Sunshine

Aloha everyone!

Yesterday I sacrificed a much needed sleep in (I have block course all week which is class from 8:30am -5pm, intense!) to meet my beautiful parent's at the Auckland Airport for a catch up, while they waited for friends to fly in. Even though it was an early start, it was such a gorgeous day in Auckland and the perfect day for sitting outside with a coffee!

I couldn't get over how beautiful the sunshine is and the amazing effect it can have on your mood. It had me in awe of God's creation! I was driving over the Onehunga Wharf with One Tree Hill in the distance, the sky tower on one side, the sea on the other, with sun streaming in while I listened to some chilled out music and headed back to uni for class. What bliss! I even had a Vanilla Coke which always reminds me of summer! Especially summer at the Mount!

Maybe it's the Vitamin E? that the sun gives you that has such an uplifting effect or maybe it's something about being more in touch with nature and what that may personally mean to you. But I just love being in the sun, it can be so therapeutic.

Feeling so peaceful, and being reminded so much of summer, made me think of the Kaimai Ranges back home, which you can see from my bedroom!

Since moving to Auckland, the Kaimai's have come to represent a lot to me, it is my symbol of home and all that comfort that holds.

Last semester when we were looking at Te Whare Tapa Wha in class, which is the four-sided house, a wholistic approach to being. The spiritual, physical, family and mental health of someone that is rooted in their land. In someways I have come to see the Kaimai's as the representation of my land, and where I come from, it's where I started into this world, it's where I became Christian and it's where I return to for comfort, it's where my parent's are.

So I thought I would share some photo's I've found of the beautiful Kaimai's and some of my home. Sorry I don't have any photo's of the view from my room, I don't own a digital camera, though I am attempting to remedy this soon! Being such a visual person I find it hard not being able to capture moments or important people to me, myself.

These two photo's each capture a part of the Kaimai's, I dream of one day being able to photograph the whole of the Kaimai Ranges, but I'm not sure that is possible because they stretch the whole of width of Matamata!

The above photo is a view from Te Poi.

The bottom two are photo's I took a few years ago, from my home. I just love it!

This is nearly the view from one of my bedroom windows and on a clearer day you can see the Kaimai's behind the trees.

I find it amazing how much nature is constantly changing and growing, just like us in a lot of ways, yet still beautiful no matter what stage of change, full of flowers and life or naked and barren; it still has such distinct beauty that is so hard to replicate.

Anyways, that is my little ramble about nature. :)

Blessings, Jess xx

"A woodland in full color is awesome as a forest fire, in magnitude at least, but a single tree is like a dancing tongue of flame to warm the heart."
- Hal Borland