Petition Update...

Kay from Beachaven becomes the 400th concerned person to sign the petition against DoC's 'Improvement' programme here at Port Jackson.
With light winds, high temperatures and a flat sea, it's all looking good for a wonderful New Year's Eve here...

Little Charmers...

These four little budding entrepreneurs, from left, Pippa, Imogen, Kitty and Rosie were hard at work yesterday selling their handmade 'Charms'. Crafted from used bottle tops, shell and coloured beads they made an attractive fashion statement at their annual, once a year, end of season sale.
At 10 cents each you just couldn't walk past such a bargain and besides, how could you resist their charms...

It's Not Easy...

It's not easy you know, this camping life. When I've done the dishes I have to do the laundry and then there's lunch to prepare for the family and then more dishes and then Dad'll bring home a load of fish to fillet and Mum will need a rest from socialising and then if there's time, I'll go boogieboarding with some friends and then, well it's almost the end of the year so I'll have to figure out some resolutions...

Nature's Way...

It was always going to be just a matter of time before Nature started reclaiming ownership and design rights to the foreshore here at Port Jackson. Yesterday's big blow was far from the 'Perfect Storm' but showed that it had every intention of showing those that tamper with nature to watch out and too, to watch this space.
Jonathan thought he'd have some sport in the surf and wasn't disappointed, not that he lasted long, he was wiped out in quite a spectacular manner with his short kayak speeding to shore a few minutes before he did...

Petition's Progress...

Emily became the 300th person to sign the petition against the New Zealand's Department of Conservation's stupidity and environmental vandalism perpetrated by them here at the Port Jackson campground.
Normally there would be nearly five hundred happy campers here but because of Doc's 'little boxes' the gates had to be closed yesterday with only 370 campers including children, enjoying the delights of this instant and annual seaside community, the wonderful beach, the fantastic fishing and the fun of meeting up with like minded souls. New ones too.
Some will leave after a few days or so and others will arrive to claim a space.
Many have been coming here for thirty something years and unless the petition is listened to and steps are taken to stop DoC from turning this place into a 'holiday park with an online booking system' their annual camping and 'back to basics' way of life will end this summer. Unless they book a site, their children will not be able to experience the famous Kiwi way of camping. The first in first served tradition of selecting a campsite and being able to decide on the spur of the moment to 'get away from it all, let's go camping' and just doing it will be over but for the shouting...
To my regular readers and those in other countries in particular, I'm sorry if this issue has been the most written of topic of late but I make no apology for using my blog to write frequently and passionately on this very important issue.
A way of life is at stake here and I will do all in my power to see it preserved...

Coromandel's Port Jackson...

A place where no man should interfere with Nature's beauty...

"It's The Journey...

Not the destination," says Jeremy Watt on day two of his kayaking trip from Somewhere to Somewhere Else. Actually, it's from Auckland's Devonport to Tairua, over three hundred and twenty kilometres away.
He called in to Port Jackson on Christmas eve and spent Christmas day doing his favourite thing in his New Zealand designed and made Sea Bear kayak.
Next year's adventure is to circumnavigate the Auckland Islands in the Southern Ocean. Something that's never been done in a kayak...

Kiwi Ingenuitree...

At this wonderful campground at Port Jackson, there are many varied forms of Christmas tree... this one does it for me...

Merry Christmas...

Merry Christmas to you from the beautiful Port Jackson where musical notes played on barely tuned new instruments combined with the sounds of children squealing with delight start the day while the somnolent sea spreads itself to the shore...

Ho Ho Ho...

Bring It On...

Tis the day before Christmas,
the kids are at play.
Wondering what Santa
will bring the next day...

Little Boxes...

Most of us spend our lives living in little boxes and will be committed to spending eternity in them too.
Why would you want to camp in one as well?
The unhappy campers here at Port Jackson are saying a big NO to the imbecilic bungling bureaucrats at New Zealand's Department of Conservation.
You will not take away our freedom!
NO! We will not give your ugly boxes a tick...

This Is Our Campground!

Jackie and Reg are from Hamilton and have been coming to Port Jackson for twenty six years. "This is our campground" says Reg "DoC are taking away our freedoms and destroying a New Zealand tradition!"

Superman To The Rescue...

And just when we thought all was lost, suddenly, faster than a speeding bullet, from the grey and thundery sky Superman hurtled into view, grabbed the front of the car, pulled the vehicle clear and averted an almost certain disaster.
Oh good one Superman!
Luckily Clark Kent was camping here, having a dirty weekend away in his telephone box with Lois Lane.
Actually, the current caught the back of the 4x4 and took the right rear wheel just over the edge but more by good luck than good management, the driver was able to plant his foot and get out of it...

So What Happened Next...

Did the 4x4 with the number plate GR8 PIC get through the flooded ford or did the current running at about 20 knots sweep it off the bridge and send it into the swirling waters downstream, and were the managers of the dry-cleaning company and the car valet company the only people to actually know how scared the driver really was...

Colour Me Grey...

Any day is a good day to wake up to but when one stirs to this still serenity you need to pause a while longer.
Aren't we so lucky to be witness to this beauty.
Colour me happy...

Granny Goes Swimming...

Torrential rains have hit the Coromandel and are expected to continue for a few days.
Yuppie Gran was making her way home from Fantail Bay, probably thinking about life afloat when she got a bit carried away.
Lucky she was wearing a life jacket...

King Kong's Cousin...

You remember King Kong, well this is his cousin Ping Pong, aka Topio 3.0 who is, it just so happens, a whiz at table tennis.
Ping Pong was created by Vietnams first ever robiotics company Tosy.
This biopedal humanoid uses cameras to detect the ball as it leaves the opponent's bat.
And the score, Ping Pong 21, me 0.
Anyone for tennis...

The World's Most Expensive Book...

A copy of John James Audubon's 'Birds of America' was auctioned last week in London for 7.3 million pounds (11.5 million US dollars) thus becoming the most expensive book ever sold.
It's a 19th century masterpiece with 435 hand coloured illustrations. There are only 119 copies of this book in the world and was published in the 1830's.
And no, strangely enough I don't have a copy in TFT's library.
The author actually shot the birds, arranged them on wires, then painted them, some taking up to sixty hours to complete.
Ironically many of the birds featured in this beautiful book are now extinct.
Fly over to www.amusingplanet.com and see more...

A Beautiful Gypsy Vardo...

Owned by Sally Ashford of Whidbey Island in Washington, this beautiful modern day vardo was built by artisan Steve Habersetzer and friends.
You can see more of it on www.tinyhousedesign.com

Carhenge...

The USA's answer to Britain's Stonehenge. Constructed of old American cars, it's near the city of Alliance, Nebruska. So drive on in and have a look at www.amusingplanet.com
Jim Reinders made it as a memorial to his dad and it's now well established as a tourist destination with around 80.000 visitors annually.
I guess it's a place with low rainfall so they're not likely to grow much...

And Now For Something Completely Different...

These are pictures of me and my mum.
I wish I knew who my dad was...

New Zealand's Department Of Conservation Guilty Of Environmental Vandalism...

New Zealand's Department of Conservation has embarked on a three year programme of improvements to the once beautiful campsite at Coromandel's Port Jackson and in doing so have taken stupidity, arrogance and disregard for what the camping public and overseas visitors want to new levels.
Not being content with putting in bollards and fences, interrupting a view where the flow between the beach and the land was as natural as night following day, having no regard that the sea was not in fact eroding into the land but it being the other way round, and that the trees planted here forty years ago right on the edge of the beach are now at least two metres back, and the land has extended itself into the seas domain has not deterred DoC's stupidity one iota.
Oh no, now they have etched ugly lines into the grass to contain campers in little box-like squares. All this so they, DoC can set up a computer programme for people to book campsites online which is completely unneccessary.
This camp, like so many others around the country is only full at Christmas and Easter and people know that it is simply first in, first served. The way it's always been and should always be.
Now, this extraordinarily anal government department who cannot think outside the square, seeks to place campers in little squares too.
How dare they, in this country of pioneers and lovers of the land, have the audacity to fence in the campers who come to enjoy the freedom of a place such as this. And expect them to conform to the ridiculous rules and impositions conjured up by bureaucratic bunglers.
I propose giving DoC a taste of their own medicine and prescribe a good healthy dose of 1080 for each and every DoC employee. I would be very happy to administer such a dose to rid my beautiful country of this invasive pest...