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

Gannets Take Flight

The fifth Friday of the month gave my team at work reason to go on an afternoon outing. Off to Muriwai we headed.
Blowing off the dust I took the now 10 year old Four Thirds Olympus E500. Although only 8MP, and old tech by current standards, I still love the out of camera rendering + the lens set I have with it have a great range! Limited to 400iso, and slow but ok focus times, I knew it was going to be a challenge catching these birds in mid flight – especially with the decent trade winds blowing. I certainly had many poor results,but here are a group I am quite pleased with. The E500 ain’t book-shelved quite yet still!

October 30, 2015 0

View to Island in the Sun

After what has been a not so bad, but long feeling winter, I think Summer is on the way!

October 11, 2014 6

September 7, 2014 1

The Resort – Phi Phi

Landing at the resort, the view was stunning. Clear aqua ocean, white sand, palm trees. We were warmly greeted, and as with all the other places we stayed, welcomed with a cool sweet beverage. Being at the flash end of the holiday, we took on an upgrading offer and temporarily made the beach front bungalow our home for the next four nights.

More tomorrow!

May 1, 2014 7

New Day New Island – Koh Phi Phi

Leaving Krabi, we hopped on a ferry destined for the beautiful Phi Phi Islands. Hot as usual, I struggled sitting on the reflective white deck for 40min’s before we took off, but once we started moving, the cool breeze was great!

The ride was somewhere around 2 hours, with cheap Singer’s being sold in the hot sun along the journey. Arriving at Phi Phi we were greeted with the 20 baht per person, keep the island clean fee (i’ll comment another day), and as soon as we got there, a long boat was called to escort us to our resort (We were now at the flash stage of the holiday).

Do the shopping cart???

April 30, 2014 1

Boat Tour Thailand

For one of our days staying in Krabi, we booked a day trip out to some of the smaller islands. Heading out via longboat, we had three main stops – one for snorkling, one for lunch and one for a few hours swimming.

One thing that became apparent in Thailand, starting with this trip, was the struggle the country appears to have with litter/rubbish, and dealing with it.

Each of the stops was beautiful, and away from the mainland, relatively free of rubbish. However, stopping at the lunch spot, walking on the beach, I could smell the familiar scent of ash/burnt goods. At the back of the small beach area, it was clear that all rubbish on the island just gets piled up and burnt. Relatively small stuff, but I’ll touch on it again in future posts where the issue was more obvious.

Anyway… Landing at the final beach and being left for the rest of the afternoon I went for a bit of a stroll. Thailand was hit by a nasty tsunami in 2004. This beach paradise, like many other places was hit, with old wreckage sitting in the bush as a reminder.

With the Thai authorities estimating that at least 8,150 are likely to have died, the bits of boats and other things around the coastal areas serve as a reminder, and sorts of shrines to remind us of the loss.

From Krabi and back on a boat tomorrow!

April 29, 2014 4

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.