Queenstown's New Red Boat Blues

Posted August 23rd 2013 to the Mountain Scene Newspaper.

Dear Sir:
I have to say as a fan of Old Queenstown and it’s Heritage it is a darn shame “Southern Discovery” didn’t decide on building a new paddle steamer to ply the Lake.
A remake of the PS Mountaineer on the style of a Swiss Lake Steamer would be postcard perfect to cruise up the lake...  But The new arrival the “Spirit of Queenstown” is a Boat based on Modern Queenstown Values... So not surprising it is not pleasing to the eye and gets you nowhere in a hurry... thanks Southern Discoveries for putting another Blot on our %100 wonderful Landscape... Which to be honest is probably down to about %75 after killing the town belt trees and ripping out Kiwiana heritage buildings for soulless trophy homes, structures that sprout like some kind of evil spawn consuming the Landscape... Or so they say...

Cat Vs Streamer

Waterfall Death Milford Sound 2013

Posted August 2013 Editor Otago Daily Times.

Dear Sir:
The Bowen Falls Tragedy
This is a National Travesty! when Corporate arrogance and Departmental chicken shit insecurity collide, you get this.

The Walkway to the Bowen Falls was one of the most popular high points of the New Zealand Visitor experience and it was shut down and ripped up because the commercial operators at Milford Sound did not want to share space with the General Public and Convinced the Department of Conservation
there was a serious danger of Rock fall to people using the Waterfall Track, Now People have to risk falling Climbing Cliffs or Drowning in the Sound to get there. And now tragically A young man is dead.

Thanks to non accountability Selfish and Spineless people! Let’s hope the New Guard in Fiordland change this situation.

Dunedin Cable Cars 2013 Reboot

To Christine McDonald Otago Daily Times August 7th 2013

Great to see the in the ODT that the Mornington Cable Cars might be in for a comeback
I was one of the core of people who started a push back in the early 1990s because I grew up in the San Francisco are and I knew just how important the cable cars are to that city.. I even tried to Gift the Cable Car Museum in SF the remains of Mornington Car 104 from Saddle Hill to get the San Francisco guys interested in helping us.

but by 1996 I had to leave Dunedin for Manapouri and had to leave the Group to manage for themselves.

From a Tourism Perspective Dunedin is loosing Countless Dollars for every Minute the Cable Cars don’t return especially now with the Boom in Cruise Ships
and the overdue conversion of the exchange Area into a Hotel Precinct. Dunedin might not see it but statistics say Dunedin at top NZ visitor attraction.

And now that there are unemployed Railway Engineers from Hillside Road Kicking around, making Cable-Cars from Scratch would make perfect sense.
Thirty Years of Talking is enough I think its time for some action.

John Keys NZ Flag Debate Stuff

TV News release 10th August 2013

Key suggests flag change referendum

As far back as 2010 John Key said he favoured a silver fern flag but had no plans to change the current flag.

Prime Minister John Key says he favours a silver fern for New Zealand’s flag.

“I actually think it looks magnificent on a flag pole … The simplicity works well for branding New Zealand, like a monochrome version of the maple leaf for Canada or Japan’s rising sun,” he said.

The silver fern, already used by sports teams and recognised worldwide, would bring the country together, he said.

But the Government had no plans to change the flag at this time, he said.

Times seen to have changed, as have plans. Reported from the National party conference:

John Keys says referendum on changing the NZ Ensign could run alongside next year’s election

It’s about time someone showed some leadership on replacing our outdated and out-used official flag. The old flag that gets confused with Australia’s is still used for official buildings and events but the black silver fern Sporting flag is much more widely used when people can choose.