Month: September 2017

Flight Centre Travel Expo

Fergus Young

Attended the Flight Centre Travel Expo briefly in the morning just to have a quick look. While it perhaps didn’t really inspire me to go traveling more than I currently do, it did put in perspective just how much people were willing to pay for convenience by buying a pre-arranged tour, even with the 15% Flight Centre Expo discount applied. Seems 180-450 per day per person is the norm and that is excluding flights.

Inside a Tour coach (Flight Centre Travel Expo)

While people will no doubt have differing views, based on one’s circumstances (You’re time poor, you have a family to look after, etc). I feel that planning a holiday yourself and researching in detail where to go, what to do, etc,is a large part of the Holiday experience.

I think it was the same deal with my Victoria, Australia trip to both the Grampians [Photos] and 12 Apostles [Photos]. Looked at tours available then in the end, decided to book a rental car myself and book accommodation myself for a much cheaper overall rate.

For those in a position to do so, self arranged holidays provided some advantages…

  • Not being rushed and hearded around. Take it at your leisure. Increased chances for better photo opportunities.
  • More flexibility to see what you want, do want you want.
  • Even for a solo traveler, booking your own transport and accommodation worked out cheaper than taking a pre-packaged tour.

 

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Flight Centre Travel Expo

Cornwall Park

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Quick little shots Miscellaneous shots from Cornwall park after having attended the Flight Centre Travel Expo.  Was hoping to see some blossoms, but it didn’t quite eventuate as planned. It was also the middle of the day where most people would be visiting the park so didn’t quite get any descent photo opportunities that weren’t essentially just crowds of people…

Continue reading “Cornwall Park” →

Cornwall Park

Kohukohunui Trip Notes

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Sunday 24th September 2017 – A walk up to Kohukohunui,  Photos posted to NUI.NZ.

We first attempted to access Kohukohunui via Moumoukai Hill Road [Topo link], but we discovered upon reaching the road end car park, the place is now pasted in signs with “No Public Access permitted”.

We then drove on around the seabird coast to Waharau [Topo link] and started our ascent from there taking the most direct route towards “Kohukohunui” via Waharau Ridge Track connecting on to Mangatangi Ridge Track. We stopping at Thousand Acre Campsite shelter for Lunch (and stopped there again on the way back). Due to time and daylight constraints we returned back the same way.

Click picture below to Access the Photo Gallery.

Track Junction towards Kohukohunui Trig at the Eastern end of Mangatangi Ridge Track

Other notes, considerations and points of possible interest…

  • Difficulty Grade: Medium (Approximately 6 on a difficulty scale out of 10). Some moderately steep sections + some mud.
  • The side track to Kohukohunui Trig states 10 minutes (pictured above). In reality, this is closer to 20 minutes
  • Track condtion of Waharau Trig track is generally good with a handful of slightly muddy patches.
  • Conditions were very muddy for the last 1.5 km to Kohukohunui Trig.
  • Waharau Car park closes at 7:00 p.m. during the Winter season (During non day light saving times) and 9:00 p.m during the Summer season (During day light saving times)
  • Thousand Acre campsite has a fairly newly built shelter with one long drop toilet.

It was also today I learned that Raro cordial mix gives me bugger all energy and has little effect at helping me get up hills. Apparently a row from Whitakers Chocolate bar gives you eight to ten times more Calories to burn.

Kohukohunui Trip Notes

Mangatangi Trig Hike Plan

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Rough Basic outline: Starting from Moumoukai Car park. Walk up Lilburne Road (past Upper Mangatawhiri Dam), Turn right onto Pukapuka Track. Walk up to Mangatangi Trig, Then walk down Mangatangi Trig Track and return back to car via network of gravel road.

If necessary, can cut this short by going down A.R.A Road.

Alternative shorter southern loop plan: Go up A.R.A Road, down Mangatangi Trig Track and back to car park via the network of roads.

Estimated Time: 8-10 Hours (Depending on pace, including allowances for stops)

 

Mangatangi Trig Hike Plan

Facebook Causes depression?

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They say Facebook causes depression. For me, it’s probably not the “Comparing yourself with others” / F.O.M.O (Fear of Missing out) trigger that I keep seeing exhorted in the media (in the lightest way possible, that aspect of Facebook has probably had the opposite effect),

What has instead perhaps “dampened my mood” is seeing the world’s masses getting deeply hooked and dare I say addicted to the platform owned by a corporate juggernaut (which we are collectively responsible for becoming a juggernaut, by virtue of joining the platform and getting our friends to join courtesy of the “network effect”) intent on eating up the entire Internet and irreversibly integrating itself into many people’s lives.

I really struggle to see this as a good thing for us collectively in the longer run. I question our decision to rely on a sole proprietary platform for keeping in touch with friends and family. I continually freak out about how much power over our lives we are collectively handing over to be concentrated into the hands of a single for-profit entity such as Facebook, especially so given their past and present behavior. Have people forgotten about “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”?

I’ve referred to Facebook as “Face-borg” for this reason. It is really the Web’s version of Startrek’s Borg collective, relentlessly assimilating everything in it’s path.

Facebook Causes depression?