Israel April 2017

Looking north from Jaffa (the Old Town), to central Tel Aviv.
Some surfers seen further north on the beach

Looking south to Jaffa, the Old Town of Tel Aviv

Jing and hi-tech Tel Aviv in the background.  This is a wall of Old Jaffa

Our Market House Hotel, in Jaffa, Tel Aviv.  It stands on an ancient chapel

PF in the Old Town of Jaffa

Cool Cat, Jaffa

Would like to have bought a carpet to bring back....

From Metula, North Israel, looking north into Lebanon

Golan Heights, one of the tanks used in war with Syria, the
biggest tank battle since WW2

West Bank, just East of Jerusalem, Jing with a Bedouin

This is it: just East of Jerusalem, the "Occupied Lands"...

The Chapel of St George, West Bank, east of Jerusalem, around 600 AD

Almog, west bank, Jing, with Yehuda (L) and the camel driver

Pastel hues over the Dead Sea

Jing and Yehuda, and his demon vehicle, by the Dead Sea

Michaeli, Peter H, Eva, Jing, Yehuda.  On the "beach" by the Dead Sea.
Our generous hosts for the whole trip: Eva and Peter H.

Dead Sea again

Jing, Eva and Michali, Dead Sea, West Bank

Yehuda, Eva, Jing, Peter H in a date palm oasis, Dead Sea.
Our kind and patient hosts: Eva and Peter

PF and Yehuda

Peter at the Western Wall, full of the Haredi (Orthodox) Jews

Western Wall, Jerusalem

Back in Jaffa

Jewish Market

In some Argentinian bistro, Jerusalem: Jing, Eva, Yehuda, some guy Yehuda
dragged in, Peter

PF, blessting a crucifix for Arlene, at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Jerusalem.

Dead Sea; date palm picnic

P with Yehuda, a lovely-crazy guy. He spent some years in Oz, now foreman at Israel's largest building site in Jerusalem. This photo is a picnic in a Date Palm oasis next to the Dead Sea. In the background his kick-ass 25 year old Land Rover. One of many friends Peter and Eva introduced us to. 

This picnic was the day after camping on the shores of Dead Sea. With half a dozen of their other friends, including from Iraq: good Middle East food and great Israeli wine. 

Next day Yehuda met us again at a market in Jerusalem, took us to a Argentinian restaurant and plied us all with many Argentinian beers with chasers of unknown provenance. Then he went back to work as foreman in charge of safety. 

Tel Aviv

Our Market House boutique hotel in old Jaffa, built on ruins of 6th century chapel

Tel Aviv

In old Jaffa. Dates back in parts to 3,500 years ago, the Bronze Age, IIRC.

Golan Heights

Jing sets off an old tank from the Israel-Syria war, on the Golan Heights in spitting distance of Syria

Tel Aviv

The surf beach right in central Tel Aviv, from our hotel

Australia: March 2017 (II)

Watson's Bay, Sydney.  I had lunch at Doyle's famous fish restaurant
on my way back to Hong Kong (Auckland > Sydney > KL > HK)
Weather was beautiful on arrival Sydney, then next two days, the after
effects of Cyclone Debbie, which had devastated Queensland and N. NSW,
brought big rains and winds

Mutti said I should visit Barangaroo, next to Millers Point and opposite
Darling Harbour.  It's a pretty walk around from Circular Quay, still
very much work in progress.  The waterfront has been redone very well
with these here in this pic, being sandstone.  Sydney can teach Hong Kong
a thing or two about harbour-front redevelopment

This is The Cutaway at Barangaroo Point. You can see the rough-cut
sandstone on the right.  It's a great space, which this pic doesn't do justice (the link
above is better).  They have performances in here, and lovely, haunting  music
playing over loudspeakers even during the day, during the week, as it was when
 I popped in on my way from Barangaroo to the Quay.  Thanks for suggesting it, Mutti!

View from my room at the Hotel Bondi (est. 1911 and looking pretty much as it
did 100+ years ago).The day before had been shining bright and full of people
and surfers (why aren't they all at work??).This was blowy from Cyclone Debbie.
Still, I had a surf each day.
BONDI: The Best inner city surf beach in the world. Bar none.

Photo from the Icebergs Club and restaurant.  As good as ever.  Big surf and wind
after the day before's pretty little swell: due to cyclone Debbie

Taken from the Icebergs, where I had lunch before heading off that
night for K.L. thence H.K.

New Zealand: March 2017

Video of the view of Bay of Islands, from the terrace of our hosts

Grant and Iris Bartlett, in Paihia.  We've sailed often with them 

in Hong Kong, Thailand and the Philippines

Iris, Grant and Jing, on the last day with them, Orua Beach, north of Paihia

Iris, Grant and Jing, at their "batch" at Orua Beach, north of Bay of Islands 

First stop (19 March) after Orua was to Waipu and its museum.  Fiona and Donna were there
to greet and help us.  Donna gave us a "Pedigree Chart" of the McKenzies, going back
to early 19th century.  It shows clearly that  -- via Mutti -- we're direct descendants of
Duncan McKenzie, builder and Captain of the "Highland Lass".
I'll post the Chart to all relevant, in due course..... (promise!)
Waipu and especially Waipu Cove are pretty spots. All accommodation full when we
were there so we had to stay in Maungturoto, 20km out of town, in a really horrible hotel...

Above top is our progenitor, Captain Duncan McKenzie, known as "The Prince".
Handsome devil, isn't he?  (or not?...).  Born "c. 1808" on Prince Edward Island, Canada
He married (not sure who to) "Abt 1839". His daughter Margaret McKenzie was born "Abt 1842"
in Baddeck, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada.   He set sail for Waipu* in 1852, with his
mother and daughter on the ship he'd designed and build: the "Highland Lass".
Duncan died on 29 June 1893 in Waipu.

* (Duncan and his flock first sailed to Adelaide, but thought it a bit "racy", so they continued on to NZ.  

There, they landed in Russell, in the Bay of Islands, then known as the "Hell-hole of the Pacific", 

bawdy wenches and so on.  Sounds fun to me, but clearly not to dear Great-Great Grand-daddy Duncan. 

He took the "Lass" on Waipu. Clearly they were a rather prudish lot).

Duncan McKenzie, "The Prince", Captain of the "Highland Lass" in 1852, is as follows:

• Great-great-great grandfather to: Jane, Anna, Meredith, Alex and John
• Great-great grandfather to: Peter  (me!) and Anne (and our cousins Mark and Richard)
• Great-grandfather to: Mutti  (Margaret, née Anderson) and her three sisters, Betty, Ruth and Kitty.
• Grandfather to: Bruce Anderson (Mutti's Dad. Son of Margaret and James Anderson)
• Father to: Margaret McKenzie (married to James Anderson)

A little bit more on the ship "Highland Lass" on which
"The Prince" McKenzie came out to Waipu.
There's a book still in print, with the story of these original 900 Highlanders
to arrive in Waipu: "The Gael Fares Forth".  Another book, "The Highlanders
of Waipu" is said, by Donna (above) to be "not too reliable"....  

Our cottage at Bethells Beach Cottages. It's west of Auckland and
what we got to in the first day from NZ's "Northlands".
Distances in NZ are not really that great!

From our back patio at the Bethells Beach Cottages

Our cottage at Bethells Beach cottages

Trude, John and Jing at the front of their own cottage

This is the "Big Tree", in the Kauri forest.  It's said to be
over 3,000 years old.  In real life, it's amazingly impressive.

Getting out of the "glowworm caves".  You can't take any pictures inside.
They're really teriffic and worth all the time to get there.  Behind are the
boats, they pull along with ropes, as you keep silent and watch the
glowworms on the cave roofs, like lime-green stars

From our motel room in Taupo, looking west over the lake. There's plenty
to so around the lake: sailing, fishing, thermal walks,....

And the glassblowing place, with it's "statue garden" nearby Taupo

In Cambridge, on the way to Auckland, we stopped by Cambridge, where
Mutti spent her childhood. Her house was near the primary school.  100 years
later and the school's still going, and the house might be this one above, or...

... this one....

... or this one.  Mutti?

In Cambridege: an honesty system book exchange.  Our motel
in Taupo had the same for beer and wine: an honesty system bar.
How wonderful!

The old Post Office in Cambridge, over 100 years old, now an
Italian Restaurant, but still with its charming aspect

From Auckland's One Tree Hill looking over the whole city

Jing and ex NZ America's Cup yachts, by the central wharves and
the Marine Museum

At St Helier's lookout: there's a twilight race happening on the harbour

At "modern Italian", Bazurro, by the wharves in Auckland