Coming Up Close

  Right next to a motorway in the central city is the Tauranga Mission Cemetery aka Otamataha Pa which is known as the Military Cemetery. There are monuments to the Naval Brigade, the 43rd Monmouth Regiment and a mass Maori grave. This particular monument is for a man named Hori Ngatai who was a chief of the Ngaiterangi Tribe and was part of the battles of Gate Pa during the New Zealand wars. Linking up with  Shadow Shot Sunday  and  Mosaic Monday .

  For us in the Southern Hemisphere today is Christmas Eve - depending where you are in the world we are about a day ahead. Traffic has been bumper to bumper and very slow, supermarkets have been chaotic and people are out and about doing last minute shopping. 2 of my elderly clients (a couple) presented me with a beautiful sheer Summer scarf as thanks for me helping them - made me feel very thankful and I will definitely use it. While searching for some calm photos in my archives I found this one from when we lived in Mount Maunganui about 3 years ago. This is one of the many paths to the beach and in the distance is the Motuotau Island which was once the scene of a massacre. Confiscated from local iwi after the 1864 Battle of Gate Pa , the island was returned and then later purchased by the Crown. Today the island is a wildlife sanctuary and home to 500 little blue penguins. I hope you have an awesome Christmas wherever you are, stay safe, kia kaha. Linking up with Wordless Wed...

When we lived in Tauranga we use to see trains all the time mostly carrying forestry logs which travel all over the country.  KiwiRail  is owned by Shareholding Ministers of the Crown for over 150 years the railways in NZ have connected our communities, delivered products and people and showed off our amazing scenery.  According to Wikipedia their main freight routes are: Auckland - Christchurch: domestic general freight, mostly via 10', 20' and 40' containers and curtain-siders or box wagons. Auckland - Tauranga: Containerized and bulk export products Kinleith/Murapara - Mount Maunganui: wood products only Midland Line: Bulk export coal from north of Westport and Reefton, coal containers for Fonterra, dry and wet milk between Westland Dairy plants at Hokitika and Rolleston, export dry milk from Fonterra at Darfield. Edendale - Taieri - Port Chalmers: export milk powder in containers. Wairio - Invercargill: solely coal in containers for Fonterra use. Inverc...