The walk is along John Wilson Drive which runs alongside the ocean – the Pacific Ocean. In the Māori language (Te Reo) the Pacific Ocean is known as Te-Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. Of course in this case, it’s only a very short stretch of that great ocean. A blimp. But it’s my short piece of that great ocean; my blimp; and I consider it a privilege to be able to visit it when I am in the mood to.
The Drive is closed off for traffic after 3.00 p.m. which means it’s possible to take a sand-free walk while still breathing in the sea breeze and watching the breakers roll in.
St Kilda beach – looking out over the Pacific. The closest large land mass to us on this eastern coastline of Aotearoa New Zealand, is Chile, South America. Some 6,000 miles (9,000 kilometres) away.
When I was working at the albatross centre as a guide years ago, I often envisioned the albies on their circuitous trip around the Southern Pacific, skirting the coast of Chile.
Albatrosses need wind to take off, land and glide and since the early 1900’s, the Northern Royals have thrived on a headland on Dunedin’s peninsula where those ideal conditions are the norm.
The albatross Colony at Taiaroa Headland is famous for being the only mainland albatross colony, close to a large settlement of people (the city of Ōtepoti, Dunedin). Go HERE to see live camera footage of a nesting albatross. Warning – Be prepared for hours of watching the albatross sleeping / resting while waiting for the mate to fly in for their turn to sit on the nest. And turn down the volume otherwise your ears will be assaulted by the screeching gulls who also nest on the headland. HERE is a piece about the ringing of the bells in the city to announce / celebrate the annual return of albatross to breed and nest.
This is another appropriate photo for the start of a new year, I thought.
Oceans don’t have it all. There’s something charming and peaceful about a small creek just quietly doing its thing.
This creek was running alongside the skate park where four of our grandchildren were trying out skateboard, bike, roller blades and scooter – each one choosing a different mode of transport according to their personality. All signs point to my mokos being determined to run their own course in life and I couldn’t be prouder.
WRITING: Poetry manuscript off to the publisher! Yay. And now I am dipping back into my fourth novel. Titled Yellowhammer Summer, I am on to the eighth chapter. I know where I want to go with this book (I have the scaffolding set in place) but a lot of the plot only reveals itself to me as I go. Current word count is close to 9,000.
READING: A bit of reading is happening – mainly audio. An LJ Ross DCI Ryan murder mystery set in Northumberland, a Patricia Cornwell (who takes on the forensics angle well, plus I rather like the fact that chief protagonist Scarpetta’s first name is Kay (without an ‘e’ ).
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel – a post-apocalyptic dystopian fiction with (I believe) a bit less brutality and a whole lot more hope than The Road (not that I’ve read The Road, having been put off by reviews of its grim nature.) I found Station Eleven a compelling read.
Donna Leon is a favourite author of mine. She describes Venice meticulously (and uses her hatred of the cruise ships that compromise that city’s history as a consistent motif for her books.) The cruise ships appear as evil characters that continue to remain out of reach for Brunetti, who’s dearest wish I’m sure would be to convict them of pollution. I have just finished reading Leon’s 2022 novel Transient Desires. I’d like to catch up with her latest three, written after that book.
I am also dipping in and out of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway and Yeats’ poetry.
NOTE: Just realised this morning (as usual late to the party ) that our wonderful National Library has excerpts of Katherine Mansfield’s notebooks digitally copied online and available to read. Ooh, how tantalising is that?
MUSIC: This Nina Simone song perhaps sums up how I’m feeling about going into a new year.
11th Letter In 