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East ridge is becoming my favourite summer route for climbing Taranaki now that the North Egmont summer route has become so crowded. The route up East Ridge from the Stratford Plateau is poorly marked but if you know the way it is a great route to take.  Great views out over central Taranaki, relatively undisturbed moss slopes and then a long climb up the old lava flows taking you up onto the top of Sharkstooth. To get down into the crater from sharkstooth, you go down through a narrow …

I've been meaning to do a tramp up to Bells Falls for a while now and finally got my chance yesterday when the persistent cloud that has been hugging the mountain for the last week finally cleared and we got a fine clear morning.I set off early wanting to get to the falls before the sun rose too high so I could get long exposure shots of them still fully in the morning shadow without the bright contrast that would be caused once the valley was lit by sunshine. The first third of the track i …

The Pouakai circuit has become one of the most popular tramping routes in Egmont National Park and though it is promoted as a 2 day tramp it can easily be done in a single day taking 9 to 10 hours.  I first tramped this circuit in the 1970s with my father. In those days it was not really developed as a full circuit and the track over Henry peak was nothing more than a steep and treacherous mud slide.  I last tramped this route in March 2017. It really is a great route covering a w …

If we can’t see the beauty within existence then how can we recognise it within ourselves? If we haven’t realised our own beauty then how can we inspire it in others? It's true that there is much wrong in the world but it is also true that there is much that is right and despite the efforts of man we are still surrounded by the extraordinary beauty of this existence. The more we nurture that beauty then the more we nurture our own soul and the souls of those around us.&nb …

I was filling the kettle up and just as I closed the lid a caught a glimpse of this tiny praying mantis leaping into the kettle. I immediately fished him out and put him on a pot plant to let him dry out before taking him outside. He seemed none the worse for his dunking. Of course I took the opportunity to take some pictures.   When taking macro photos of such tiny insects (he's about 1cm long) it's difficult to get the depth of field so I use photo stacking. This involves taking …