The Journey or the Destination

As I leave my summer holidays behind and return to work, I begin to look back on my time off. I shot this image on my Sony Nex 5N whilst camping the other week at the gateway to the ‘Far North’ of New Zealand. It was shot at the far end of the 210mm (so full frame 315mm’ish), handheld climbing a hill and wide open. As a result, it’s not the sharpest image in the box… but I like it.

The paradox between the two subjects. One powering along at high speed, leaving a trail. The other, full sail, but slowly pushing in the opposite direction, leaving no trace. I’ve titled it ‘The Journey or the Destination’, but who knows – it’s all relative and you can interchange the story for both subjects. It was kind of the theme of the walk of the day also. I had a goal of where I was getting to, but as I will share another time, I stopped along the way at many points taking in the scenery.

Neither ‘Journey’ or ‘Destination’ exist in isolation. If we only look to the destination, we can diminish the value of the journey – missing moments which simply make up ‘life’. Focusing on the journey without destination can lead to aimlessness – a world of moments, but for what – where is your ikigai (reason for being). Both have a part to play

Make sure you have a bit of ikigai in your journey today – it does not need to be large, world changing, skilled or profitable. Just one small thing which sparks a sense of joy or purpose in the day.

January 19, 2026 0

Auckland Round The Bay’s 2015

Time again for Aucklands annual Round the Bay’s fun run/race, our biggest annual run the country holds. A nice calm morning made for a scenic walk to the start (and warm weather for the run)

March 8, 2015 0

Krabi Seaside

Saying farewell to Chiang Mai and the Northern region of Thailand, we boarded an early morning plane and flew to the west coast, southern side of Thailand – aimed for Krabi (the seaside part of it). Landing in Phuket, and hopping on a transfer coach for several hours, we arrived at out destination. After a short unpacking, it was time to take a bit of a walk around the beach for a look.

What a change in environment. It was busy, but much less busy. Far less taxis and tuk tuks offering rides. And sea! – something I always love being near and take for granted back here in Auckland New Zealand. Sitting down for a drink, we watched the longboats struggling to get out at low time, and zooming around as the tide came up.

The area we stayed at had two beach areas – one, were were told was not really ideal to go to at night (well, he actually said keep away from thee at night). The other good all night long. Walking around both in the day, one looked less touristy, more local. The beach on that side wasn’t as nice as the other side either. Todays shots are all from the ‘tourist’ side.

More of the Krabi area tomorrow!

April 27, 2014 0

The Beach (part II)

As always, Mondays a busy day, so here is another shot from yesterdays outing. It really highlights the distance of the raft from the beach at high tide. I have memories visiting the beach as a young one and the journey it took to swim out to the raft, well above ones head height deep. That was with the old raft also, made of wood, which became very slippery after the first wet kid clambered on top of it.

Out to the ocean we can see some of the smaller boats that were racing off Narrow Neck Beach around the corner.

Post photo wise, I cropped and used a modified ‘national geographic’ plugin in Gimp. The image itself was overexposed a little (and this emphasised by the plugin), – its given the image a feeling that somewhat reflected my own eyesight as I squinted wishing I had brought along some sunglasses or a hat…

December 10, 2012 2

Milford Marina

This morning was the first morning of the year that the car windows had frozen over. It didn’t get that much warmer during the day, and by the time I went to leave for home the temperature had dropped yet again. I stopped on the way home for a quick walk around the Milford Marina, a small local marina catering for North Shore residents. It was a cool clear evening, just before sunset. I think the cloudless sky and dark water reflects the calm, yet icy temperatures.

Taken on the Ricoh on bleach mode, otherwise untouched.

June 13, 2012 0