Posts by BenWilson
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Polity: Leaving only footprints, in reply to st ephen,
since tramping was never popular in NZ beyond a tiny white, middle-class minority and is even less popular with moneyed tourists
It does depend what you mean by tramping in making that observation. Going hunting and fishing in the bush is extremely popular well beyond the minority you refer to, particularly for rural people. It is, after all, really cheap entertainment.
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Polity: Leaving only footprints, in reply to Rosemary McDonald,
That's quite cool, and I guess I chose words poorly. It's not that hiking for the vision impaired is impossible. It's just that it's a huge mission. There are plenty of sports far more within his comfort zone. Unsurprisingly, he prefers those himself. On of the greatest attractions of hiking - all the amazing sights - are basically lost on him.
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My dad was mad keen on it, having got a taste with the varsity trampling club. I did enjoy it, although as a child the exhaustion could be quite extreme - humping packs for miles over mountains with little legs was not the part of it I enjoyed. But getting there and camping, and the pack-less smaller hikes, were enjoyed.
I'd love to teach my kids to do it. Unfortunately, it's not really a sport for the vision impaired, as my older son is. Gonna have to be the little bloke for that.
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Hard News: Mt Eden: Not a closing but an…, in reply to Russell Brown,
Y U MAKE ME DO THIS BEN?
In my defense, you could have driven, like what you used to be able to do at Mt Eden.
Yeah, it's a killer climb, particularly the on-road bits before you get to the gate. Summit drive pretty much goes straight up the side. You can come down it pretty fast.
The south view is good, and the north view can be seen from lower altitude from various spots along the road. The top could be amazing. Mt Eden would still be better, though, because of where it is, not to mention the stunning crater, which would NOT be improved by being full of pohutukawa, however natural that might be.
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Hard News: Mt Eden: Not a closing but an…, in reply to Russell Brown,
But, um, good luck with that …
Yeah, I don't expect change. I just voice my opinion on what is good, in balance. With Mt Eden, the balance is that something was added as something was taken away, and what was taken away was something I used to use a lot. I very much doubt that was was added (basically a cleared carpark) will outweigh what was lost (many future visits to this site). Similarly with Mt Albert, the admittedly pleasant walk beside some native tress is stacked against the 50% loss of something spectacular, and I find it wanting in the calculation.
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Hard News: Mt Eden: Not a closing but an…, in reply to Russell Brown,
It could have an awesome view. The sports field in the crater up there is quite bizarre, although it's no worse a use than many. I just don't get what's so marvelous about the pohutukawa forest blocking all the view at the top. Of all the places that we can and already do have pohutukawa stands, it's basically the worst possible choice.
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Also, we can still give some thanks, for at least a few decades, that there is a view from Mt Eden at all. Mt Albert is basically an unremarkable stand of pohutukawa when you look North. No need to limit access to the summit - most times I go there I'm the only one.
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Hard News: Mt Eden: Not a closing but an…, in reply to Bart Janssen,
Mt Eden was the best choice and I’m still disappointed there was no halfway ground that could be made to work.
Heh, well, the parking is about halfway up... :-).
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My only reservation is that already having a mobility card is a fairly high bar for people who might be mobile on the flat but can’t manage the climb and perhaps a way could be found to accommodate them without letting that concession be abused.
Yup, it's not going to be fun trying to get my boy up there. I'm not feeling the love for this decision. The parked cars were not beautiful, sure, but trips up that mountain without humping the 100m vertical ascent were like an Auckland birthright I've lost, is how I feel about it*. And the cars were never in the way of the view from the summit, nor from the paths on either side of the parking. I couldn't hear car engines over the howling of the wind and the gabbling of tourists anyway, and I doubt those have changed.
getting to the summit on foot is a much more enjoyable and rewarding experience than zipping up in a car
I've done it both ways. I liked the car better. Especially when I had the whole family with me, or visiting friends, or only 15 minutes to spare on the way through. It's certainly a good walk. But it was an awesome drive.
*I know, of course, that it never actually belonged to me. But that doesn't change that something has been taken away.
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Polity: Hooton’s Zombie Apocalypse, in reply to bob daktari,
don’t think its education national are worried about in polling – TPPA has dwarfed any policy announcements by labour – also a topic labour are vulnerable on, as they’ve hardly been consistent about the damned thing
Could be true, I'm not sure. I haven't felt Labour to have distinguished themselves from National much on it, so I doubt National fears Labour's popularity on it. I can't feel the rage myself - there's a horrific feeling of inevitability about the whole thing. But at least our own education policy is something we feel like we're in control of.
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