More on Fiordland, and teenage years, wilderness, relaxation and life

The last week has been quiet as autumn kicks in. As well as yoga I am doing something different lately in the form of getting a series of reflexology treatments. I've not had any for a couple of years - my old friend Rika used to give them to me, but she's passed on. I react well to these and I've now found a new person Danielle who comes over from Queenstown regularly. The treatments help me sort of rebalance physically for starters, and this can be hard on the odd day. However the overall effect is profound, and well... right now, life is looking a bit different already, and the serendipitous keeps on as a welcome part of it all. And who knows where this fits in...

During the week I became aware that my son Dougal is being quite challenged by life lately. He's 16 and dealing with things as they come along, but its almost as if these insightful and intelligent young men are seeing the world as it really is for the first time. With all it's injustices, difficult relationships, pollution and stupidity, it's selfishness and pain, that it all gets overwhelming for them.

Dougal at the helm of Elwing back in July 2005, steering us to Breaksea Sound...


I reckon teenagers like Dougal don't want to go forward into adulthood, they want to go back to innocence, but can't. He told me this back at about the time we were heading to Breaksea and onto Dusky Sound.

This is probably New Zealand's wildest coast line, yet on this day Fiordland was calm beyond imaginings...


One of the reasons I've embraced these expedition voyages for Dougal and myself has not only been my love of wilderness and his of natural history, but the mentoring that occurs for him on such adventures.

One such man who has had a huge beneficial influence has been Elwing's skipper, our good friend Arthur...


It was much different for me at the age of 16: I wanted to be an adult as fast as..., perhaps because I perceived them as having more fun and especially freedom.

Maybe Dougal is of a wiser generation though - one that knows better how to mix creativity and relaxation, and if the moment happens along, with wilderness...


For many young people currently they apparently start with dark sad thoughts and get into a pattern of returning there. It's a pattern worth breaking for all of us!

Water, bush, mountains and wilderness - for me this simplicity holds many of the ingredients for a healthy life. Among them I find it's a lot easier to be grateful for all we have. On this occasion we're afloat in a beautiful calm evening well on our way. It's hard to think other than being grateful...


We made Breaksea in the dark and with the aid of spotlights and rocks this was what we awoke to...


To know that wilderness exists - this I think is a very important thing in life, and we must strive to bring this into consciousness [and to protect these environments]. For in time of turmoil it's a reference point, and if we can regularly go there physically or otherwise, it's a place of reflection and healing.

Arthur prepares to haul up the anchor amidst the exhaust of the diesel warming up - not only do we need these in life, but how interesting that water is the symbol of emotions...


Enthusiasm for life and some adventure also seems to be a good ingredients for a happy time. When times are tough giving our children, and those of others, unconditional love is all the more necessary.

It's easy to love when your son gets up, grabs some toast, and heads for his fishing rod...


One thing I've learnt the last week is to take more time out to relax - work at it! The reflexology has been indicating this quite strongly, and so to the tendency to worry about teenagers.

These seals have the right idea about relaxation, and it's not called Seal Island for nothing...


They also know a thing or two chilling out as they do, near the pantry...


Blog of the week: Headroom by Gregor Ronald

Thanks to Arthur, Helen, and Dougal for the inspiration for the above words, people and landscape photography.

Fiordland: a place where you can find pretty near anything lost

Birthday party time and bush fire smoke

They catch up with us all, the years and birthdays that is. I'm normally reclusive on that one day a year when we [hopefully] reflect on where we're going, but my lovely cousin Trish insisted on putting on a barbeque, which in turn prompted me to share the event. So it was really nice to catch up with so many great people from my past and present.

Here I am posing with my son Dougal...


When cutting the cake I decided to make my wish more public: "health and happiness to all"!

We awoke this am to an orange tinge in the light outside. I've seen this before and find it amazing as it's so far away over such a huge ocean - it's caused by smoke from the current bush fires in Australia. Later in the morning it thickened and I don't recall it ever being so pervasive in our atmosphere in other hot seasons. It must be pretty tough over there across the Tasman Sea: "Melbourne had its hottest day on record yesterday when the temperature reached 46.4 degrees. The highest temperature in Victoria yesterday was 47.9 degrees, the second highest for the state ever recorded". thanks David Crow forecaster

The sun over Wanaka at 1pm today, and that is not all cloud on the left...


As I post this blog the light outside is decidedly a weird yellow. Although rain is not forecast it looks imminent and I'm wondering if because of the unexpected large amounts of smoke now at high altitude that this may cause the air to condense more than expected, and we'll get some welcome moisture. I can almost smell the smoke too. I wonder if ash will soon be evident! I know we will see it in the snow pack in the glaciers over the next few years, just like after other big bush fire years.