcRMbc/s1600/press.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">As we passed by the top of Martin Place we saw press people arriving in force, frantically setting up and doing live reports back to base.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjIt9GeEMjvsiFD6CAML6viy0pE_itoysY0MCeDHO_VUkZ1z05hWlw3pxECrJQKIJNL1mUoAOKbonXs6ZMSVjf3SHSx4q85ZCN4m0oTsA57QIT4Z_meNFFa4HxZFLbmKArn6VWZTs_gRM/s1600/DSCF8947+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjIt9GeEMjvsiFD6CAML6viy0pE_itoysY0MCeDHO_VUkZ1z05hWlw3pxECrJQKIJNL1mUoAOKbonXs6ZMSVjf3SHSx4q85ZCN4m0oTsA57QIT4Z_meNFFa4HxZFLbmKArn6VWZTs_gRM/s1600/DSCF8947+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">At Hyde Park a small army of friendly constabulary were also assembling ...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGEE2G0rMzSu7xgpsbzemJocWbzHHIl54rKdjIgoBrA_5cFIs5m2vJa1bIbnLBvUVUIYPswnF7t-0CV6IYSJXr2_JVqac0tUn49NkMEsq1TLQzZonn0uJMNExHmOHUkgCfxqR39zauEDc/s1600/DSCF8950+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGEE2G0rMzSu7xgpsbzemJocWbzHHIl54rKdjIgoBrA_5cFIs5m2vJa1bIbnLBvUVUIYPswnF7t-0CV6IYSJXr2_JVqac0tUn49NkMEsq1TLQzZonn0uJMNExHmOHUkgCfxqR39zauEDc/s1600/DSCF8950+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">… with bikes!...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHl29P2zLY0vkwsPr49iTjdwJFxR8tk46JKO23VC2nHTALq9h-68EmRwrqnb1qsgoCqcd_GvangxZil4NYjm4Y3Di-Sn2LfIMvikBbzpTFVVOMOZ0-YPeM1NdlnVJ2VIgTTHYEQMXM1a0/s1600/DSCF8964+(640x395).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHl29P2zLY0vkwsPr49iTjdwJFxR8tk46JKO23VC2nHTALq9h-68EmRwrqnb1qsgoCqcd_GvangxZil4NYjm4Y3Di-Sn2LfIMvikBbzpTFVVOMOZ0-YPeM1NdlnVJ2VIgTTHYEQMXM1a0/s1600/DSCF8964+(640x395).jpg" height="246" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">… highway patrol vehicles???!!...</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi__XMhSlr0TPdNe7WHN4u93rpOWZYeXRNDNVPnRfntC-l7XkkIgnxFMgur5-VRUzgfzqNnNF2LXAzD9QkGn8tXAovK_FYtcIXjAqhhhJ54_8pVTnkxKyMU7HuTG9g3fTw3XW-mCUy-tBM/s1600/DSCF8967+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi__XMhSlr0TPdNe7WHN4u93rpOWZYeXRNDNVPnRfntC-l7XkkIgnxFMgur5-VRUzgfzqNnNF2LXAzD9QkGn8tXAovK_FYtcIXjAqhhhJ54_8pVTnkxKyMU7HuTG9g3fTw3XW-mCUy-tBM/s1600/DSCF8967+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">… incident control vehicles and assorted emergency response vehicles.</span></td></tr>
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Tasmania might'n have any jobs, but it's definitely looking better and better!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-69889784702767251542015-01-03T23:47:00.000-08:002015-01-03T23:47:46.616-08:00Sail Boat Racing – by Gary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yhVa_MfQx_og9pvlftkPAecYp9wr4UjEfn9O2rOZZZdCk6p7F1RNM7QMsEH7fm-yzMxOqwdiigkl2VRhVOY4jGT8agzxzfVYxbu7tPK6TPdKCbP9MC2wMZY4urZ5RoBLiDJrwAgCTdE/s1600/DSCF8814+(640x463).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yhVa_MfQx_og9pvlftkPAecYp9wr4UjEfn9O2rOZZZdCk6p7F1RNM7QMsEH7fm-yzMxOqwdiigkl2VRhVOY4jGT8agzxzfVYxbu7tPK6TPdKCbP9MC2wMZY4urZ5RoBLiDJrwAgCTdE/s1600/DSCF8814+(640x463).jpg" height="288" width="400" /></a></div>
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While in Sydney we were treated to some pretty impressive yacht racing - which of course particularly captured Zeke's imagination.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Maxis Round the Buoys</span></b><br />
This was a precursor to the Sydney Hobart race, and featured the super maxis and pocket maxis that would compete in that race.<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi09HVshBqOJj-a1HdDcEUfp_ExZoi9Gc2Jg1Mt_LMbo0lb1_tYXeriY5zKGhf1-q8WSyVKD6PJ9iIJNajkePJYE7zRs9lu9zem72sEjvkYEeP84f5zFVC1EFFtrglM9XR54hj84F88vQM/s1600/DSCF8833+(640x525).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi09HVshBqOJj-a1HdDcEUfp_ExZoi9Gc2Jg1Mt_LMbo0lb1_tYXeriY5zKGhf1-q8WSyVKD6PJ9iIJNajkePJYE7zRs9lu9zem72sEjvkYEeP84f5zFVC1EFFtrglM9XR54hj84F88vQM/s1600/DSCF8833+(640x525).jpg" height="327" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">This turned in to a strictly two horse race – a taste of things to come. Here is <i>Wild Oates</i> thundering down to the finish line...</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">… closely followed in second place by the USA boat <i>Commanche</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: start;">.</span></span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Extreme 40s</span></b><br />
Now this was an absolute blast, Formula 1 style racing, but on the water. These are hi-tech carbon fibre cats capable of speeds up to 35 knots. Five man elite crews race them in a global series that brings the action up close and personal with spectators, running short in-shore races designed to maximise strategy and excitement. This year's series traveled to Singapore, Oman, China, Russsia, UK, Turkey, France and held the final four day series in Sydney.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-hHNA7IvshQD_VKF2SMsany9Vy_ZKR0SDzYitrU-8_ELEerqCBgIWMvRTTL36VVn5kIQzuMir_kJ3YmQ36mYwMOKnZnVFRVlK1M1S6CaAdJRUvB_5AedKbjijmtK4iDgeqQX2R3y55tE/s1600/111+(640x360).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-hHNA7IvshQD_VKF2SMsany9Vy_ZKR0SDzYitrU-8_ELEerqCBgIWMvRTTL36VVn5kIQzuMir_kJ3YmQ36mYwMOKnZnVFRVlK1M1S6CaAdJRUvB_5AedKbjijmtK4iDgeqQX2R3y55tE/s1600/111+(640x360).jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">This is yacht racing like no other – bringing the boats right in close to spectators</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PEcQvGNLPGWKka7oNkh5iFZ8CJLBHnP4IIttTuXrs7cvzYx7MGHaMz8hnyW6Zn1xLVlOqBImRSAh1-8i21qG3MH46hSDtMAyoRXtoyahT3qKUkOaUw2grhyqn_z-vS3VY2hy3C3VtDI/s1600/DSCF8874+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PEcQvGNLPGWKka7oNkh5iFZ8CJLBHnP4IIttTuXrs7cvzYx7MGHaMz8hnyW6Zn1xLVlOqBImRSAh1-8i21qG3MH46hSDtMAyoRXtoyahT3qKUkOaUw2grhyqn_z-vS3VY2hy3C3VtDI/s1600/DSCF8874+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Five men elite crews (wearing crash helmets) race around the deck furiously grinding, steering, ballast shifting and just plain hanging on.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX-U6l_m18foekPKC6juQ4XuwRcEv5EZeUDGLQlGzpVJfNtLY0hmgYU6K3cr6EL6zqLoluOefeZHZ0JZOJrmX97Zn9WTYrPb3Gl9qMztq_baX8Z3wJBQM0fL25Snb4XYOESfotlU9H5Hc/s1600/DSCF8877+(640x435).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX-U6l_m18foekPKC6juQ4XuwRcEv5EZeUDGLQlGzpVJfNtLY0hmgYU6K3cr6EL6zqLoluOefeZHZ0JZOJrmX97Zn9WTYrPb3Gl9qMztq_baX8Z3wJBQM0fL25Snb4XYOESfotlU9H5Hc/s1600/DSCF8877+(640x435).jpg" height="271" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">These boats fly. Courses are set to provide choices: turn right out of a gate for a longer leg that allows you to re-converge the fleet on starboard tack, turn left for a shorter leg that has you re-converging on port tack – the skipper decides.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1guJAZyJgjtXdjvrzqf7jmyaplxqDWKiulyVjYde9ZiCxpZ86X0U7T2SilFVmf_UUTTCkKq_mA9IAvbWcnrw8Hl2qnDm6jhrwRGGtjtq6O2Vx-Ud0fnucFHbD7gGJFMhCXbRbiKKWuh4/s1600/DSCF8885+(640x414).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1guJAZyJgjtXdjvrzqf7jmyaplxqDWKiulyVjYde9ZiCxpZ86X0U7T2SilFVmf_UUTTCkKq_mA9IAvbWcnrw8Hl2qnDm6jhrwRGGtjtq6O2Vx-Ud0fnucFHbD7gGJFMhCXbRbiKKWuh4/s1600/DSCF8885+(640x414).jpg" height="258" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The day we attended was blustery with 20 knot bullets. That leeward hull is looking very close to burying itself...</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM8y4hak8WFEu_Hw1n-aeVvrqXhzmgWQlkLRa7tEn0UhxOSRtOqGxaqiyo1KuFlg1bysqX6JQ8ekC1tbEwqsUZbLAoFGRSAdGZaxeGJfx4cOk_M8WZsTg0S5e44iDHTAJivPK-hF61QIA/s1600/DSCF8884+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM8y4hak8WFEu_Hw1n-aeVvrqXhzmgWQlkLRa7tEn0UhxOSRtOqGxaqiyo1KuFlg1bysqX6JQ8ekC1tbEwqsUZbLAoFGRSAdGZaxeGJfx4cOk_M8WZsTg0S5e44iDHTAJivPK-hF61QIA/s1600/DSCF8884+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Rooster tails a-flyin'.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4H2jzvApDO1rJKtmKqzPTEXPl1DcEfWIaGf2Nhvvgm_f5ZZA2VMbxoNucYypXZcalg6IIrsxVu-pfv2G9KXqpdzePO7Ft_ysFjg15r_0KOFdjpirzH-wJqmbacpxdqvJ6UOvSlEoyRg/s1600/DSCF8881+(640x495).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4H2jzvApDO1rJKtmKqzPTEXPl1DcEfWIaGf2Nhvvgm_f5ZZA2VMbxoNucYypXZcalg6IIrsxVu-pfv2G9KXqpdzePO7Ft_ysFjg15r_0KOFdjpirzH-wJqmbacpxdqvJ6UOvSlEoyRg/s1600/DSCF8881+(640x495).jpg" height="308" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Just look at that spray coming up, these boats are on a knife edge of control.</span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-87499904358093942602014-12-01T14:31:00.000-08:002014-12-01T14:31:11.884-08:00Back in Sydney!!! - by Gary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFCL4gwuG5GRNr3SFmWhZRa_ggktgeo7nqVDaDEImiVsDN5SwhOcfMFIk2_BSPXte4z-t-U9XCl3-XZb1XEavs3vUeuCGbPRlxY51_ECerEr6fJw1ybNtlXHQqz_9d2JpryP3ELtinYXA/s1600/sydney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFCL4gwuG5GRNr3SFmWhZRa_ggktgeo7nqVDaDEImiVsDN5SwhOcfMFIk2_BSPXte4z-t-U9XCl3-XZb1XEavs3vUeuCGbPRlxY51_ECerEr6fJw1ybNtlXHQqz_9d2JpryP3ELtinYXA/s1600/sydney.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Five years ago this is where the family sailing adventure really began. Been a lot of water pass under the keel since then; the kids have kept close count – 41 countries. And still so much to see!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq21tftG47Rre43M_5FMXIQeu8APNBgNAxF6Jtt6oHLUNR6F8tKO3ryQtLorE8vhRRQUC0WNZSCwUCx7NUr6g2PbDX3yU0YR3fT2Eltmj6BjNYhsJxi1h1a912crT0L-_lycXslGFJ4C8/s1600/World+-+Sydney.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq21tftG47Rre43M_5FMXIQeu8APNBgNAxF6Jtt6oHLUNR6F8tKO3ryQtLorE8vhRRQUC0WNZSCwUCx7NUr6g2PbDX3yU0YR3fT2Eltmj6BjNYhsJxi1h1a912crT0L-_lycXslGFJ4C8/s1600/World+-+Sydney.JPG" height="226" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">A map of our travels.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis-O3n60htWO0MINzV45PYvNY-dnOJt1u1ThsZ049MbnXLSbvPXgF7UE6L-Y7hEmr_6dC4BOcbiLgF2GmXY8O8HyUJwHPHjbi45Ax01yTXOFpfa1np4wFLJLrsgwTiCeZ2JyyEaGqOVaU/s1600/RIMG0017+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis-O3n60htWO0MINzV45PYvNY-dnOJt1u1ThsZ049MbnXLSbvPXgF7UE6L-Y7hEmr_6dC4BOcbiLgF2GmXY8O8HyUJwHPHjbi45Ax01yTXOFpfa1np4wFLJLrsgwTiCeZ2JyyEaGqOVaU/s1600/RIMG0017+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Zeke and Nina, arriving in Sydney Harbour aboard <i>Kallisto</i> five years ago.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn_mNmDfoPx65SrTsGSqIusFq4HHlGY_8p9ziJ5bf0_KaqNbzohaJaMAkUW5Qj1tuAtV-Ifd3dTbQo3p2PBDLRgN-AXMjcz2TNrAnbVUgexIuHElK7isB35PpcdpDZIkP9B4nvVFxoJTQ/s1600/DSCF8783+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn_mNmDfoPx65SrTsGSqIusFq4HHlGY_8p9ziJ5bf0_KaqNbzohaJaMAkUW5Qj1tuAtV-Ifd3dTbQo3p2PBDLRgN-AXMjcz2TNrAnbVUgexIuHElK7isB35PpcdpDZIkP9B4nvVFxoJTQ/s1600/DSCF8783+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Zeke and Nina arriving in Sydney Harbour aboard <i>Mojombo</i> yesterday!</span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-67957933281350379772014-11-17T02:13:00.000-08:002014-11-17T02:13:27.609-08:00Visiting Friends – by Gary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEc8ro38OKCvPEk4XTokboL26tOyTbI0bTtn51BFEEGsLtlttT1NH6gvfLBJ7CHMGvcVHBzRcclyh7q02S3blKQuTrO3u-EzqsNLi5z8z3n9hxMsRepmVKnXat4jSSEbqojsGx3KT1eHQ/s1600/DSCF8740+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEc8ro38OKCvPEk4XTokboL26tOyTbI0bTtn51BFEEGsLtlttT1NH6gvfLBJ7CHMGvcVHBzRcclyh7q02S3blKQuTrO3u-EzqsNLi5z8z3n9hxMsRepmVKnXat4jSSEbqojsGx3KT1eHQ/s1600/DSCF8740+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">What's this???</span></b></span></td></tr>
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Do you know what the above is? Can you guess? Set in a low sandstone wall, it's a horse hitching wall out front of an Ipswich church. Cool huh? Recently we spent several very pleasant days in Ipswich visiting friends and, amongst other things, discovering that this small city of 160 odd thousand people boasts some really interesting historic architecture.<br />
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The real highlight of the town's built heritage are the 'Queenslanders', that unique form of vernacular architecture, responding so beautifully to climate. Raised high on stumps these houses escape the radiant heat of the ground, capture breezes and, with their low thermal mass, cool off quickly at night. Wide shady verandahs and high pitched, vented roofs help keep the interior cool. The verandahs of course also provide wonderful outdoor living opportunities – even during an afternoon tropical downpour. Utilising the State's formerly abundant timbers, and cheap galvanised iron rooves, they could be built inexpensively.<br />
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Mein host Brian took us on a guided tour, explaining some of the 'nuts and bolts' of the style. He showed us how at the simplest end of the 'Queenslander 'spectrum there is your basic workers cottage. It's a small square house, built on stumps, with a high pitched roof and modest sun control over the windows. In its very simplest form front steps lead directly to the front door. Brian then went on to show us how this simple form can be amplified to find a solution appropriate to all tastes and circumstances.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWTIJjGKBnYGsdUoSU7NEU9kcbNvNIBKWctnVzzdrnVpjX2vGIBgXlGueMJaNv-KwgyQCVxrnPhUMao-ES00XB3fhbiQrfNe9mcSFaFUpWpNVEnA_Psbqe8Z-QV2ramVTI46Ne2cHob4U/s1600/DSCF8686+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWTIJjGKBnYGsdUoSU7NEU9kcbNvNIBKWctnVzzdrnVpjX2vGIBgXlGueMJaNv-KwgyQCVxrnPhUMao-ES00XB3fhbiQrfNe9mcSFaFUpWpNVEnA_Psbqe8Z-QV2ramVTI46Ne2cHob4U/s1600/DSCF8686+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Here is a workers cottage, but a flash one, it's fitted with a front verandah. As you can see the verandah has been closed in at some stage to provide extra internal volume.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfXEjcZOrnOhYAHCDnJxp7E2P_WqQIs0plVP8BPcglOppZv5s7ORTyhl9iMREoFnY0Aa9V09vv05HAyhDvOtONRwGpKmo8uy4iM-mAKq6Hpn14U6wVjhudBqqAJ8nl2d3AktriiH_z6s8/s1600/worker+cottage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfXEjcZOrnOhYAHCDnJxp7E2P_WqQIs0plVP8BPcglOppZv5s7ORTyhl9iMREoFnY0Aa9V09vv05HAyhDvOtONRwGpKmo8uy4iM-mAKq6Hpn14U6wVjhudBqqAJ8nl2d3AktriiH_z6s8/s1600/worker+cottage.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Painted and restored the workers cottage can be a charming place to live.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibKpoDWLEPdR-XFTJcWFgO7ljwaNLW_zEVLAnPgbgYtZ94dU-n0h31E_xp6LGekoF5BRfl2lXeGyMW_vTDs_B4T78sF0hx7jcuogdmUNqeR_zQGpQ-QU-ATeFpiiNiaf9iGcaY0JxdjGk/s1600/DSCF8689+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibKpoDWLEPdR-XFTJcWFgO7ljwaNLW_zEVLAnPgbgYtZ94dU-n0h31E_xp6LGekoF5BRfl2lXeGyMW_vTDs_B4T78sF0hx7jcuogdmUNqeR_zQGpQ-QU-ATeFpiiNiaf9iGcaY0JxdjGk/s1600/DSCF8689+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">If you'd got more money you could ask the builder to add some further complexity, a wrap around verandah, a gable end over the entry, some more decorative elements.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigxKAyiUvp1nfeBY3zltMRMhaqB76S-V8nge9AGq0HwvrDAjvf1gSW6GDDDlDfJmRqcfWv2YKIxjjbBT9vAQJoX9jT9oou2eNEwCOb8k2reH3ROIL1EtTGha2890_Gn6_l09agXQBpNCE/s1600/DSCF8677+(640x390).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigxKAyiUvp1nfeBY3zltMRMhaqB76S-V8nge9AGq0HwvrDAjvf1gSW6GDDDlDfJmRqcfWv2YKIxjjbBT9vAQJoX9jT9oou2eNEwCOb8k2reH3ROIL1EtTGha2890_Gn6_l09agXQBpNCE/s1600/DSCF8677+(640x390).jpg" height="243" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">With even more money you could 'bigger' the whole thing, integrating the verandah under a single pitched roof and add more decorative elements. The bit on the back is most likely a later addition.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOHd3Y1JFETGgZdDZaTN7MZ_jzRmsGnQB9EGxOa3pN3KJILDq_2M8pu7kinEMW53-NIeadfYX92F7R7qqrgTeE9PmST9SDrBnfJF_5h-ZODKhq6deUpDoas-Edm8IiAq9fUoSJQSYboo0/s1600/still+more+money.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOHd3Y1JFETGgZdDZaTN7MZ_jzRmsGnQB9EGxOa3pN3KJILDq_2M8pu7kinEMW53-NIeadfYX92F7R7qqrgTeE9PmST9SDrBnfJF_5h-ZODKhq6deUpDoas-Edm8IiAq9fUoSJQSYboo0/s1600/still+more+money.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Still more money? Put the house on a bigger block, get the builder to add more detailing to the verandah and roof line over the entry statement. Perhaps splurge on some bay windows.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWruuMwhz2E5LtoQVmfB9kCQ0Sp3lvrI5pip8oUtifTfISyW6NoIn48baSigqHNWH6WiEJX56aSbqoHKyzBiTb7cj7j0rV8FULIvRirTGh1lWxLcniAPJI4eD6AItchVWBDz8lCXyKlzg/s1600/DSCF8702+(640x299).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWruuMwhz2E5LtoQVmfB9kCQ0Sp3lvrI5pip8oUtifTfISyW6NoIn48baSigqHNWH6WiEJX56aSbqoHKyzBiTb7cj7j0rV8FULIvRirTGh1lWxLcniAPJI4eD6AItchVWBDz8lCXyKlzg/s1600/DSCF8702+(640x299).jpg" height="186" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Filthy rich? Get the big block, depart entirely from the basic square, add wings, bays, french doors and lots of detailing.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGn7pmP7V9TE_B8RJwHkZ9jOJptN1O9cHy9Z06VVQzUbfqoNlOehl6Ve5BKD80z0vF3mIS2cOpJVRE9A2ghrfd-xdeQa41d2qwoj0Xwz2BcfDTl_eUgCagpIuBJCTVqNs6moh_hli11PY/s1600/verandah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGn7pmP7V9TE_B8RJwHkZ9jOJptN1O9cHy9Z06VVQzUbfqoNlOehl6Ve5BKD80z0vF3mIS2cOpJVRE9A2ghrfd-xdeQa41d2qwoj0Xwz2BcfDTl_eUgCagpIuBJCTVqNs6moh_hli11PY/s1600/verandah.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Verandahs – ultra cool and stylish or down to earth slobby, wonderful either way.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvBqJN39pevbUjxAcpL2M12GXmvJo_bW-nQFvb6FcxDDaSUIJvc3i9W1THk3rRpmTssjYeqaZpcggz0wDm8PllqS8lKCPFrnTHD6jpqAOAyDs3mC6KhkmfO5SP93BK-MnVZx44wVpBsU/s1600/DSCF8737+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvBqJN39pevbUjxAcpL2M12GXmvJo_bW-nQFvb6FcxDDaSUIJvc3i9W1THk3rRpmTssjYeqaZpcggz0wDm8PllqS8lKCPFrnTHD6jpqAOAyDs3mC6KhkmfO5SP93BK-MnVZx44wVpBsU/s1600/DSCF8737+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Throw in a bit of landscaping and what more could you possibly want?</span></td></tr>
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Brian's explanation of the Queenslander, for me really captures the essence of its beauty. The form allows for such a wide range of personal expression depending upon your taste and financial circumstances, yet creates towns and neighbourhoods with extraordinary cohesiveness, so conspicuously absent in contemporary Australian suburbs. But I guess you have to like painting.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMlPyLyTIXaYaXEX04SB7lN4uY16ctXExRew2KhAXTpfOL0EdQt83nhj8eF0XnBf9hI6soBgjml3ZfPTriAYcgtcTIMlLmWWl1jA3jsHcLE0gzCPNB7YEr1MXNdUs19KWWM2wVfRzybkk/s1600/fun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMlPyLyTIXaYaXEX04SB7lN4uY16ctXExRew2KhAXTpfOL0EdQt83nhj8eF0XnBf9hI6soBgjml3ZfPTriAYcgtcTIMlLmWWl1jA3jsHcLE0gzCPNB7YEr1MXNdUs19KWWM2wVfRzybkk/s1600/fun.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Our architectural guided tour took in some other notable works. I'm a sucker for a bit of built humour.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3mj4xp9xRebHH3c5LMK50O-2Bkg7Bp_4EG926HD2L-U87SaZJziB5ZmlJK9YiSJcM16jzL0ZC1Wv6IikeaKYGwrWAYqhU4BTysmf3KySXtqs2K6f9l2Z8iWSmLVap0Hq2nF0Ti-6xDc/s1600/WBG+furnace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3mj4xp9xRebHH3c5LMK50O-2Bkg7Bp_4EG926HD2L-U87SaZJziB5ZmlJK9YiSJcM16jzL0ZC1Wv6IikeaKYGwrWAYqhU4BTysmf3KySXtqs2K6f9l2Z8iWSmLVap0Hq2nF0Ti-6xDc/s1600/WBG+furnace.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">But how about this? Walter Burley Griffin, the American architect, landscape architect cum town planner is well known for giving us Canberra, less well known for his Sydney suburb of Castlecraig and a whole slew of private houses, but perhaps even less well known for his industrial architecture – the hand of the master is so evident in this Ipswich incinerator plant.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwsf76g2T6GG25BaS_8uiTlFcKjMNFysDc8Y8INnwJvmh6IDT_BSUw54S6LbstTrMkl4mvBp8yHelFsXEc68a-ya8okcgXXBuDom97OL5vOAqJIxCMlgDYcr-qXf9GjVysRFDdo061gLQ/s1600/DSCF8752+(640x342).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwsf76g2T6GG25BaS_8uiTlFcKjMNFysDc8Y8INnwJvmh6IDT_BSUw54S6LbstTrMkl4mvBp8yHelFsXEc68a-ya8okcgXXBuDom97OL5vOAqJIxCMlgDYcr-qXf9GjVysRFDdo061gLQ/s1600/DSCF8752+(640x342).jpg" height="213" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">On the right, in order after Zeke are our wonderful Ipswich hosts, Majella, Brian, Jean, Tasman and Yogi the dog. Thanks for a great time guys.</span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-91350747492928049322014-11-15T20:24:00.000-08:002014-11-16T18:49:58.857-08:00Hey we're famous! - by Gary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<img height="400" src="https://us-mg6.mail.yahoo.com/ya/download?mid=2%5f0%5f0%5f1%5f13693%5fAM9K2kIAABGdVF2cPgIygCvEIc0&m=YaDownload&pid=2.2&fid=Inbox&inline=1&appid=yahoomail" width="288" /></div>
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While in Apia, Samoa we were approached by the editor of an online travel magazine aimed at families.<br />
"Could I do a story on you guys?" she asked.<br />
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"Us!!!??" Being perhaps our one and only chance at fame, however tiny and fleeting, of course we lunged at it. Our interview is now a feature in their November issue. <br />
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If you are interested, a link to the November issue is <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8kvMq6MMy2bdlcwazkxazhReEE/view?usp=sharing">RIGHT HERE</a>. The home page for Awesome Family Adventures is <a href="http://www.awesomefamilyadventures.com/">here</a>. Above is the promo that I think the magazine put up on its facebook page.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-91778679676052707952014-11-10T22:54:00.001-08:002014-11-10T22:54:42.259-08:00Bundaberg Floods – by Gary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3LbyJ42vuXzYezz5hmLz-4v-FK9w2UJyLtfT2qKOckqvSiZj93JrndxI4Hvfhnt7DYydsyM8JR5_Lf4IfOBPB6YEcNS7OqCcAsyDxm3PC-RhAwjKX7LTk2XkY9PY39p4bAKnpqSpsiA/s1600/bundy+from+above.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3LbyJ42vuXzYezz5hmLz-4v-FK9w2UJyLtfT2qKOckqvSiZj93JrndxI4Hvfhnt7DYydsyM8JR5_Lf4IfOBPB6YEcNS7OqCcAsyDxm3PC-RhAwjKX7LTk2XkY9PY39p4bAKnpqSpsiA/s1600/bundy+from+above.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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Some of you may recall <a href="http://svkallisto.blogspot.com.au/2011/09/flood.html">my entry</a> on the severe Bundaberg floods of 2010. These floods inconveniently curtailed my Christmas visit to Adelaide, forcing me to hurriedly return to Kallisto to look after her. Remarkably, just 2 years later Bundaberg experienced even worse floods when Cyclone Oswald brought torrential rain to southern Queensland, causing the Burnett River to again burst its banks. </div>
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Returning once again to Bundaberg, this time in Mojombo, and cruising the Burnett from mouth to town centre, a distance of some 10km, we were shocked to see the amount of damage so indelibly visited upon the banks by these two events. Great swathes of vegetation have been laid waste, severe erosion can be seen in places and a considerable amount of property damage is still evident. What really captured our attention was a set of markers attached to a building, indicating just how much worse the 2013 flood was.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kwXRIjeEdu_zIZTC-v5gGrR6v6fkVx_-sWFOq5uBew87yZK3-MF1j_uB_uEEM3OsrU1c4XpF2RqP7ctNDvab_F6129_An0CAR8h0NZlEpkWhIfTUGHDOu_YQdnJPlEFojhkVII3lkd8/s1600/DSCF8602+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kwXRIjeEdu_zIZTC-v5gGrR6v6fkVx_-sWFOq5uBew87yZK3-MF1j_uB_uEEM3OsrU1c4XpF2RqP7ctNDvab_F6129_An0CAR8h0NZlEpkWhIfTUGHDOu_YQdnJPlEFojhkVII3lkd8/s1600/DSCF8602+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">The 2013 flood level was about 1.5 metres higher than in 2010 – when you spread that out across the entire flood plain that's an astonishing amount of additional water!!!!</span></td></tr>
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The 2013 flood was the worst in recorded history, it was 7.34 metres above the high tide level, and as I said, came just three years after the bad floods of 2010. Global warming strikes again??? I was intrigued, so did a little rummage through the internet on the topic. And came up with a fascinating find - a graph of peak flood levels since the beginning of records (not that long ago) prepared by our very own Met Bureau (they wouldn't lie would they!?).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoO5pywf61L4Z8qcKQPMGCs5liMYuEU_GXEzYT1D8o6dXZy3SQsuXG4eHMhJ-esp9j6Ne9NI_lbma2Y67wxRRkNV7Qo0wvCyZ7ZcBmRHpr1Eapqhq8IDxdck-FB52b10NYem0FpynKvUU/s1600/pk_bundaberg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoO5pywf61L4Z8qcKQPMGCs5liMYuEU_GXEzYT1D8o6dXZy3SQsuXG4eHMhJ-esp9j6Ne9NI_lbma2Y67wxRRkNV7Qo0wvCyZ7ZcBmRHpr1Eapqhq8IDxdck-FB52b10NYem0FpynKvUU/s1600/pk_bundaberg.png" height="232" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marvelous what you can find on the web!!</td></tr>
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As the graph shows, the Burnett floods reasonably regularly, and ok, the 2013 flood was a record – but not by all that much. Considering how much development now crowds the banks I wouldn't have thought a modest increase was hardly a cause for surprise But here is the real surprise, a major flood occurred in 1890, followed by another major flood just three years later in 1893! Hows that for a coincidence. And get this, the 1893 floods were actually two floods, spaced just two weeks apart!<br />
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One thing I still wonder about though is whether the environmental damage to the river was similar in those earlier floods, or whether perhaps the bank ecology is now more fragile. I suspect it is.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOQxfYlnyxwdUk4TkdsZkPyeSL4Tlm5d7yjXU1qL6MoUnmMxFJHW0XxE0RinpCu5XklfnOZGtpZ6qS2gsespV-ihNEVrPEU59AFqgA-aFqtqDkHOq6dAKLr0tLpHkINgxL3bAcsWGKHgo/s1600/DSCF8616+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOQxfYlnyxwdUk4TkdsZkPyeSL4Tlm5d7yjXU1qL6MoUnmMxFJHW0XxE0RinpCu5XklfnOZGtpZ6qS2gsespV-ihNEVrPEU59AFqgA-aFqtqDkHOq6dAKLr0tLpHkINgxL3bAcsWGKHgo/s1600/DSCF8616+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Damage to mangroves is astonishing in places. Regrowth is occurring, but basically from scratch.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGVht7HPIwJIJvVbeFZ2k6lsZz3Lhl5-4GXwIW-DOhp0z3IqZRd9-ogfA2Gx2m1Orb3-hHvWc7wAmtIPwp0OcwAvqW0CRq1s43HfG_QuKi_qBtaflUGf9-_fG-got9LO5MOckUvRuntnc/s1600/DSCF8610+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGVht7HPIwJIJvVbeFZ2k6lsZz3Lhl5-4GXwIW-DOhp0z3IqZRd9-ogfA2Gx2m1Orb3-hHvWc7wAmtIPwp0OcwAvqW0CRq1s43HfG_QuKi_qBtaflUGf9-_fG-got9LO5MOckUvRuntnc/s1600/DSCF8610+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Bank erosion is severe in places.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGzlTUS8F-1WJchsBV2Q_PDOk5M8mGNiwZV2Warg49zGrQh3poghFs38_kN1tsZCqSA5KIgOQ_ZAzX8ONqTv4i8-zNfvvry4zashdX83uDcJ4Zv0cTUQiczOaSsZS9xiOu1sdI_KXBab4/s1600/DSCF8621+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGzlTUS8F-1WJchsBV2Q_PDOk5M8mGNiwZV2Warg49zGrQh3poghFs38_kN1tsZCqSA5KIgOQ_ZAzX8ONqTv4i8-zNfvvry4zashdX83uDcJ4Zv0cTUQiczOaSsZS9xiOu1sdI_KXBab4/s1600/DSCF8621+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Some of the cane fields look a might smaller.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpy0mN4g7ZUtnu-hUlZx7gkq0Q0UECl39eQGJT0vrsVGc1hxkWT3skgIcejESGdMO1YMM4cogmcX6Edygx18efVL7oV26aZWEYUvPTfrJUE1nHLAM5QjhAERFbYMloCilhfAuR34g9EPI/s1600/DSCF8611+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpy0mN4g7ZUtnu-hUlZx7gkq0Q0UECl39eQGJT0vrsVGc1hxkWT3skgIcejESGdMO1YMM4cogmcX6Edygx18efVL7oV26aZWEYUvPTfrJUE1nHLAM5QjhAERFbYMloCilhfAuR34g9EPI/s1600/DSCF8611+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">So much of the bank vegetation has simply died or been swept away!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QVNJAkLX7HWRgKGVym4c4E7kWwGNvncBXaLwqByh6WDwhJ1vMZRTq-MHHTQntDWhd9dKz9gfCgFc49fIW0fHJrj4XEECDnOnlYEhAGvYsFcoOwhamNYyIz9kxV7dFJ5pZ7wz8-yU96k/s1600/asset+damage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QVNJAkLX7HWRgKGVym4c4E7kWwGNvncBXaLwqByh6WDwhJ1vMZRTq-MHHTQntDWhd9dKz9gfCgFc49fIW0fHJrj4XEECDnOnlYEhAGvYsFcoOwhamNYyIz9kxV7dFJ5pZ7wz8-yU96k/s1600/asset+damage.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Asset damage in the the 2013 floods must have been severe. For instance the Midtown Marina complex, which prior to the 2010 flood was quite extensive, has not recovered – it has simply ceased to exist.</span></td></tr>
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Going up the river to Bundaberg in Kallisto prior to the 2010 flood we were charmed by the natural beauty of the scenery. It seems recapturing that experience may take some time!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-36690934828144975162014-10-25T13:01:00.000-07:002014-10-25T13:01:12.393-07:00Landscape Analysis, Southern New Caledonia – by Gary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwbZWkU7pq1-kHE5DKUgfVUzScw063juSprXoICuTRmfOSwMn9_UAok3lfQ28-9akniBCCKiImNZQqz5yKs6cNrnUZcXdMjeJIfrP9y1HhfMsZ6E_LcklOeepR-CrqZeQHgRkzg6mSJ4A/s1600/DSCF8473+(640x357).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwbZWkU7pq1-kHE5DKUgfVUzScw063juSprXoICuTRmfOSwMn9_UAok3lfQ28-9akniBCCKiImNZQqz5yKs6cNrnUZcXdMjeJIfrP9y1HhfMsZ6E_LcklOeepR-CrqZeQHgRkzg6mSJ4A/s1600/DSCF8473+(640x357).jpg" height="222" width="400" /></a></div>
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First light on our approach to Noumea found us gliding slowly through Canal Woodin, the narrow passage between the southern end of the big island of New Caledonia and the much smaller Ile Ouen. Steep hills, thin vegetation, many bare eroding gullies, the exposed soil and rock glowing orange – we were threading a remarkable landscape, reminiscent of the hills round Queenstown, Tasmania. Natural or man-made? This was our point of debate as we sailed through.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnMPWkaGvXZAwB2TRaBr895dcl_jg9GZGNiYvzcHO4DbkKkyPe6ijaqGW4PV9lhx0KOF9av83PAfV6WfE3D84rU5LK6Whc5ULVIbKFeFeXY20V7vDnW3VIb3Lu4OCr0OBfZXlfxr2QpM/s1600/canal+chart.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnMPWkaGvXZAwB2TRaBr895dcl_jg9GZGNiYvzcHO4DbkKkyPe6ijaqGW4PV9lhx0KOF9av83PAfV6WfE3D84rU5LK6Whc5ULVIbKFeFeXY20V7vDnW3VIb3Lu4OCr0OBfZXlfxr2QpM/s1600/canal+chart.JPG" height="191" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The red lines and dots show our route around the southern end of the big island of New Caledonia en route to Noumea.</span></div>
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One of the more striking aspects of this landscape - no people! Almost no direct sign of the activities of humans, apart from glimpses towards the head of Baie Du Prony of large scale mining activity. And no sign of grazers; sheep, cattle, goats – so no culprits there. We knew New Caledonia to be highly mineralised; iron, copper and most particularly nickel, a key ingredient of stainless steel are all found here. The mine we could vaguely discern in the poor light and distance was a huge new nickel ore extraction, concentration and export facility. Could old mining and prospecting activity have created this landscape? Could fire, that key tool of the old prospectors be causal? Or perhaps it was just natural?. Soil development was obviously highest at the bottom of slopes where vegetation was thickest, tallest and most luxuriant. Higher up the thin soils are most obviously capable of supporting only light, windswept heathy looking vegetation that likely dries out quickly between rainfalls. Could lightening strikes and subsequent hot fires have stripped vegetation and seedbeds, with erosion quickly following?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdCZe45iFpZm8zPhfrYNtIGiykD9AXLHbON2_xPS2CwiSTNdRpetX0gsQzfe6fEoeuF4Du4H3DQY88_QEcRUIxycBzT7J3UltY8uFgdcVBkBC5NPw680d_nsoxjkdPuQzat2cQZDwbPgg/s1600/DSCF8479+(640x401).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdCZe45iFpZm8zPhfrYNtIGiykD9AXLHbON2_xPS2CwiSTNdRpetX0gsQzfe6fEoeuF4Du4H3DQY88_QEcRUIxycBzT7J3UltY8uFgdcVBkBC5NPw680d_nsoxjkdPuQzat2cQZDwbPgg/s1600/DSCF8479+(640x401).jpg" height="250" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">The soils were obviously deepest at the base of slopes, with pockets of luxurient growth, featuring the distinctive pines of New Caledonia (Araucaria columnaris).</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLGqDPDTwH03ov76OzRRkUYktKgl7uzANazcv0UacshcrQudCx6vbXHStkeNMe1eLvDriVvt-kfu_axM0GJ3U7acAUN5p91sZgAoktgPwB_0SDrzitx-k2NDDWVxof5LRdtMztp2eGi_w/s1600/DSCF8476+(640x409).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLGqDPDTwH03ov76OzRRkUYktKgl7uzANazcv0UacshcrQudCx6vbXHStkeNMe1eLvDriVvt-kfu_axM0GJ3U7acAUN5p91sZgAoktgPwB_0SDrzitx-k2NDDWVxof5LRdtMztp2eGi_w/s1600/DSCF8476+(640x409).jpg" height="255" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">A high speed ferry distracted us from our morning cogitations – we clocked it at 36.2kn on the AIS as it screamed past.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jcvE42AoEpN2YpHz7J_wCqtHBw-pCNrvb5dAcTzmy6DlrdocSgKUXY2ojqOGLONFNOzwqRd7IQ7FZNqFVj26WLFWCQMuSEHHLXWt-xHlZzRY9UIOPW9yaCT8ALcypvgTNxB_NJXIxh4/s1600/DSCF8465+(640x347).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jcvE42AoEpN2YpHz7J_wCqtHBw-pCNrvb5dAcTzmy6DlrdocSgKUXY2ojqOGLONFNOzwqRd7IQ7FZNqFVj26WLFWCQMuSEHHLXWt-xHlZzRY9UIOPW9yaCT8ALcypvgTNxB_NJXIxh4/s1600/DSCF8465+(640x347).jpg" height="216" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">But back to our puzzle... its not difficult to imagine fire being a major factor in the development of this landscape.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZjDFo6oqTnxhPSgXzA6-2AwWI4XtoacZoUxVFPrEu8__NRgoBcFQd_vSKc6qWUfWrfctY726ysJ7oSHs_stly33cuqQMHgbXh0TbO-rFFImj2VIOA_qVPHdJCvXE0ARHfvn5-vJX_scI/s1600/DSCF8484+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZjDFo6oqTnxhPSgXzA6-2AwWI4XtoacZoUxVFPrEu8__NRgoBcFQd_vSKc6qWUfWrfctY726ysJ7oSHs_stly33cuqQMHgbXh0TbO-rFFImj2VIOA_qVPHdJCvXE0ARHfvn5-vJX_scI/s1600/DSCF8484+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Up slope, lacking vegetation, erosion of the loosely consolidated substratum would be rapid.</span></td></tr>
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We sought answers on arrival in Noumea, heading for the local library (itself a wonderful piece of history). Piecing together our bits of French, English and more than a few hand waving gesticulations we were shuffled past a phalanx of shoulder shrugging librarians – those answers were looking elusive! But miraculously we were rescued – a fellow standing in line behind us over-heard us and stepped in to help. A miner by profession and a 'Caldosh', that is, a descendent of the original French settlers, Jacques' depth of knowledge of his island's history, landscape evolution and current practices was impressive.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEBquuSD59V9aDQaBKGmdsKYiE06YwT94Ca19D8YjbJafbl80k0-PAdNyjYlg-YGY68PFaOKDaa8kCKWE4XMbMdKfSp0a5Y8-gSm_WFYWwPUik0W7c92jsY_39irWq6zGQ9nhnGw0e1ls/s1600/DSCF8508+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEBquuSD59V9aDQaBKGmdsKYiE06YwT94Ca19D8YjbJafbl80k0-PAdNyjYlg-YGY68PFaOKDaa8kCKWE4XMbMdKfSp0a5Y8-gSm_WFYWwPUik0W7c92jsY_39irWq6zGQ9nhnGw0e1ls/s1600/DSCF8508+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">In search of information, we headed for the local public library. Itself a fascinating piece of history, this building commenced life as the New Caledonia Pavillion in the 1900 Paris 'Exposition Universelle', and was dismantled and relocated to Noumea afterwards.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLHsLGlyhGL7sIkIDEkwyosxJh7aHca_nx-bYO_EKnpgvwt7Xu0RDkV0QrdEhyphenhyphenfM-e-XlciN3QJM62OrXp-DdmrJGXIp3o2D2ExxOm7EhhRKQpwV0DTB0pPgMSeYTTV_0iiHLWVQomqvI/s1600/trees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLHsLGlyhGL7sIkIDEkwyosxJh7aHca_nx-bYO_EKnpgvwt7Xu0RDkV0QrdEhyphenhyphenfM-e-XlciN3QJM62OrXp-DdmrJGXIp3o2D2ExxOm7EhhRKQpwV0DTB0pPgMSeYTTV_0iiHLWVQomqvI/s1600/trees.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">As Jacques pointed out, the library site boasts a collection of large, old trees, including on the left, a fine Kauri (same as grow in NZ). It was the Kauri, along with many other prized forest trees, that apparently grew prolifically around the southern end of the island. Jacques indicated that the first settlers, 150 to 200 years ago, rapidly harvested the trees for construction lumber. As we speculated, fire, high rainfall and erosion did the rest.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcBdpaKSBI5qJbw11ag-IeoadNLgCMQ3U9FfvugmdQo4Rkmog1hCUuALmtVYzbQKDVPOqqS84bpT_pi2JlQ3Vk6VYW_lfJH68R_I7AEffhdrcmHnmO3j5b4m8HatdcIpPkAogjSfMKSmo/s1600/DSCF8472+(640x235)%2B(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcBdpaKSBI5qJbw11ag-IeoadNLgCMQ3U9FfvugmdQo4Rkmog1hCUuALmtVYzbQKDVPOqqS84bpT_pi2JlQ3Vk6VYW_lfJH68R_I7AEffhdrcmHnmO3j5b4m8HatdcIpPkAogjSfMKSmo/s1600/DSCF8472+(640x235)%2B(2).jpg" height="146" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Meanwhile most of the southern part of the island has been declared a national park and is quietly repairing itself. It is in fact much, much greener than when I first saw it 30 years ago.</span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-84521551822873940742014-10-12T01:18:00.000-07:002014-10-12T01:18:05.840-07:00Where Old Fishing Boats Come to Die – by Gary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhghh0l4pHa3AgreMLaqZrKUczPLH808m3-jDGARQ57omwHU2Raz52vGNwCvNsVfZyV70AqB9yUHxexE6YPMH3KE4HbPAQ5GrJaDOsxlf8jZEQsY6yvN8iTo8XtL2-L9vyBu_d_7yW0zIM/s1600/DSCF8445+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhghh0l4pHa3AgreMLaqZrKUczPLH808m3-jDGARQ57omwHU2Raz52vGNwCvNsVfZyV70AqB9yUHxexE6YPMH3KE4HbPAQ5GrJaDOsxlf8jZEQsY6yvN8iTo8XtL2-L9vyBu_d_7yW0zIM/s1600/DSCF8445+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Like Australia, Fiji sells off the farm to maintain its day-to-day economy. The nations offshore fishing rights appear to be largely in the hands of others, with a huge Asian fishing fleet working out of Suva. I guess they come to this spacious, well equipped harbour for a bit of maintenance, fuel, provisions, ice and water, R&R and maybe to await tuna migrations?? Whatever the case there are large numbers of these boats 'hanging out' with minimal on-board activity, tied up alongside or lying to moorings in huge rafts.</div>
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I'm guessing the fishing is less than lucrative. Maintenance standards look low. Some boats appear near derelict. Others are quite obviously totally so, stripped of deck equipment like nets, buoys, lights, radio whips and windows. Some have burnt, several have sunk! Nobody seems to be minding much. Gotta be good for the fish too!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Rafted up five and ten deep alongside wharves</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Lying to moorings rafted up in the middle of the bay.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSQvRu87bHNZ9iknVenzE30owg59pOO_I61uhLaWwOfDNnrwiszAXmfFMsqgWqUbO3L9qFF15cyKjvZmuCpGAaE6I7WoLyt2Gl_rsUd7RWwXXftFGopR3sbBmIzute0qMnfQWqLtUGl8U/s1600/DSCF8444+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSQvRu87bHNZ9iknVenzE30owg59pOO_I61uhLaWwOfDNnrwiszAXmfFMsqgWqUbO3L9qFF15cyKjvZmuCpGAaE6I7WoLyt2Gl_rsUd7RWwXXftFGopR3sbBmIzute0qMnfQWqLtUGl8U/s1600/DSCF8444+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Undertaking a bit of needed maintenance.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCeZRXoTmJ-REfYRx6msNyShly5SR85PVeUF2d7dFrDhBfsDocr62MvHPY82aJIpU4qO7Ps9dLmsgUA6uTY1lvu2BC7sTr1sn0eRr-V-mZfm6kmbKHVPvF92VQR167yvHGjxCU2kTZRDo/s1600/maintenance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCeZRXoTmJ-REfYRx6msNyShly5SR85PVeUF2d7dFrDhBfsDocr62MvHPY82aJIpU4qO7Ps9dLmsgUA6uTY1lvu2BC7sTr1sn0eRr-V-mZfm6kmbKHVPvF92VQR167yvHGjxCU2kTZRDo/s1600/maintenance.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Although maintenance standards appear to be pretty average, some look near derelict.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Others obviously are derelict, stripped of valuable deck equipment.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Some are burnt ...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Jvnd3V2aecvclzfqmHXe6g7My7q_Qw9xPn14ZUOu_YNf1floPfdxl00X3hSniHqzW0nWYHx_zZDi-4d5ixuBzLMIYCHI5SV23xYtxdT8GIsaNwM75Y9XfiGpm8mLVSBf1Nsoa_RB9tY/s1600/sunk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Jvnd3V2aecvclzfqmHXe6g7My7q_Qw9xPn14ZUOu_YNf1floPfdxl00X3hSniHqzW0nWYHx_zZDi-4d5ixuBzLMIYCHI5SV23xYtxdT8GIsaNwM75Y9XfiGpm8mLVSBf1Nsoa_RB9tY/s1600/sunk.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">...others sunk.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LddNoeTKXhFbH_UMdcd3I4iGgDjfCFxZGUEui37BNFfboXlyY_Izi_ncrQwny9U4nhGmLre0Ns1zSJvUZlYMeOGTmnS4Lxrxyx9h8GAzOnDIGn9EEkgnA0ZhFW-aFGWESJ4P8WtwZ2U/s1600/DSCF8433+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LddNoeTKXhFbH_UMdcd3I4iGgDjfCFxZGUEui37BNFfboXlyY_Izi_ncrQwny9U4nhGmLre0Ns1zSJvUZlYMeOGTmnS4Lxrxyx9h8GAzOnDIGn9EEkgnA0ZhFW-aFGWESJ4P8WtwZ2U/s1600/DSCF8433+(640x480).jpg" height="280" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">It's quite a sight.</span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-9102927884706451072014-10-10T20:33:00.000-07:002014-10-10T20:33:01.334-07:00A Step Back In Time - by Zeke<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello everybody. The other day we briefly visited Levuka the former capital of Fiji where good old mother England controlled Fiji from. The town is full of old very beautiful colonial buildings that line the water front. For several hours we wandered around town amazed at the buildings experiencing the unreal feeling of going back in time.</div>
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Levuka was founded by traders and settlers in 1820. At the height of the towns growth when it was still the capital the population reached 800 people. Levuka holds many of Fiji's first's such as the first: bank, post office, school, private members club, hospital, town hall, and municipal government. The town was an important commercial port and business center for Fiji for over 60 years. However Levuka is no longer the capital. It was moved to Suva because of concerns that the town could not grow owing to the 600 meter cliffs hemming it in.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">With the assistance of a tuckers ice cream(proudly made in Fiji) we walked around town</span></td></tr>
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Left over from when the English ruled over half the world(a good part of it any way) are churches, old administration buildings, schools, shops and lots more. Many of the houses and shops along the main street have been recently restored to as near as can be guessed to what they looked like originally. It is an interesting mix of old colonial buildings and palm trees.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">A department store in town</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">A fruit and vegetable stall</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The school</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">The Masons Hall, arsonist burnt it in 2005</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">The town church</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">The town hall</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">This fly wheel,boiler and other components siting behind the diesel generating plant in town I think were part of Levukas first power scheme, the first power scheme in Fiji.</span></td></tr>
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Thank you for reading this blog on Levuka which I hope you found interesting. I enjoyed my visit to Levuka had a great time eating ice cream and looking old buildings.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-26566398693133271302014-10-05T22:12:00.000-07:002014-10-05T22:12:02.344-07:00Makogai Leper Colony – by Vicki<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our visit to Makogai provide an opportunity to learn more about the long history of leprosy and the terrible stigma attaching to those with this disease.<br />
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Northeast of Viti Levu sits Makogai Island, some 70 nautical miles from Suva. From 1911 to 1969 this island was home to a leprosy hospital, dormitories and villages for lepers from right across the south Pacific. Makogai's remoteness, and isolation from Suva, made the placement of a leprosarium there very attractive to colonial administrators. Now, much of this infrastructure has disappeared or lies in ruins.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">The staircase above is all that remains of the hospital (see first photo)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbAkZjOMuvaqQ0R5xObiaVrMHlxlaG6IVcl2tKF-4ahRiKXD5udXh2PDH8EUV3uUC0Woz0lO7crc9z3DMGYxWiCkW7r4_Wo3VEQSJKrQU3MhW9QeDf8ryA3LQZxoqNRl9SGvGFjHLvaUc/s1600/DSCF8262+(480x640).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbAkZjOMuvaqQ0R5xObiaVrMHlxlaG6IVcl2tKF-4ahRiKXD5udXh2PDH8EUV3uUC0Woz0lO7crc9z3DMGYxWiCkW7r4_Wo3VEQSJKrQU3MhW9QeDf8ryA3LQZxoqNRl9SGvGFjHLvaUc/s1600/DSCF8262+(480x640).jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Makogai's patients were housed in separate villages according to their ethnicity, and gender.</span></td></tr>
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At the beginning of the twentieth century there was no cure for leprosy. Treatments only reduced the symptoms and the separation of patients was the primary means for preventing the spread of the disease. The life of a leper on Makogai was not dreadful but still harsh by present day standards. Everyone that could was encouraged to farm the land, there was traditional village life, there were inter-village sports competitions, and there were even cinema evenings.<br />
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We were suprised to learn that it was not until 1948 that effective drugs became available. Of the 4500 patients that were sent to Makogai, a lot of people in those day, almost 1500 died and were buried in the cemetery. 3000 survivors were able to return to their country of origin, and their families.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwm-Yz4wjqT5TfZ2rSzCujdVoIgPvf51y1apOhQnBVHO12Mebov1Wh6EJ1JyIjsajIWo2gOVMZoFEtwhNtS0eLMGJqyBRKBC-eQm3gI-df97AJ74_U2vPyh5OJDIqIIFY9_AHksPCljio/s1600/DSCF8286+(480x640).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwm-Yz4wjqT5TfZ2rSzCujdVoIgPvf51y1apOhQnBVHO12Mebov1Wh6EJ1JyIjsajIWo2gOVMZoFEtwhNtS0eLMGJqyBRKBC-eQm3gI-df97AJ74_U2vPyh5OJDIqIIFY9_AHksPCljio/s1600/DSCF8286+(480x640).jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">A melancholy scene, row after row of headstones running up the hillside</span></td></tr>
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Makogai has two villages, one centred around the old hospital site and the other across the island where the leprosarium workers lived. Today fruits and vegetables grow amongst the foundations of the dormitories. Elsewhere the vegetation chokes the ruins and large trees have grown up through buildings.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDCfY-_vmlj5xnCeKM1_BDxowewqFxtpiP_mLrO49dCtg-w8l2-h2h6moLC3b1lsh2f637AvkLQx-63d9fmrUdnJmBGpjYHnvD_WZQ1pCytAxzcs0PMPSVgjH4NJ6xG19lwgjPED75mN0/s1600/Dormitories.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDCfY-_vmlj5xnCeKM1_BDxowewqFxtpiP_mLrO49dCtg-w8l2-h2h6moLC3b1lsh2f637AvkLQx-63d9fmrUdnJmBGpjYHnvD_WZQ1pCytAxzcs0PMPSVgjH4NJ6xG19lwgjPED75mN0/s1600/Dormitories.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Fireplaces in a cookhouse behind a dormitory and one of the few remaining dormitories</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuMLgfEPuWhoLV56xN6K4DDDh19_DDgSICheTBrvp2PJQyfB7fJCZKRjF__vtX1-X8OneaiWkzzmxXdgCcB0sY2UOMhPpVp4tmDmn-5fE86l7VhcM7z6_argg_LbJPPGzi8Wn-Po_2Ztk/s1600/Ruins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuMLgfEPuWhoLV56xN6K4DDDh19_DDgSICheTBrvp2PJQyfB7fJCZKRjF__vtX1-X8OneaiWkzzmxXdgCcB0sY2UOMhPpVp4tmDmn-5fE86l7VhcM7z6_argg_LbJPPGzi8Wn-Po_2Ztk/s1600/Ruins.jpg" height="137" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">An administration building, the surgery and pharmacy buildings</span></td></tr>
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The closure and abandonment of the leprosarium saw many building materials re-used elsewhere. The island was slowly resettled and became the national centre for a giant clam aquaculture project in 1986 to re-introduce them onto Fiji's reefs (native population lost in the 1960s). The giant clam project is still in operation and been augmented by a Hawkesbill Turtle hatchery – we visited both facilities.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMEEiNfQfkWBhieDPWyytPToxghwmUwipISZCVxBVP3fk6Ki4b6xUOUv1hk6DybLKzozxOeYYbB4QwEbk4sHOMv9L1Q_PSdfSzQlK5K9cZwBOO_ZbxYeAGjOlwBtYbIvshWC7bOVW5ZKU/s1600/clam+and+turtle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMEEiNfQfkWBhieDPWyytPToxghwmUwipISZCVxBVP3fk6Ki4b6xUOUv1hk6DybLKzozxOeYYbB4QwEbk4sHOMv9L1Q_PSdfSzQlK5K9cZwBOO_ZbxYeAGjOlwBtYbIvshWC7bOVW5ZKU/s1600/clam+and+turtle.jpg" height="148" width="400" /></a><br />
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To end our visit to this historic island we snorkeled along the foreshore over the giant clams, some free-standing and some in protective cages. The coral is colourful and diverse, with many soft corals. The fish are small but abundant. We see a huge variety of fish, many that we have not previously seen in the Pacific.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-59003680497989930892014-09-27T18:29:00.000-07:002014-09-27T18:29:08.407-07:00Five Years On - by Nina<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZm0VqUDa9_2fDjJlUTY7iFf3UBLWLV6wSV3sHT0RHWG3kLXEoEb9cf-_EWFFRBEgqq_4efTCZ45DNVVJPjcJFP1zn9-jST1y-7lsxpAdXZRkolq70KkImflE5u4crSBirEbYFVuqnw78/s1600/IMG_8995+(640x480)%2B(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZm0VqUDa9_2fDjJlUTY7iFf3UBLWLV6wSV3sHT0RHWG3kLXEoEb9cf-_EWFFRBEgqq_4efTCZ45DNVVJPjcJFP1zn9-jST1y-7lsxpAdXZRkolq70KkImflE5u4crSBirEbYFVuqnw78/s1600/IMG_8995+(640x480)%2B(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;"> Me riding an elephant in Sri Lanka with our friend Anne.</span></td></tr>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“I have been on an epic voyage and I live an adventurous life”</blockquote>
I said this when I was 8 for a school project about what we did on holidays. My teacher was duly impressed and she even told my parents on parents day.<br />
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We started sailing when I was seven and now I'm 12 and it has taken us all that time to sail around the world. We are now in Fiji and we have completed our circumnavigation.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-JsbpUvzfvt6W_GMIcdmNCSYY0Rv-Gj5LvyjZA1pErSqXp1eBaLw-tiX2RALEiD1FDdgKQAyqmMF6YrUDazBMSpLc6PRGO2cHVJGy4ECn9zWKy5MN3I18FIYrDQNssZkwJngnCZnpY0/s1600/World+-+Fiji.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-JsbpUvzfvt6W_GMIcdmNCSYY0Rv-Gj5LvyjZA1pErSqXp1eBaLw-tiX2RALEiD1FDdgKQAyqmMF6YrUDazBMSpLc6PRGO2cHVJGy4ECn9zWKy5MN3I18FIYrDQNssZkwJngnCZnpY0/s1600/World+-+Fiji.JPG" height="226" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">This is our track of us going around the world.</span></td></tr>
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I have also seen 40 countries in the process. It has been great and I'd like to continue sailing. But sadly we now have to go back so my brother can go to high school. We will be back in Australia in two months and back in Tasmania for the start of the school year.<br />
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Here are some of my favourite photos.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj77tvqASyTKJbRXN79uWiqcz-Z52S8uX271v2ku26HhLbbUHhTd9Ov06OgxRYnHfd9y_le4vcl-vK_a5r3krFEgek2egHhLw3IyT221S26d10DFLqGTywk4UR_oJbGZ8ltNtw8vtO2pwg/s1600/RIMG0017+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj77tvqASyTKJbRXN79uWiqcz-Z52S8uX271v2ku26HhLbbUHhTd9Ov06OgxRYnHfd9y_le4vcl-vK_a5r3krFEgek2egHhLw3IyT221S26d10DFLqGTywk4UR_oJbGZ8ltNtw8vtO2pwg/s1600/RIMG0017+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Zeke and me on the foredeck of Kallisto sailing into Sydney Harbour.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh67lR2VOrWblD8P-jDGFOfmJD1iR2fabnLuBuqjtxMtSPLT9hisEeyU3J1BI9L2xKLFZibEgPUrd9QjHvaVI7lVNVHKvaCAPdVaabmWoxnXo1FbxkLJOHX7p2gr1bCF9UFmQ0xBOAvg0s/s1600/IMG_8379+%5B640x480%5D+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh67lR2VOrWblD8P-jDGFOfmJD1iR2fabnLuBuqjtxMtSPLT9hisEeyU3J1BI9L2xKLFZibEgPUrd9QjHvaVI7lVNVHKvaCAPdVaabmWoxnXo1FbxkLJOHX7p2gr1bCF9UFmQ0xBOAvg0s/s1600/IMG_8379+%5B640x480%5D+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Swallow Cave in Tonga was an amazing site.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5vesJtuV9W8pJV6D98LfdUXdCJ1eVIBK-JL3YOy7Df-02PeSeW3UnbKaHUnVUtrhu4MYEn8VhJ9g_uzLi4CjDXPHqAcat9uEQjvQrVm3G2efOoIuAVQvxOrweMj7oJUmaYYakDr3xDI/s1600/P1040334+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5vesJtuV9W8pJV6D98LfdUXdCJ1eVIBK-JL3YOy7Df-02PeSeW3UnbKaHUnVUtrhu4MYEn8VhJ9g_uzLi4CjDXPHqAcat9uEQjvQrVm3G2efOoIuAVQvxOrweMj7oJUmaYYakDr3xDI/s1600/P1040334+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">This is a close up of some lava shooting out of the mouth of an active volcano in Vanuatu. We were standing on the rim. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPoe1y_4ktCIAgNstU-eCMNj-lPhb5a9uFCpEUpTu82JBwhlR2aqmUB1SgFIif-FOsTRpr1b9mMUVNKl8zP7eMKssLTmfs45bUENOMsGakvDBCshe3XmiEGBWr_pttMTJsQzYEaqUg-Mo/s1600/P1040265+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPoe1y_4ktCIAgNstU-eCMNj-lPhb5a9uFCpEUpTu82JBwhlR2aqmUB1SgFIif-FOsTRpr1b9mMUVNKl8zP7eMKssLTmfs45bUENOMsGakvDBCshe3XmiEGBWr_pttMTJsQzYEaqUg-Mo/s1600/P1040265+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">We did some pretty amazing snorkelling around Fiji and Vanuatu. I assure you this picture has not been photo shopped.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLKRtETfStRLudCSJAajfwCNLwhSCk-g2PRHI7JOuLEqvkSj-4IK2WnoLeua-yHV6IiKiN-M1e4iMM6XBJ4r8dVOG1AKTEifUfbcxEDlgchipLUcRWj6l3p_URY328g10tpgj_NpcBqM/s1600/IMG_0129+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLKRtETfStRLudCSJAajfwCNLwhSCk-g2PRHI7JOuLEqvkSj-4IK2WnoLeua-yHV6IiKiN-M1e4iMM6XBJ4r8dVOG1AKTEifUfbcxEDlgchipLUcRWj6l3p_URY328g10tpgj_NpcBqM/s1600/IMG_0129+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">We had such fun eating in New Caledonia.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Rr-VGrcTEbdGIrNIMeocioAWyqctfRHGwzNKJmKLMyamPN0OCHgEgKjoCdnjkz-gzoVchtVOf9KazPda9VvHvYxb8OZnVeArqSiYA_8LShqM_mJ2hjOViJ_Df2znqZTDeZnrdJuq_Rk/s1600/pines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Rr-VGrcTEbdGIrNIMeocioAWyqctfRHGwzNKJmKLMyamPN0OCHgEgKjoCdnjkz-gzoVchtVOf9KazPda9VvHvYxb8OZnVeArqSiYA_8LShqM_mJ2hjOViJ_Df2znqZTDeZnrdJuq_Rk/s1600/pines.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">I think lle de Pine in New Caledonia is very aptly named. We motor scooted around the island with our friends Marilyn and Russ.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8UvN_kdxyURFp67h0M0kqcBx4M00xaooJgEwEueuQMcrXX_rP6nIguBZ4nN2mRFLCwW01zNULyen5UYpZkHPMNheLVhgiy5Ha3UNhmqvcniPpDCd-dTK2kgribmV7E94-6JVyAYF1oo/s1600/P1000919+(480x640).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8UvN_kdxyURFp67h0M0kqcBx4M00xaooJgEwEueuQMcrXX_rP6nIguBZ4nN2mRFLCwW01zNULyen5UYpZkHPMNheLVhgiy5Ha3UNhmqvcniPpDCd-dTK2kgribmV7E94-6JVyAYF1oo/s1600/P1000919+(480x640).jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Every year in Indonesia when the wet season comes a few more houses wash of the cliff.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVsZUsoYYOrVVU53VFuLC84gqOE54fmrwwxtnrii9adVLzlbGe_vJ6UytvaAMLHgG3EXFlvoXen6sNcxYTWWtKFaqo0YmQ8-LorLCBTukXOj5dhw1pK131XKhjvk9zoXdBrob8DzwOHo4/s1600/P1030093+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVsZUsoYYOrVVU53VFuLC84gqOE54fmrwwxtnrii9adVLzlbGe_vJ6UytvaAMLHgG3EXFlvoXen6sNcxYTWWtKFaqo0YmQ8-LorLCBTukXOj5dhw1pK131XKhjvk9zoXdBrob8DzwOHo4/s1600/P1030093+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">I got to shake hands with an elephant in Thailand.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNf1xJGZwTak6itlXETdCgQWYqD55do6seU2Rc5qaFXvjzzULT-CjrzGKNRR17b2Uu-tHgNPeDG6K_0zLxSoVirglUYVgnnp4JCoNxZf-dqcEZFTSzsYCYPnFY2TS_GbZ_khqxSKiUBGU/s1600/lemur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNf1xJGZwTak6itlXETdCgQWYqD55do6seU2Rc5qaFXvjzzULT-CjrzGKNRR17b2Uu-tHgNPeDG6K_0zLxSoVirglUYVgnnp4JCoNxZf-dqcEZFTSzsYCYPnFY2TS_GbZ_khqxSKiUBGU/s1600/lemur.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">In Madagascar I got to feed Lemurs and Zeke found a wig.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjofLoVLTfWXI6fLOZLdvKuoA7xCIRiV7dboslnk__hpCTxtn3gROFXAJE9P7yCw0507loh2hlPnpgGZyYH9ldvetwC0Pyzwfh_78RnJ5e4TuHaVO4LLXviaWRcVoRnc_3Qt-dKeloQ7To/s1600/lions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjofLoVLTfWXI6fLOZLdvKuoA7xCIRiV7dboslnk__hpCTxtn3gROFXAJE9P7yCw0507loh2hlPnpgGZyYH9ldvetwC0Pyzwfh_78RnJ5e4TuHaVO4LLXviaWRcVoRnc_3Qt-dKeloQ7To/s1600/lions.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">In South Africa we went to a lion rehab centre and saw a bunch of lions up really close. At another big cat rehab centre, with all sorts of big cats, we got to pat a cheetah. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz99pmBA6mGxakaN2L900ENmDi1l9YEG3LFuTmu2y8-BSYNRB0V2Oqxvmj9e1B4McM79O3N32LMH773tH25IQoQr3TUUoSue_DEou_S8803tGzlYY3L1kTLAKABuCHMOkn4DVYhSrlxd4/s1600/desert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz99pmBA6mGxakaN2L900ENmDi1l9YEG3LFuTmu2y8-BSYNRB0V2Oqxvmj9e1B4McM79O3N32LMH773tH25IQoQr3TUUoSue_DEou_S8803tGzlYY3L1kTLAKABuCHMOkn4DVYhSrlxd4/s1600/desert.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Namibia was awesome. We went on a quad bike tour and got to see some cool (actually <b>VERY </b>hot) landscapes.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXv9Vw0dGgxUKJT-BUZgPZ5MHLKrir2wbUHcuIy7pByUjoR_g_UCY_OGnvYJcTq8MWVuPAmgvoXUAUdmFPZazUngssmosGLUHvlm2ETTVcwYU0gHtYYQXkrwfSTvYqNeMHg9zCnMK-vNc/s1600/P1090510+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXv9Vw0dGgxUKJT-BUZgPZ5MHLKrir2wbUHcuIy7pByUjoR_g_UCY_OGnvYJcTq8MWVuPAmgvoXUAUdmFPZazUngssmosGLUHvlm2ETTVcwYU0gHtYYQXkrwfSTvYqNeMHg9zCnMK-vNc/s1600/P1090510+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">We heard, felt and saw a rocket blast off in French Guiana. The rocket was so powerful it made the ground shake. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaaUUUOhDQK_lhkH5JMroFzmur3_Xt42JTVSKfSINE8WYSQHvYE3qxXbO0KCgZc00zbSguU-wxCRc0iwRMxSHtKy0VkfN1mYPPOB-oMF5z076P0nuZNWaXWTQ2Mrc-kZqVeIaf7Ljiyu8/s1600/P1090548+(640x325).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaaUUUOhDQK_lhkH5JMroFzmur3_Xt42JTVSKfSINE8WYSQHvYE3qxXbO0KCgZc00zbSguU-wxCRc0iwRMxSHtKy0VkfN1mYPPOB-oMF5z076P0nuZNWaXWTQ2Mrc-kZqVeIaf7Ljiyu8/s1600/P1090548+(640x325).jpg" height="162" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Some amazing French Guianan wildlife.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-qk6i1BO1r54vkgc6TFypsbbI75NpwoX0rom3WWgAd6WKEM2kxXWSvHBBCQLmq-aF8Ciz_FQqNyrM8Z8An0sstgD7TWEzJQLeIpYVnivXrqcSXzy7U_TM6nesG4E1NUYwdw5jHD0jnE/s1600/DSCF2677+(506x640).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-qk6i1BO1r54vkgc6TFypsbbI75NpwoX0rom3WWgAd6WKEM2kxXWSvHBBCQLmq-aF8Ciz_FQqNyrM8Z8An0sstgD7TWEzJQLeIpYVnivXrqcSXzy7U_TM6nesG4E1NUYwdw5jHD0jnE/s1600/DSCF2677+(506x640).jpg" height="400" width="316" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">This is Neuschwanstein, Germany, the inspiration for the Disney castle. The landscape coupled with the enormity and delicacy of it all was just magnificent.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid2F2_asBCny2V9XXJvIKTsJwgYmTzurj8PDfvK9X7PTHX7XOQyMYo3BM0AzPmkbne09_So3EvrDPvYJFvP4CKsEVq9gFRjPm_KMgGAx57S23K64n5nVp0uZo-j9iUznt2mOcMZjPrLVQ/s1600/DSCF3498+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid2F2_asBCny2V9XXJvIKTsJwgYmTzurj8PDfvK9X7PTHX7XOQyMYo3BM0AzPmkbne09_So3EvrDPvYJFvP4CKsEVq9gFRjPm_KMgGAx57S23K64n5nVp0uZo-j9iUznt2mOcMZjPrLVQ/s1600/DSCF3498+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Rome's majestic Roman ruins included the Colosseum. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjktLbiNsJhehkFgNXE75w9r9UAT-JHqGevKZxkfzNAQUJ1OF7TJTCoJ1qJadqqe72shd_utoXpJoDksxsRbF_FWSe1_f_yYFaNmmkYbOlcgWWgtfsLB-_pOaLG2GjjzrICEW4niKY9DjQ/s1600/DSCF5133+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjktLbiNsJhehkFgNXE75w9r9UAT-JHqGevKZxkfzNAQUJ1OF7TJTCoJ1qJadqqe72shd_utoXpJoDksxsRbF_FWSe1_f_yYFaNmmkYbOlcgWWgtfsLB-_pOaLG2GjjzrICEW4niKY9DjQ/s1600/DSCF5133+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">In Cartagena we pigged-out on the street food, Yum.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4LKigqXvaAVo9JtM6AYI0w4XvcCjply3lgOBhBmTLxh_VJsVNveN1PaC-0MkJK6gqrY6Q2oVu7b9zprIxVm1OAQocp2-9movbif7lL8OgbyO_V9Pe_GswQsEy2Ciccip2705_-DCH9Gk/s1600/DSCF5579+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4LKigqXvaAVo9JtM6AYI0w4XvcCjply3lgOBhBmTLxh_VJsVNveN1PaC-0MkJK6gqrY6Q2oVu7b9zprIxVm1OAQocp2-9movbif7lL8OgbyO_V9Pe_GswQsEy2Ciccip2705_-DCH9Gk/s1600/DSCF5579+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Night was upon us as we went through the Panama Canal. It was kind of scary but it was also kinda exciting.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQWBCOQJnR_7lVygj_a28hiPLNKv1VR2E0Dutm4hYYvhPI15akSg0T_PGP4UVjKR_rDKz-J9ZtymOtIT5X5ENnNX3OVY4G4SXI60V9AGAykIGzy1rRzwc5jwfN0NLa4CA-i64i44cRRSE/s1600/DSCF6229+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQWBCOQJnR_7lVygj_a28hiPLNKv1VR2E0Dutm4hYYvhPI15akSg0T_PGP4UVjKR_rDKz-J9ZtymOtIT5X5ENnNX3OVY4G4SXI60V9AGAykIGzy1rRzwc5jwfN0NLa4CA-i64i44cRRSE/s1600/DSCF6229+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">In Galapagos the finches are so tame they will land on your hand (that is, if you have something tasty on it).</span></td></tr>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-62703636287824100602014-09-24T20:22:00.000-07:002014-09-24T20:22:07.717-07:00Nuitoputapu and the 2009 tsunami – by Gary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtPFX83LHvp6exRD2U6nK9v3XUA0ubzBA7zApUxn1W1xmKqH4ZJqKpbUdCrLprFXSu2sASng8LQNAz8jCpKDCrc4S-TdCmnLCTv2dAFSsfZ4muYHPVdRhQEA3OS_nUGH5Q8UAttxWi-t0/s1600/DSCF8205+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtPFX83LHvp6exRD2U6nK9v3XUA0ubzBA7zApUxn1W1xmKqH4ZJqKpbUdCrLprFXSu2sASng8LQNAz8jCpKDCrc4S-TdCmnLCTv2dAFSsfZ4muYHPVdRhQEA3OS_nUGH5Q8UAttxWi-t0/s1600/DSCF8205+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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In the early morning of September 30, 2009 residents of the tiny, low island of Nuitoputapu, were rocked by an earthquake. Just minutes later this most northern outpost of the Kingdom of Tonga was inundated by three major tsunami waves, with the highest being estimated at 6m. Inhabitants fled to higher ground as best they could while most of their houses were swept away, along with schools, churches, cars, water tanks and crucial infrastructure. Miraculously of the island's eight hundred odd people only nine were killed, including two children. <br />
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To their credit the Tongan Government responded rapidly to the crisis, landing a plane the same afternoon, and a vessel soon after. Assessing the situation international aid was requested. Just days later,operating under under a Pacific disaster coordination arrangement between France, New Zealand and Australia, emergency supplies and personnel were landed. First priorities included temporary shelters (tents and marquees), food, water, sanitation and medical services. These were all located within a temporary encampment established high on the islands central ridge. Then the clean-up commenced, followed more slowly by reconstruction. <br />
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Many islanders stayed living in the safety of the temporary encampment for months, afraid of aftershocks and more waves. Indeed considerable external pressure was applied to relocate the islands three main villages to higher ground; however land tenure issues provided significant roadblocks. Slowly the majority of islanders returned to their traditional village sites around the lagoon edge, first to temporary housing, then to new houses as they were built. Reconstruction funding and materials came from a wide variety of sources including the World Bank, the UN, the governments of Australia, New Zealand and Japan, the Red Cross, churches and private donors. <br />
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In our visit to the island 5 years after the tsunami, physical recovery was pretty much complete, although the memories of the dreadful day linger fresh when people start talking. One woman recalled to us the terrible panic in her family when they realised their small boy was missing following the first wave, their frantic searching, and their relief when they found him alive and clinging to the roof of an almost entirely engulfed truck. We are told that many now live in great fear of a recurrence and think of running for higher ground every time there is an earthquake or tremor (a common occurrence in Tonga). They take little comfort from the knowledge that this has been the only tsunami in living memory.<br />
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Damage still manifests itself; wrecked cars in the bush, occasional derelict damaged houses – but there is surprisingly little. The most obvious physical evidence of the event is the uniform age of almost everything relating to human occupation, the housing, offices, schools, churches, cars and even the bicycles. There is little that is old.<br />
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Our visit to Nuitoputapu has been great – our impression is the island possesses a tight knit, cohesive community, much more like the Tonga I knew of 30 odd years ago. Residents have a largely subsistence based economy supplemented by repatriated payments from extended family overseas and sales of copra. Young people are still continuing to live here in the villages – which is wonderful to see. The island's isolation from the rest of the nation ensures visitors are rare, there is no tourism apart from the occasional yachtee. We were made to feel most welcome.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSEOiIcRuFQ_6ff4zex4p3cMWGTdUqonVzNAFlGIKvNvsIK5s48_hTzaC0lMnmeR4yFFxs8ZpBmBrqMkwBEDBxD7hS5rmJv31aJeZzTAoITQ-pspMX8-FVh1xJZf39oCN9-tjyC22EHwE/s1600/DSCF8198+(640x271).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSEOiIcRuFQ_6ff4zex4p3cMWGTdUqonVzNAFlGIKvNvsIK5s48_hTzaC0lMnmeR4yFFxs8ZpBmBrqMkwBEDBxD7hS5rmJv31aJeZzTAoITQ-pspMX8-FVh1xJZf39oCN9-tjyC22EHwE/s1600/DSCF8198+(640x271).jpg" height="168" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">You can see the central high ridge where the temporary encampment was established. The island's three villages are all located on the low, flat ground on the edge of the lagoon.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbR19kG-OYr3wmpJK2G9WpDeU6DsawtcNzZWqloRjINb8dJyQ_cV-bl7sXJ2wc-NSqR8-ArDkExAxcvCUbwd-yofCkHDNDoAV1wHB4enHJxtB5L7w4dLJOGDO4y9QzVENfAV4AgZCRCY/s1600/DSCF8218+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbR19kG-OYr3wmpJK2G9WpDeU6DsawtcNzZWqloRjINb8dJyQ_cV-bl7sXJ2wc-NSqR8-ArDkExAxcvCUbwd-yofCkHDNDoAV1wHB4enHJxtB5L7w4dLJOGDO4y9QzVENfAV4AgZCRCY/s1600/DSCF8218+(640x480).jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Wreckage of cars swept in the path of the tsunami are<br /> possibly the most evident physical reminders.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdLfYjr2pzxkRMG3_3KyO8GM2AX2QtDjKtRYzBzklUTAlc4JYKBteGKggF082uPynMdgxUticPQSCpVnWOEUTFEjdU7xlpig9QEIC9zOx115-LRCfH8vgiShw_-Gnili5ZMl_mOSYpxLc/s1600/DSCF8220+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdLfYjr2pzxkRMG3_3KyO8GM2AX2QtDjKtRYzBzklUTAlc4JYKBteGKggF082uPynMdgxUticPQSCpVnWOEUTFEjdU7xlpig9QEIC9zOx115-LRCfH8vgiShw_-Gnili5ZMl_mOSYpxLc/s1600/DSCF8220+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Physical damage and silting of the surrounding reef was severe but less obvious. Folks here are bringing in pandanus that have been soaking in the lagoon (it makes the fibres more flexible and durable prior to being woven into mats).</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj3W8gUmHWe-I8Gw5mEKYjGKL4Fz5cSDJf2zqdRHLHzWpNILZWHdDXA3Q_mqiEg1mXLwUEKoBgpzoI-C-R37JN6MARrDhkOUFjMimVxEvUd1fG9JAGNcHH2bHvb6WfR8t-MPjhHpuGS9s/s1600/DSCF8227+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj3W8gUmHWe-I8Gw5mEKYjGKL4Fz5cSDJf2zqdRHLHzWpNILZWHdDXA3Q_mqiEg1mXLwUEKoBgpzoI-C-R37JN6MARrDhkOUFjMimVxEvUd1fG9JAGNcHH2bHvb6WfR8t-MPjhHpuGS9s/s1600/DSCF8227+(640x480).jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">An example of the type of temporary housing <br />that people moved into post tsunami.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZz3Xz4fGcSCpu4_xLhaXD2ooD4tTJgIuRbAtdCrDGHlDLpdTAJc_FomW9dnl6PkFLqhMWvhSjyhZf2PokpMs1P-TouJV4ZohkEB2oDqBPKBNZ1-GZegj2VqplrUh4PjQTBsNxU5VB7u4/s1600/DSCF8199+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZz3Xz4fGcSCpu4_xLhaXD2ooD4tTJgIuRbAtdCrDGHlDLpdTAJc_FomW9dnl6PkFLqhMWvhSjyhZf2PokpMs1P-TouJV4ZohkEB2oDqBPKBNZ1-GZegj2VqplrUh4PjQTBsNxU5VB7u4/s1600/DSCF8199+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">The ubiquitous prefab kit houses that most Nuitoputapuns now live in.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXlDpov43jzNmNedLvZLr7XwXGSsJcXkmKU-2SJnOPfLWFQJx1akt4hDa4YtPS3ToPz5pSN1qM6L56vW_MO8UrIulvFFhx-A83zzWZ6vKmtanwlJvG5lsfIBvMCp7bvIkei7j_aNGmlRk/s1600/church+and+school.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXlDpov43jzNmNedLvZLr7XwXGSsJcXkmKU-2SJnOPfLWFQJx1akt4hDa4YtPS3ToPz5pSN1qM6L56vW_MO8UrIulvFFhx-A83zzWZ6vKmtanwlJvG5lsfIBvMCp7bvIkei7j_aNGmlRk/s1600/church+and+school.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">A new school, communication infrastructure and church.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9nadp-lLtVhYlkYilpHzEyZKnYxoOrwMaAQAwPjO4k57562eauYOZoH01QU4Wyvf4QjS1f2sXztiID_8UzndIDe0o2Xc9IcdkdRCeUANDQtdBf97Z-pDrl4DSCdHLmLxe4WDPYWOPC8/s1600/signs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9nadp-lLtVhYlkYilpHzEyZKnYxoOrwMaAQAwPjO4k57562eauYOZoH01QU4Wyvf4QjS1f2sXztiID_8UzndIDe0o2Xc9IcdkdRCeUANDQtdBf97Z-pDrl4DSCdHLmLxe4WDPYWOPC8/s1600/signs.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Signs, lots of them, now warn of the tsunami danger and the appropriate response.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlUmkV0rHi9mJGmCUXD9rr28RE5bf-S1e8Z4X7TUTOrLdlHOrUlJ9PYH3pRsswiTQ82ZxQXp0_qF9cmPEZH136LtbpmtFvaf4cEboU2YCUfQjSxGoMdUSq1FFMJUCGtoMUzkaGusfMOEg/s1600/DSCF8185+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlUmkV0rHi9mJGmCUXD9rr28RE5bf-S1e8Z4X7TUTOrLdlHOrUlJ9PYH3pRsswiTQ82ZxQXp0_qF9cmPEZH136LtbpmtFvaf4cEboU2YCUfQjSxGoMdUSq1FFMJUCGtoMUzkaGusfMOEg/s1600/DSCF8185+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">While visiting we were treated to some extraordinary hospitality by residents' of the island and really enjoyed our visit.</span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-6343424302061808722014-09-23T23:07:00.000-07:002014-09-23T23:07:15.943-07:00Robert Louis Stevenson, writer, rich man, political activist – by Gary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Most people my age know of the author Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894); creator of romantic adventure books for young people such as his famous <i>Treasure Island</i>. Perhaps less well known; Stevenson spent considerable time living in the South Pacific, dying here in Samoa. His house and grave are on that island's tourist trail. But I'm guessing most know little of his active role in the politics of his day, taking on the might of large nations in defense of the rights of indigenous Samoans. Of this latter I knew nothing until I saw a presentation by a high school student in US Samoa, it was a wonderful, startling eye opener.</div>
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Stevenson traveled the Pacific extensively, as he wrote in a letter to a friend:<br />
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<i>“I have already visited upwards of forty islands in the South Seas; I have resided for a considerable time in no less than four different groups....”</i></blockquote>
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Combined with his breadth of reading and liberal education, it gave him a keen appreciation of traditional Polynesian cultures, as well as the damage being wrought by European avarice. As he wrote in his book A Footnote To History:<br />
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<i>“More than a hundred years ago, and following closely on the heels of Cook, an irregular invasion of adventurers began to swarm about the islands of the Pacific.”</i></blockquote>
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Arriving in Samoa he found greater cultural 'intactness' than in other parts of Polynesia. Writing to another friend he says:<br />
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<i>“[I]f you could live, the only white folk, in a [traditional] Polynesian village; and drink that warm, light [wine] of human affection and enjoy that simple dignity of all about you.....”</i></blockquote>
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So falling in love with the islands and peoples of Samoa he decided it was a good place to settle and write novels. Together with his wealthy wife Stevenson purchased land above the town of Apia, built a beautiful house, named it Vailima and moved in with assorted members of his extended family . But he quickly discovered all was not well in his corner of paradise. The three big powers with keen interest in that part of the Pacific, England, United States and Germany, were all circling, looking to take advantage of the island's high agricultural potential with good rainfall and high soil fertility. <br />
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In his warnings to the local Polynesians of the dangers they faced Stevenson spelt out four key practical ideas. In putting forward these ideas Stevenson was aware of the paradox. If the Samoan way of life, the Samoan people were to survive, then the very definition of that way of life – fa'a Samoa – must itself adapt to new conditions. His ideas are as follows:<br />
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<li>First that Samoans must recognise the present day for what it was – a time of crisis – a turning point, a time for determined, practical action.</li>
<li>That Samoa, till then a clan/village based society with a long history of inter-clan fighting, must quickly develop a sense of national identity and unity to meet this crisis</li>
<li>That Samoans must adopt white man ways, work harder and develop a national economy based on their own land resource, either that or others would do it for them – stealing their land resource in the process. </li>
<li>That Samoans must recognise the genocidal threats posed by European diseases and do what they can to protect themselves from it.</li>
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Stevenson was also very publicly scathingly of what he called the 'horrid white mismanagement' of Samoa's highest European officials and they in turn reciprocated, heaping scorn upon his meddling ways. Her Majesty's High Commissioner of the Western Pacific (for Britain) became sufficiently concerned to issue the <i>Sedition (Samoa) Regulation</i> in an attempt to silence Stevenson.<br />
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Never a healthy person, Stevenson died suddenly at the young age of 44. His advice to Samoans was at the time mostly un-taken.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0GtXhXQurNK41uN_SBLsA2HXH21Qr59jYoCtzrT7TXGnwoOYzJ6zebhSd4FrueRP3dZf9bBFUt5x9LbVpH2JIxkryPHggQCCFli6poeF_RmZYT4t7ihwD4vx_F2ahnHtJISkNZl1Edk/s1600/DSCF8135+(640x294).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0GtXhXQurNK41uN_SBLsA2HXH21Qr59jYoCtzrT7TXGnwoOYzJ6zebhSd4FrueRP3dZf9bBFUt5x9LbVpH2JIxkryPHggQCCFli6poeF_RmZYT4t7ihwD4vx_F2ahnHtJISkNZl1Edk/s1600/DSCF8135+(640x294).jpg" height="183" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Stevenson, his family, staff and friends at 'Vailima'. Stevenson had previously written of an experience on a Hawaiian island:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">“I have ridden there the whole day along the coast... and I saw the face of no living man... the villages had disappeared, the people were dead and gone; only [deserted church buildings stood] like tombstones over a grave, in the midst of white men's sugar fields."</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Stevenson's house stood in a 300 acre estate. Paradox upon paradox.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWC3yXlNiFIhaLJjJTbTLZYGVIty_12QJStJwCaVJCzss_7-onaT_Z9jSYM5GJi2jsXqPcnU0_9Nx8UXD2zdZIGHg4EqLc8rBO1AKf__atSHxPMWxXZmpfPP6-D2G7lz5H2zFWuWMB_dc/s1600/house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWC3yXlNiFIhaLJjJTbTLZYGVIty_12QJStJwCaVJCzss_7-onaT_Z9jSYM5GJi2jsXqPcnU0_9Nx8UXD2zdZIGHg4EqLc8rBO1AKf__atSHxPMWxXZmpfPP6-D2G7lz5H2zFWuWMB_dc/s1600/house.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">The beautifully restored Vailima of today, with Mt Vaea atop which he is buried behind. Most of his estate has been returned to public ownership.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcq1WIE-Z1zF6Hj2_iGvALRj3wCnuabIAyRS0Kg3U4b2_NSwfmzgeyM_wXYu6nxMG8LrM6A8FjvQHTArzQmjGoJ4LWy8N5Sp5RyojYF5CFKwv_svqGM5Df7c_brh7mj0qomBkXoIx1BZI/s1600/DSCF8109+(480x640).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcq1WIE-Z1zF6Hj2_iGvALRj3wCnuabIAyRS0Kg3U4b2_NSwfmzgeyM_wXYu6nxMG8LrM6A8FjvQHTArzQmjGoJ4LWy8N5Sp5RyojYF5CFKwv_svqGM5Df7c_brh7mj0qomBkXoIx1BZI/s1600/DSCF8109+(480x640).jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">A rare copy of a Samoan translation of the novel <i>Treasure Island</i>. Stevenson wrote it, <i>Kidnapped</i> and <i>Black Arrow </i>while living in Vailima as well as non-fiction works including <i>A Footnote To History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa</i>.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">The interior of his house is quite beautiful and features Californian Redwood paneling. His wife Fanny was a native of California.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT67kpaWBGUrum1uLdqQNTgq3ye-ZhJ3ui4flG9zH5q81NhgNak0-d22WynRhMhFuWEQAxMdTx39hsJR_UnJL-iz2aVpAPxCwnSqxTPDIfMecA7LC4tPHQ7FzPZeHXD5LFDCTBQPxO_og/s1600/DSCF8111+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT67kpaWBGUrum1uLdqQNTgq3ye-ZhJ3ui4flG9zH5q81NhgNak0-d22WynRhMhFuWEQAxMdTx39hsJR_UnJL-iz2aVpAPxCwnSqxTPDIfMecA7LC4tPHQ7FzPZeHXD5LFDCTBQPxO_og/s1600/DSCF8111+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">The elegant bed chamber occupied by Fanny.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwd8QXB7yaWGqaKkI0tXk3qw-Ryz3SnKyyozG_XsvYKKFWMA9gbgljVyeMq_3mxjcxslAIt68_ELIOXREho3CnB0-6KjPso2AaonnEwQdTGfE_X8PJE3iPc4AiBmYB2cCEvb_RZ18nHo/s1600/lighthouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwd8QXB7yaWGqaKkI0tXk3qw-Ryz3SnKyyozG_XsvYKKFWMA9gbgljVyeMq_3mxjcxslAIt68_ELIOXREho3CnB0-6KjPso2AaonnEwQdTGfE_X8PJE3iPc4AiBmYB2cCEvb_RZ18nHo/s1600/lighthouse.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">We were chuffed to make the connection with the framed picture on left, found displayed on a wall at Vailima. Stevenson's great grandfather was a famous Scottish engineer who designed the mighty Bell Rock Lighthouse (pictured under construction). The book on the right, observed as a 'prop' in Stevenson's study, apparently proclaims another member of his clan a more contemporary writer.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Samoans turned out in large numbers to observe and participate in the burial of their beloved Robert Louis Stevenson. He was buried atop Mt Vaea above Vailima looking out across Apia.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">A bronze plaque on the memorial includes his epitaph, self written:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Under the wide and starry sky</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>dig the grave and let me lie</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>glad did I live and gladly die</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>and I laid me down with a will</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>this be the verse you gave for me</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>here he lies where he longed to be</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>home is the sailor home from the sea</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>and the hunter home from the hill.</i></span></blockquote>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-14117438228918535612014-09-11T18:08:00.000-07:002014-09-11T18:08:58.967-07:00Samoan Fales - by Zeke<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hey every body, as some of you might know I like architecture so I have written this blog piece about the houses which are lived in today by Samoan’s. So as I hope you know it is hot, very hot in the tropics and the traditional houses that people live in are often open with very little walls to restrict air flow to try and keep them cool and airy. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">This big internal court yard of this house in Cartagena Columbia allows hot air to rise up out of the building</span></td></tr>
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The houses or fales which the local Samoans live in are based on traditional houses which look like a Polynesian bandstand, raised off the ground and with open sides – i.e. no flipping walls!. One finds it kind of surprising when walking down the street, you pass a fale and suddenly see mum and dad lying in bed having a nap and kids on the floor watching TV! You can just see other peoples lives going on around you.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">The traditional fales serve as both living and meeting places.</span></td></tr>
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Modern fales are not too much different from the traditional ones. They do however have floors and columns made of cement and tin roofs. But they still serve the same purpose. Within the fales you see beds, TV's, stoves and couches. When it rains, so that your belongings are not ruined there are wide eaves and curtains that drop down between the supporting pillars to stop driving rain.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">A mosquito net can be seen covering a bed in this modern version of a fale</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguizWrRqWDhl3nb0qLoVfYH5sUNtVUG2Q9O0OVsOJkwdJ115_UGu1jh17dV1I8v0b7YBrUqh3emkb3PIzxVM9mQyKniMLE0R396LuIoosSdJu41qTTvublBjYAwHWwfYh8RL4obcbPT3I/s1600/DSCF8079+(640x447).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguizWrRqWDhl3nb0qLoVfYH5sUNtVUG2Q9O0OVsOJkwdJ115_UGu1jh17dV1I8v0b7YBrUqh3emkb3PIzxVM9mQyKniMLE0R396LuIoosSdJu41qTTvublBjYAwHWwfYh8RL4obcbPT3I/s1600/DSCF8079+(640x447).jpg" height="278" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">A low fence surrounds this fale which I suspect is to keep out pigs which sometimes run free.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">The flags decorating the front yard were put up in celebration of the Small Island Development States (SIDS) conference which was held here by the United Nations</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Mum really liked the use of colour in this one.</span></td></tr>
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Thanks a heap for reading this blog piece and I hope you enjoyed it. The house and churches here reflect so much about the culture, which the locals are very proud of. The pros about the fales are they are cheap and easy to build, cool and airy and reflect the traditional culture. The cons are that there is very little privacy and in strong winds the fales would feel quite open. These traditional type homes are still being lived in however there does seem to be a lot of new more modern and enclosed houses as well. Oh well, how destructive our wonderful western culture can be!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-3800872512067307832014-09-06T10:36:00.000-07:002014-09-06T10:36:35.026-07:00Miss Samoa Parade – by Gary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We arrived in Apia, Samoa just in time for the Teuila Festival 2014. This annual festival is similar to the one we saw in 'Tahiti; i.e. a celebration of Samoan culture, traditional and contemporary, with dancing, singing, comedy, fashion, tattooing, canoe races and much more. Samoan culture, as depicted in the festival, is conservative and devoutly Christian. Yet notwithstanding, the performers and audiences often delighted in not taking life or themselves too seriously; their earthy, raucous sense of humour was a joy to experience and join in with.<br />
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We saw lots of great performances too, including Fire Knife Dancing! It's apparently of genuine Samoan origin, but now spread across the globe. A 'knife' with burning ends is twirled and juggled at high speed. It's a revival of an ancient celebratory dance performed by victorious warriors. The Samoan war blade has a hook on the end and a chap we were sitting next to told us the grizzly tale of victors wielding the severed heads of the vanquished upon these hooks, setting the hair alight and twirling. Oooh!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Performing the Fire Knife Dance – it's spectacular.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Another great traditional dance form, the Samoan Slap Dance, where blokes rhythmically slap various parts of their bodies at great speed. Allegedly the dance owes its origin to the introduction of mosquitoes! Check out those tats.</span></td></tr>
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Naturally I take the broader Western view that that dances and scanty costumes such as seen in the Slap Dance are somewhat offensive, reenforcing the idea that young men should be valued primarily because of their their physical attributes. We men have no wish to be objectified... do we!!????<br />
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But moving right along, one rather unique and special event of the Teuila Festival is the Miss Samoa Parade. I thought it was a blast.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sbryurk5dsQZ3uhvEWs0A5JQoXEuC1-vB8pVVrCLspGZoxOZRn6ddoO7SWa7aSubZarXRxa_TmL5E8GkZ0cJ-mqVAJ97KyWicz3Eky3inCdwatIWPf4cknwuN8nXP8M_YiKhY1QcZiM/s1600/DSCF7921+(640x480).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sbryurk5dsQZ3uhvEWs0A5JQoXEuC1-vB8pVVrCLspGZoxOZRn6ddoO7SWa7aSubZarXRxa_TmL5E8GkZ0cJ-mqVAJ97KyWicz3Eky3inCdwatIWPf4cknwuN8nXP8M_YiKhY1QcZiM/s1600/DSCF7921+(640x480).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">This is the parade marshaling area. Its early morning and contestants and their entourages are milling about anxiously. Each contestant is to be born upon a suitable chariot – a suped up, turbocharged, exhaust modified gas guzzler.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">The police band is there as well. Their job is to lead the parade – scheduled to arrive at the main stage venue a couple of kilometres away at 8:45am. It is past 9am at this stage, and well, they still haven't left. Island time!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">The poor girls are wilting under the equatorial sun! A considerate organizer brings some chairs in.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJKjTWq4j208_SYxPfW9RVpVd-TJipH15R2RXU33pW8RFfc9SgkSURjHr8aa_OS-4HJbg9oGDiCf2GPOJvcnCNnql7d3lSO_PbYVJxVOXs_qiPQ2sLhOFQpaljSztH15rwPby2azg93_M/s1600/cops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJKjTWq4j208_SYxPfW9RVpVd-TJipH15R2RXU33pW8RFfc9SgkSURjHr8aa_OS-4HJbg9oGDiCf2GPOJvcnCNnql7d3lSO_PbYVJxVOXs_qiPQ2sLhOFQpaljSztH15rwPby2azg93_M/s1600/cops.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">But the cops seem fairly relaxed about the delay.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Eventually word mysteriously filters down that its time to form up – and off they go!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Down past the old Protestant church, the bandmaster struts his stuff.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Trailing behind is a little warrior protection...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">….along with the Police Chief and a gang of Harley riding thugs...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">… and of course those girls on their chariots, still closely guarded by their village entourages!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;"> ... who finally make it to the venue for the first round of judging (I 'm pretty sure its all based on IQ now).</span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5014062795691943871.post-75632951088633562852014-08-31T17:03:00.001-07:002014-09-03T17:03:49.866-07:00Hokule'a – by Gary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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While in US Samoa we were fortunate enough to see the <i>Hokule'a</i> and learn more about her. The <i>Hokule'a </i>is a recreation of a Polynesian voyaging canoe. Hawaiin based and operated by the Polynesian Voyaging Society, she is used to preserve and foster traditional seamanship and navigation skills – particularly among young people. I first saw her in the mid 80s when she visited Bora Bora, but she has been going since 1975, making her quite an old vessel. <br />
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As the Society accumulates sufficient funds the <i>Hokule'a</i> is used for long distance voyaging, employing the same ancient navigation techniques used by Polynesians hundreds, if not thousands of years ago to explore, populate and trade across the vast Pacific Ocean. At 61.5 feet and fitted with two traditional claw sails the <i>Hokule'a</i> is totally traditional in overall design, but employs modern materials. She has absolutely no on-board navigation instruments. The work of the Society through these voyages has been credited as a major factor in the revitalization of Polynesian culture across the Pacific. <i> Hokulea's</i> last major voyage was completed in 2007. <br />
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This year she has embarked on her tenth and most ambitious voyage, a world circumnavigation. Having already visited French Polynesia, she arrived in US Samoa just two days after us. Great fanfare accompanied her arrival, with lots of boats honking and tooting in the harbour, speeches ashore and traditional celebrations. While here the crew conducted workshops with locals on traditional navigation techniques – Zeke and Nina attended and thoroughly enjoyed the experience (click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8kvMq6MMy2bS0stQmV5QjR6NDA/edit?usp=sharing">here</a> if you would like to see Zeke's school report on the subject).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTxAux_JWwWp6QwI-GHUnKg0Y_2MMb1WYMbkiqQDPv1plwduxKPnR230jWUkho3yTyR_8ITjLE2-9I3mAb39f-gZ4tV3EF406zvojoYyqGIixNeHCzuvZ3UPAolMwELnJfwx3Q1sUUzc/s1600/Hokule'a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTxAux_JWwWp6QwI-GHUnKg0Y_2MMb1WYMbkiqQDPv1plwduxKPnR230jWUkho3yTyR_8ITjLE2-9I3mAb39f-gZ4tV3EF406zvojoYyqGIixNeHCzuvZ3UPAolMwELnJfwx3Q1sUUzc/s1600/Hokule'a.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">The </span><i style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hokule'a</span></i><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;"> arriving in Honolulu after voyaging from Tahiti in 1976.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Sternpost detailing.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Her steering paddle. Looks suspiciously like a GPS aerial on the back there huh? Nah couldn't be.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Provisions stowed in nets along her sides.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIs4-nEVbasKFxf7yPfwTF_gR3ghonMF4RPAG4qmu3sLN-P0zWwLRrs_pDIN7_1sZcHiLMP9rwC9cS8WXFDaK_-KTQdexvRA4vq2QfdOUmo2MzuxBEnDM2yYX0m8Xa0KZtOn6fB70hAA/s1600/spar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIs4-nEVbasKFxf7yPfwTF_gR3ghonMF4RPAG4qmu3sLN-P0zWwLRrs_pDIN7_1sZcHiLMP9rwC9cS8WXFDaK_-KTQdexvRA4vq2QfdOUmo2MzuxBEnDM2yYX0m8Xa0KZtOn6fB70hAA/s1600/spar.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Her spars and steering oar are heavy, requiring a large, strong crew to sail her. </span></td></tr>
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While on passage her navigators are unable to sleep, they have to constantly pay attention to the stars, the wind, waves and the boat's progress. They may only take very short cat-naps. Training to become a navigator takes years. A support boat accompanies the Hokule'a on her voyages, carrying modern navigation instruments as a 'just in case'. Her crew changes at regular intervals during each voyage. <br />
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I love this little story, lifted from the Wikipedia's Hokule'a site:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>… professional Tongan sea captain Sione Taupeamuhu was aboard during a night passage [in the 1985-87 voyage] from Tongatapu to Nomuka in the northerly Haʻapai Islands group of Tonga.. He was skeptical that Hōkūle‘a navigator Nainoa Thompson could find Nomuka without instruments. When Nomuka appeared on the horizon at dawn as anticipated, Taupeamuhu remarked, "Now I can believe the stories of my ancestors."</i></blockquote>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0