Homeless in Auckland… ? and other ramblings
January the 1st, 2014 – Here we are
I just had the most bizarre and surreal in-depth conversation with a homeless guy in the next property….
Next door to where I live in a national reserve park area, an old lava flow path from one of the old volcano’s here in Auckland, Mt Eden was also an old Maori Pa.
I was sitting here on the internet just bumming about and I heard noises from outside, so went and had a look.
Now, I’ve seen the guy a few times from a distance over the years I’ve been here, and just sort of glanced and carried on, but this time, i went out and spotted him clearing up the old fallen branches from the boundary points around the property….
He stopped and looked up, and said hi, and we sort of started nattering about the place, and who lived here and there, and that he likes to go into the reserve and tidy up, which he does well i admit, and we talked about the history of the place, where the lava flow path is, how it made its way down to the waterfront and how the Maori People of the time used to go fishing and then haul the catch back up to the Pa for the tribes up there.
All too interesting sometimes, when you stop and talk to those you would normally not.
We get too caught up in our busy little lives, working hard to buy the latest tv or smartphone, and we lose touch with what we grew up with.. well, ok maybe not the current young generation, but those of us pushing around in their 40’s anyways… when we grew up in the ending bits of the Great Kiwi Lifestyle, so to speak.
In my line of work, i get to meet and chat with all manner of people from all walks of life, all difference cultures and levels of communication skills, and i love this little country I call home , for its diversity and peacefulness.
Sure we still have crime here, every country no matter how developed or regulated does, but it’s mild compared to other places, and the more I travel over seas and see what life is like there, the more I love the country I grew up in.
Following my passion for photography has lead me to see another side of life in NZ that I never gave a second thought too, well, not only here but also over seas, like Homelessness in Hawaii, a place you’d never expect that to exist in.. Oddly, i guess, we can’t get away from the ever harsher world that is becoming. As the Rich get richer, the poorer get poorer and the middle class become the lower-middle class…
Anyway, that’s enough from me for now, I’m getting read as I’m going for a road trip tomorrow for a few days, get away from the city and go explore some of the east coast of New Zealand…. I’ll blog it all when I get back.. maybe 3 or 4 days.
Take care everyone, hope you all have an amazing 2014.
Yanni.
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