Sundog

This is my tribute to Sundog, my trusty companion and vehicle, a 1981 Ford Cortina wagon of surprisingly bright color...

We went to the base of Treble Cone ski area, near Wanaka, before the snow came down...

But then the crash happened. The inside of the car was a jumble of stuff that came out from under the driver's seat into the pedal area, and my shoulder and ribs broke the passenger seat.

The front wheel broke off the axle in the collision. The engine compartment is a jumble of parts, almost none where they are supposed to be...

The frame was twisted, and the rear window was shattered so completely there was nothing left.

Before Sundog headed off to the Wanaka dump, Steve, the guy from the service station, removed the registration tag. (Note to would-be rego stealers: The rego has been cancelled with LTSA.) Farewell, friend!

Beth Shalom

I was driving in the Queen Charlotte Sounds and came across a sign:

I thought it would be an interesting place to have a look at, and perhaps talk to the owners to learn more. It seemed to fit with the monastery and with Parihaka as part of a possible project on peaceful places around New Zealand.

So I walked closer, down the hill, to see what was there.

A deck chair seemed to say that someone had been there, and was planning to be back.

But other things indicated to me that it would be a while before this truly was a house of peace. The place was nothing but a deck, separated from the hill I was on by a large reinforced wall.

The posts were freshly in place, with labels still intact and unweathered. There were no people, no tools, no sign that the workers would return, except the chair.

In the end, this is all there was: a sign, a path, a construction site, and a view unequaled even in paradise.