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I Thought Lake PĆ«kaki Was Reflecting the Sky. How Wrong Was I?I always thought Lake PĆ«kaki’s incredible blue colour came...
24/10/2026

I Thought Lake PĆ«kaki Was Reflecting the Sky. How Wrong Was I?

I always thought Lake PĆ«kaki’s incredible blue colour came from the sky above it. Turns out, the real explanation is even more impressive!

Standing beyond the lake is Aoraki/Mount Cook, New Zealand’s tallest mountain at 3,724 metres. Glaciers around this alpine giant help feed PĆ«kaki, with meltwater travelling through the Tasman River.

But here’s the fascinating part: it isn’t simply glacier water that makes the lake turquoise. Moving glaciers grind rock into incredibly fine particles called “glacial flour”. These particles remain suspended in the water, scattering sunlight and creating that unmistakable milky blue.

The sky and changing light can influence how the lake looks, but the signature colour comes from what’s floating beneath the surface.

I reckon knowing that makes this view even more spectacular. We’re looking at mountains helping colour a lake!

Be honest: did you think it was just reflecting the sky too?

Best office window in NZ is a train window.Last July I took the 8:15am TranzAlpine, Christchurch to Greymouth. 4h20m, 22...
23/10/2026

Best office window in NZ is a train window.
Last July I took the 8:15am TranzAlpine, Christchurch to Greymouth. 4h20m, 223km. Canterbury Plains → Waimakariri Gorge → Arthur’s Pass in snow → then it flips to West Coast rainforest in like 10 minutes.
I worked the whole way. Laptop on tray table, cafe car flat white, mountains scrolling past the panoramic windows. Slow travel is back for a reason - no airport queues, just glass roof and viaducts.
Tip from the crew: Go west? Sit on the RIGHT for Waimakariri Gorge. Coming back to Chch? Sit on the LEFT. And don’t camp in the open-air carriage the whole time - it’s freezing in winter, rotate.
Have you done it one-way or return? I’m thinking one-way + drive back via Hokitika next time.
📍 TranzAlpine, Christchurch to Greymouth
Visual: Slide 1 my phone shot at Arthur’s Pass / Slide 2 AI illustration of my office setup based on trip
WorkFromAnywhere

Beautiful sunset colours from Tekapo last night! Beautiful warm evening. 25 degrees at 7pm. Have a wonderful long weeken...
23/10/2026

Beautiful sunset colours from Tekapo last night! Beautiful warm evening. 25 degrees at 7pm. Have a wonderful long weekend

Could still see a few star malady night even with the bright moon. đŸ’«
23/10/2026

Could still see a few star malady night even with the bright moon. đŸ’«

I surfed black sand while a 2,518m volcano watched me.This is Taranaki. Not Queenstown. Better.Taranaki Maunga stands al...
22/10/2026

I surfed black sand while a 2,518m volcano watched me.

This is Taranaki. Not Queenstown. Better.
Taranaki Maunga stands alone at 2,518m — a perfect cone rising straight from black sand surf. New Zealand’s answer to Mt Fuji, but you can surf it at dawn and hike it by afternoon.
I based myself in Oakura for a week last summer, working from a tiny bach. My routine was stupidly simple: sunrise at Back Beach, black sand scorching my feet, paddling out while the volcano glowed pink behind the waves. Then slow afternoons biking the Coastal Walkway to Te Rewa Rewa Bridge, where the bridge perfectly frames the peak, and a flat white at Ozone.
People are coming here because they’re done with Queenstown prices and crowds. They want slow towns you can actually live in, not just photograph. New Plymouth delivers: world-class surf, Egmont National Park hikes, Govett-Brewster Gallery and the Len Lye Centre, without the price tag.
My tip: Drive Surf Highway 45 around the mountain. 105km, 12 black sand beaches, the best sunsets in the North Island.
Have you ever had that feeling of being watched by a mountain?

📍 New Plymouth, Taranaki
Visual: Original photo -Back Beach black sand with Mt Taranaki / Taranaki Maunga

Where’s the Concern for the Shop Owner Too?Small local shops carry the cost when stock goes missing. They pay the rent, ...
21/10/2026

Where’s the Concern for the Shop Owner Too?

Small local shops carry the cost when stock goes missing. They pay the rent, employ locals, and absorb every loss.

I’ve seen recent discussion about a retailer who shared CCTV footage of a regular older customer over an alleged shoplifting incident, and commentary from advocacy groups about privacy and dignity.

I think both concerns are valid. Older people deserve dignity and practical support. Shop owners also deserve empathy and a fair process when losses happen.

There’s an important debate here in New Zealand about how these situations should be handled. Under the Privacy Act and Harmful Digital Communications Act, sharing identifiable CCTV online can create legal risks, which is why many retailers refer footage to police instead.

For me, compassion and accountability need to go together. Age alone should not establish guilt or excuse wrongdoing. What helps everyone is support plus a fair process to establish what happened.

What do you think is the fairest way to handle these cases - referral to police and support services, or public posting?

Image: AI-generated illustration for discussion - not the people involved.

21/10/2026

Road closed, street empty, everyone bailed. Cue to support local so I walked straight into one of Christchurch’s top bakeries with no queue cabinet FULLY loaded

Whakaari is breathing again — and for many of us, so are the memories.GeoNet has raised Whakaari / White Island to Volca...
21/10/2026

Whakaari is breathing again — and for many of us, so are the memories.

GeoNet has raised Whakaari / White Island to Volcanic Alert Level 3.
That means a minor eruption is underway, with a vigorous plume of steam, gas and ash drifting east of the island. Aviation Code is Orange.

For most of us, it’s a headline.

For the survivors, the families of the 22 who never came home on 9 December 2019, the rescuers, and the Whakatāne community — it’s so much heavier.

We remember them.
We honour those still living with life-changing injuries.
And we hold space for everyone who feels that anxiety rise when Whakaari makes the news again.

Aotearoa’s landscape is beautiful and powerful. Days like today remind us how unpredictable it can be.

If you’re feeling affected by this news, you’re not alone. You can call or text 1737 to talk with a trained counsellor anytime.

Please keep comments kind and mindful of those directly affected.

Source: GeoNet via RNZ

Who Needs Satnav When You Can Read the Stars?Imagine crossing thousands of nautical miles of open ocean with ancestral k...
20/10/2026

Who Needs Satnav When You Can Read the Stars?

Imagine crossing thousands of nautical miles of open ocean with ancestral knowledge guiding your way. That’s bringing history to life!

The waka hourua Te Matau a Māui is preparing to return to Ahuriri, Napier, after a Pacific voyage connecting Aotearoa, Samoa and Fiji. Its navigators followed the stars, ocean swells, winds and other natural signs, carrying forward skills passed between generations.

Among the achievements was the graduation of siblings Rapihana Hawaikirangi and Te Pƍ Hawaikirangi-Willison as traditional celestial navigators, mentored by Piripi Smith.

I find this extraordinary. Many of us struggle to reach an unfamiliar address without our phones, yet these navigators can read an ocean that looks featureless to an untrained eye.

To me, this is history alive on the water: knowledge being practised, tested and shared.

Should more Kiwi children have the opportunity to learn how their Pacific ancestors found their way across such vast stretches of ocean?

23 Floors Up: When One Moment Becomes Everyone’s EmergencyLast night in central Auckland was a stark reminder of how qui...
20/10/2026

23 Floors Up: When One Moment Becomes Everyone’s Emergency
Last night in central Auckland was a stark reminder of how quickly an adrenaline moment can turn into a major emergency operation.
Around 10.45pm on Tuesday, October 20, Fire and Emergency NZ were called to the Hotel Indigo building on Albert St after a parachutist became stranded on the exterior, about 23 floors above the street. According to the NZ Herald, a specialist rescue team had to remove exterior windows to bring him inside safely. He was assessed at the scene and did not require hospital transport.
A jump from a city building doesn’t just involve the person wearing the parachute. Specialist crews are put in a high-risk position to carry out a complex rescue at height, and people on the street below have no say in the risk unfolding above them.
I’m genuinely relieved this man survived, and huge credit goes to the firefighters who carried out such a difficult technical rescue at night.
But a successful rescue should still make us pause. How do we balance personal freedom with responsibility to others when a moment of thrill puts so many other people in danger?
What do you think — where should the line be?
📍 Auckland, New Zealand
Source: NZ Herald / Fire and Emergency NZ, 20 Oct 2026
📾 Image: AI illustration based on news reports (not the actual incident photo)

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