A café on Waiheke Island has come up with a novel way to increase the use of te reo and it isn’t compulsory to use it but will save you some money.

On a Sunday, you can arrive at 8.30am, right at opening time, and by 8.35am there is a queue of locals out the door, waiting for their freshly baked hot cross buns, patisserie, artisan breads and hot, steaming drinks.

And if you say “He kawhe maku”, instead of “I’d like a coffee”, you’ll get 50c off for your trouble.

Owner Patrick Griffiths says the idea of introducing Maori is to support people to learn the language at whatever level they want, and to feel comfortable about it.

He and his wife Hinemoa have been studying te reo for seven years.

“If you want to speak Italian you can go to Italy and immerse yourself in the language but there’s no place you can really go to speak te reo Maori.

“It’s one of our three official languages and is a taonga – it’s very precious.”

Sure, it is on the very liberal Waiheke Island but it sure is a more interesting and fun way to encourage people to use everyday, conversational Maori.

Questions for Oral Answer.

Questions to Ministers 2.00PM-3.00PM.

1. Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in the Hon Judith Collins and her handling of her relationship with Oravida Ltd?
2. JAMI-LEE ROSS to the Minister of Finance: What are likely to be the main pressures on interest rates and what steps is the Government taking to help prevent home mortgage rates from returning to levels seen in 2008?
3. GRANT ROBERTSON to the Minister of Justice: Was the employer of the senior Chinese border control official, who she had dinner with in Beijing in October 2013 on her Ministerial visit to China, from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine also known as the AQSIQ?
4. Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Minister of Energy and Resources: Does he stand by all his statements?
5. Hon KATE WILKINSON to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery: What new initiatives is the Government supporting to assist housing affordability in Christchurch?
6. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Justice: Why will she not identify the senior Chinese border official with whom she met on 20 October 2013, and disclose the business that was discussed at the dinner with him that evening?
7. IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY to the Minister for ACC: Does she stand by her answers to Oral Question No. 10 yesterday?
8. TIM MACINDOE to the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment: What progress has the Government made in ensuring overseas-based student loan borrowers meet their obligations to New Zealand taxpayers?
9. PHIL TWYFORD to the Minister of Housing: Does he stand by his statement that it will take “a period of a decade or two” to get housing affordability to his long-term target?
10. KEVIN HAGUE to the Minister for ACC: Have all of the recommendations of the 2012 Independent Review of ACC’s Privacy and Security of Information been implemented; if not, why not?
11. ANDREW LITTLE to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement “we still have much more to do to improve New Zealand’s economic growth and to support higher incomes across the board”?
12. Dr PAUL HUTCHISON to the Minister of Health: What investments has the Government made to support new technology for paramedics?

Today Labour are asking two questions about Oravida, ACC privacy, Housing and, Economic Growth. The Greens are asking about energy, and  ACC privacy.  New Zealand First are asking about Oravida, and economic growth.

Patsy of the day goes to Dr Paul Hutchison for Q12: What investments has the Government made to support new technology for paramedics?

General Debate 3.00PM -4.00PM

12 speeches of 5 minutes each. Educational and amusing.

Government Bills 4.00PM-6.00PM and 7.30PM -10.00PM.

1. Statutes Amendment Bill (No 4) – First Reading

2. Victims of Crime Reform Bill – Committee Stage

3. Victims’ Orders Against Violent Offenders Bill – Committee Stage

The Statutes Amendment Bill (No 4) is being guided through the house by the Minister for Courts, Chester Borrows.  A Statutes Amendment Bill is an omnibus bill that amends a range of Acts.

The Victims of Crime Reform Bill is being guided through the house by the Minister of Justice, Judith Collins. This bill amends legislation so as to implement the Government’s reform package for victims of crime.

The Victims’ Orders Against Violent Offenders Bill is being guided through the house by the Minister of Justice, Judith Collins. This bill would establish a mechanism for a victim of a violent offence to obtain a non-contact order against an offender sentenced to imprisonment for five years or more.

Well the Duke and Duchess are touching down in Australia amidst a political storm.  Barry O’Farrell, Premier of New South Wales has just resigned. O’Farrell’s statement to media says:

“I’ve been advised overnight that this morning at ICAC a thank you note from me in relation to the bottle of wine will be presented. I still can’t recall the receipt of a gift of a bottle of 1959 Grange, I can’t explain what happened to that bottle of wine. But I do accept that there is a thank you note signed by me and as someone who believes in accountability, in responsibility, I accept the consequences of my actions.

“The evidence I gave to the independent commission against corruption yesterday was evidence to the best of my knowledge. I believe it to be truthful and as I said yesterday it’s important that citizens deal with police, deal with the courts and deal with watchdogs like ICAC in a truthful fashion.

“In no way did I seek to mislead, wilfully or otherwise, the Independent Commission Against Corruption. But this has clearly been a significant memory fail on my part, albeit within weeks of coming to office, but I accept the  consequences of my actions. And that is that as soon as I can organise a meeting of the parliamentary Liberal party for next week I will be resigning the position and enabling a new Liberal leader to be elected, someone who will then become the Premier of NSW.

“Whilst I’m sure you have questions, I don’t think this is the time for those questions to be dealt with. There will be other occasions for those questions to be dealt with. But what’s important here is that again I’m seeking to support  the process of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, a body that I’ve always supported throughout my career. I’ve accepted that I’ve had a massive memory fail, I still can’t explain either the arrival of a gift that I have no recollection of or its absence, which I certainly still can’t fathom.   “But I accept the consequences. In an orderly way, a new leader will be elected to take on the position of Premier of NSW.”

So it was the bottle (wherever it may be) and his own thank you note that did it.

Now the fun part.  Who will be the next Premier?  My pick is Mike Baird.

* Jadis post

So yesterday we had the dump truck policy from David Cunliffe, where he said:

“There’s nothing Kiwis like more than getting on the road and going on holiday. But on public holidays like Easter and Anzac Weekend fun can quickly turn to frustration when the family realises the rego for the caravan has expired or there’s a big truck hogging the fast lane.”

Then today we get this different kind of statement from Cunliffe (via Imperator Fish)

But we’re not stopping there. People also tell us that they can’t stand it when they’re merging in traffic, and when some clown in a souped-up car tries to push ahead of everyone else. We’ll make sure everyone merging in traffic follows the rules.

I’ve been travelling up and down this country talking to people, and I hear a lot of complaints. People are fed up. People have had enough. They’re at their wits’ end. They want to know why it is that when their neighbour’s car alarm goes off at three in the morning for the fourth night in a row, the police lack the power to confiscate the vehicle. We’ll fix that.

It simply isn’t good enough for this government to throw up its hands and say “not our problem” every time you go to open a tin of baked beans, only to find that the tin opener fails to cut the last bit, and then you have to get a spoon or a knife to twist the lid up, and then you have to wiggle the lid until it breaks off.

It’s not good enough for John Key and his rich mates to say “we’re not responsible” when you buy a carton of Anchor vanilla custard from the supermarket, take it home, and then open the carton at the top to pour the contents out, only to find that the custard is too thick to come out. Where’s the support for hardworking Kiwis forced to use a pair of scissors to cut the top of the carton off? Who’s looking after ordinary mums and dads forced to scoop the custard out with a spoon?

This is quality satire – all within the realms of possibility.  Well done, Scott.  I am sure you got a few heads nodding in agreement.

* a Jadis post – by now you know the drill.  DPF will return one day

So it turns out that yet again Cunliffe and the Labour team haven’t checked the numbers or the unintended consequences of a policy announcement.  Ministry of Transport analysis shows that under Labour’s new policy many motorhomes would actually be charged higher Road User Charges – not lower as Cunliffe tried to suggest earlier today.  Brownlee explains this latest clustertruck from the Labour team:

“But analysis by the Ministry of Transport shows that based on the difference between average and maximum weights for trucks versus motorhomes, the owners of many motorhomes would end up paying more for Road User Charges than they do today.

“Road User Charges already assume that a vehicle travels empty about half of the time, as trucks frequently do travelling from a depot to pick up a load, or returning to the depot.

“Motorhomes, however, generally carry their furniture, fittings and other material at all times, which means they weigh more than an equivalent unladen truck.

“The 4.6 tonne average motorhome is in a weight band required to pay Road User Charges of about $57 per 1000 kilometres.  If paying by actual weight, Road User Charges would typically be between $50 and $70 per 1000 kilometres, depending on the exact weight of the vehicle and its fit out.

“So this policy would see many motorhome owners penalised rather than compensated, in some cases by as much as 22 per cent.

I wonder, was this Cunliffe’s intention?  May be he is doing us a favour by stealth and getting those slow motorhomes (and tourists) off the road.  The attack on the truckies was just a cunning sideshow.  Yeah, nah… I call Clustertruck on this one

The view from just above Gokyo this morning.

Today starts with a wee climb up this snow covered hill.

The third Gyoko lake from above, as we leave.

Gyoko covered with snow. Yes again it snowed yesterday afternoon and evening.

Once we get over the hill we are into quite different landscape. A valley of rocky piles.

I joked to my companions that this is Gerry Brownlee’s plans for our national parks 🙂

More seriously it is like one huge quarry. Totally natural, but mounds of rocks everywhere. Hard to walk over, but quite special.

The odd rock with a different colour. The rocks piled up on top are placed there by people wanting good luck. You see such rock towers literally everywhere.

Then we head to the far side where we have a 40 minute trek through what they call the rockslide danger area. Obviously made it through okay!

Sadly around this stage, my headaches returned. I though two days in Gyoko had got rid of them. Slightly disturbingly we actually end up 100 metres lower tonight, so not a great sign for tomorrow when we have to climb 650 metres over the Chola Pass. That could be rather painful. All I’ll say is praise be to the drug company that invented Ibuprofen. It doesn’t eliminate the headaches, but does make them more manageable.

The worry is it could develop into the more serious forms of altitude sickness such as HACE but I think the risk is minimal. I don’t have any other symptoms such as nausea, fatigue or loss of appetite (far from it!). Also while by blood oxygen level had dropped to 81% the first night in Gyoko, it was back up to 86% the second night.

A view of where we had passed through once we cleared the top.

Then it is far more standard ground and the yaks are a good sign of civilisation ahead.

And we get to Tangnag, at the start of the Chola Pass. Altitude is 4,700 metres. Tomorrow will be a very early start as we’ll have eight hours or so of trekking.

* Jadis post – the DPF goat is still up a mountain

Issac Davidson has had a tough day.  First, the online team put a graphic of a two-lane motorway to a story about Cunliffe’s 3-4 lane truck ban and then someone puts a silly headline to Issac’s story about Phillip Mills donating to Labour and the Greens.

“Climate swings donor Left”

The head of an international fitness empire says he is donating $125,000 to Labour and the Greens because he is fed up with National’s inaction on climate change.

Les Mills International chief executive Phillip Mills, a former New Zealand Entrepreneur of the Year, has given donations totalling $64,999 to the Labour Party and $60,000 to the Green Party, which were declared by the two parties yesterday.

If I was the Greens I’d be a bit miffed as Mills has done plenty of work with them (and associated organisations) in the past.

He said he had been politically neutral until now, but Government’s response to the latest United Nations warnings on climate change had prompted him to take a side.

“I’ve been trying impartially to deal with National. I’ve met with John Key around this a number of times …and really I held the hope that I and groups that I’ve been involved with would be able to get National to see sense.

Oh come now, Phillip. There’s nothing remotely ‘neutral about some of the groups you’ve been involved in and the media comments you’ve made.

And if we’re talking climate change… how many flights have you taken in the last five years growing your business interests, speaking on the world circuit and proselytising?  If one believed in human-lead climate change then one might only Skype rather than fly?

* Jadis post – if it isn’t a travel blog post it will be from Jadis.  As tempting as it is to go climb a mountain I am doing stuff that normal people do like looking after my family, building two businesses, volunteering to a few causes I believe in and providing the odd barb here in the hope that DPF can hang on to a few followers while he is gallivanting around the countryside… or mountainside.

The Herald reports:

Kim Dotcom’s Internet Party says discussions with a sitting electorate MP who was poised to join the party have ended due to the prospect of a tie up with Hone Harawira’s Mana Party.

When my daughter was little she had imaginary friends.  She had around ten of them and they had various names and distinct personalities.  We did a bit of research into them and this Wikipedia entry sums it up pretty well:

Imaginary friends or imaginary companions are a psychological and social phenomenon where a friendship or other interpersonal relationship takes place in the imagination rather than external physical reality. Imaginary friends are fictional characters created for improvisational role-playing. They often have elaborate personalities and behaviors. Although they may seem very real to their creators, children usually understand that their imaginary friends are not real.^[

The key line is that children usually understand that their imaginary friends are not real.  Kim Dotcom clearly does not understand that “Mystery MP” or perhaps he calls him”Mister Reempy” is a figment of his own imagination.  I fear that all those role-playing games that Mr Dotcom likes to play have blurred his lines between reality and fiction.

* a jadis post as DPF lost on the mountain for days and days.  I could have posted earlier but to be honest I have a life of family, work, work, voluntary work, etc that means Kiwiblog got a lower priority

Well, it seems that David Cunliffe and Labour were so concerned about Kiwiblog’s hibernation that they felt the need to launch a nutty ‘waste of time’ policy.

What the truck is Cunliffe thinking with his ultimate ‘truck off’ policy?   This is real Matt ‘gamechanger’ McCarten stuff.

Under the transport proposals, trucks would not be able to drive in the fast lane in three or four-lane motorways. The move was designed to reduce congestion because trucks had a lower speed limit of 90km/h.

Cunliffe’s big speech today (the one where he is avoiding the House (despite multiple political angles he could run) and the speech that wasn’t even properly advised to media!) is titled ‘Leading and managing our economic future’ and this ‘Truck off’ policy” is his goldmine announcement to (his words) ‘leading and managing our economic future’.

OK, so here’s a few wee things for Mr Cunliffe to think about:

1. Trucks, yes those heavy ones, are very important to New Zealand’s economy.  There’s an awful lot of them particularly in the Golden Triangle (Auckland-Hamilton-Tauranga) that move goods to port for export, that move goods from suppliers to customers, and that employ thousands of New Zealanders.

2. The road rule is already 90km maximum for heavy trucks (as Cunliffe says himself) and the Police can (and do) tell off truckies if they could use a different lane.  The answer is not more legislation Mr Cunliffe.  The answer is if someone is breaking a rule then Police it.  Somehow I don’t think you’ll be asking the Police to up their focus on this area… or will you?

3. Sometimes truckies use the so-called fast lane because they have a turn coming up.  At what point does Mr Cunliffe propose the lane ban takes place? 100m? 50m? Will he then take responsibility for any crashes that take place as trucks try to keep with the lane ban policy and wipe out a car or two in the process?

4. We need trucks to get our goods to retailers and customers and from suppliers.  Manufacturing relies heavily on trucks.  I thought you cared about manufacturing Mr Cunliffe.  How about our primary production industries?  They need trucks too?  It seems you want to drive down the number of trucks on our roads.  Does this mean the next big policy from Labour is a massive investment into rail.  Hmmm… lots of New Zealand isn’t electrified so it’ll either be dirty diesels or millions and millions of investment in rail infrastructure and rolling stock too  Who is paying for that, Mr Cunliffe?

5. Your policy only applies to three and four lane motorways.  There’s quite a few of those in Auckland but very few in other parts of the country.  You talk about:

“There’s nothing Kiwis like more than getting on the road and going on holiday. But on public holidays like Easter and Anzac Weekend fun can quickly turn to frustration when the family realises the rego for the caravan has expired or there’s a big truck hogging the fast lane,” he said.

Umm… Aucklanders generally get held up on one or two lane highways on their way to the Coromandel or the North for their Easter break.  They are more likely to get held up by a caravan or a car and trailer (or boat) than they are a heavy truck.  Most heavy trucks set off pretty early in the day (mine must be one of the few families that can be organised pre-8am) and there is significantly less heavy truck traffic on statutory holidays.  Methinks your holiday quip out of the ‘feels about right’ file rather than the fact file.  PS – the Herald doesn’t help your case by using a file photo of a two lane motorway.  And, FFS, if we are keeping registration (to offset road use/damage) then surely Dad or Mum can create their own checklist of making sure it is done before the holiday rather than legislate away?  I dare you to cut the fees altogether – the administrative churn is probably higher than the actual fee when you get below $35.

6. I hope you’ve checked and re-checked your figures.  It’d be so embarrassing if you took another policy at face value and the costings or the reach or the unintended consequences weren’t considered.

Questions for Oral Answer.

Questions for Ministers 2.00PM – 3.00PM.

1. DAVID BENNETT to the Minister of Finance: How will the Budget next month help to lock in the benefits of sustainable economic growth to support more jobs and higher incomes for New Zealanders?
2. Hon DAVID PARKER to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in all his Ministers?
3. JONATHAN YOUNG to the Minister for Economic Development: What steps is the Government taking to encourage more investment in New Zealand’s regional economies?
4. CHRIS HIPKINS to the Minister of Education: When did she first become aware that the New Zealand Qualifications Authority had posted hundreds of examination booklets to the wrong students?
5. Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all of his Government’s policies?
6. LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister for Social Development: What recent changes has the Government made to the social housing sector?
7. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Justice: Does she maintain that it is not in the public interest to answer all questions regarding Oravida?
8. IAN McKELVIE to the Minister for Communications and Information Technology: What reports has she received on the progress on the Remote Schools Broadband Initiative?
9. Dr KENNEDY GRAHAM to the Minister for Climate Change Issues: Does he stand by his statement in this House on 8 August 2013 that: “We have every reason to be concerned about New Zealand’s reputation, but our action on climate change right now is not amongst those reasons.”?
10. IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY to the Minister for ACC: On what date did ACC adopt the policy to stop paying compensation to people who refused to provide a signed, unaltered copy of the ACC167 form?
11. KANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI to the Minister of Health: What progress has the Government made on capital investments in health in Counties-Manukau?
12. GRANT ROBERTSON to the Minister of Justice: Does she stand by her statement  that “in hindsight” she should have noted her dinner with her husband’s fellow Oravida Ltd directors and a senior Chinese border control official in her report to Cabinet on her Ministerial visit to China in October 2013?

Today Labour are asking whether the Prime Minister has confidence in all his ministers, the incorrect posting of examination booklets, compliance with ACC procedures and, the Oravida saga. The Greens are asking about whether the Prime Minister’s stands by all his policies, and climate change. New Zealand First is asking about the Oravida Saga.

Patsy of the day goes to Ian Mckelvie for Question 8 to the Minister of ICT: What reports has she received on the progress on the Remote Schools Broadband Initiative?

Government Bills 3.00PM – 6.ooPM and 7.30PM – 10.00PM.

1. Government notice of motion No 1 – 2013/14 alterations to appropriations for Officers of Parliament and 2014/15 appropriations for Officers of Parliament

2. Industry Training and Apprenticeships Amendment Bill –  Third Reading

3. Vulnerable Children Bill – Second Reading

4. Fisheries (Foreign Charter Vessels and Other Matters) Amendment Bill – Second Reading

5.  Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill – Third Reading

The Industry Training and Apprenticeships Amendment Bill is being guided through the house by the Minister for Employment, Steven Joyce. This bill proposes amendments to the Industry Training Act 1992 and the Education Act 1989, and repeal of the Modern Apprenticeship Training Act 2000 to implement the findings of the industry training review undertaken by the Government in 2011 and 2012.

The Vulnerable Children Bill is being guided through the house by the Minister of Social Development, Paula Bennett. This is an omnibus bill that proposes establishing the Vulnerable Children Act and the Child Harm Prevention Orders Act. The purpose of the proposed amendments is to protect and improve the well-being of vulnerable children.

The Fisheries (Foreign Charter Vessels and Other Matters) Amendment Bill is being guided through the house by the Minister for Primary Industries, Nathan Guy. This bill seeks to implement the Government’s decisions on the regulation of foreign charter vessels following allegations of mistreatment and underpayment of foreign crews.

The Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill is being guided through the house by the Minister of Commerce, Craig Foss. This bill implements a new safeguards regime for New Zealand.

It’s freezing cold and 4.45 am in the morning. The water in fact has frozen inside your water bottle (which is in your room). So what do we do? Set off at 5.00 am to hike up Gokyo-Ri to get a good view of the sunrise!

A view from around 100 metres up.

And then at around 150 metres the sun started to show itself behind the mountains.

A close up of the first rays hitting the peaks.

We stopped at around 250 metres which took us to 5,050 metres above sea level. Amazing feeling to be more than 5 kms high and not in a plane! The pressure is below 50% here and breathing is quite hard as we ascended.

Just to prove I was there.

A couple of hardy ducks down below.

A man made bridge/dam to cross the lake. You really really do not want to get your boots wet as even dry the toes were freezing.

A new lodge is being built. There is no machinery. Three Nepalese chisel the stones by hand. They work in sun and snow. A very tough job.

07

And this is where one of them sleeps at night. Again, very tough. Assuming they are part of the family that will own the lodge, it will eventually massively boost their income. A lodge can generate more income in a week than the average Nepali earns in a year.

Today is the last day in Gokyo. Tomorrow we have to decide whether to take the Chola Pass for three days over to Lobouche. It’s been snowing again today so it may be a marginal call.

Oh yes, it also snowed overnight which made it really cold. You see below some of the left over snow.

The trek ahead is to follow the path until we end up next to the river and then climb over the pass.

A memorial at the site where over 20 Sherpas and trekkers died in an avalanche.

A snowcock.

Around halfway through the first part of the trek.

We’re definitely at the snow level as you’ll soon see.

These steps up were very cool – nothing holding them together – just rocks placed on top of each other. Quite a climb.

The top of the river as we cross it.

Looks pretty cold eh!

The first of the Gokyo lakes.

A male and female duck – the only inhabitants of the lake.

The second Gokyo lake – frozen over.

And the large third Gokyo lake.

And finally Gokyo itself. Yay. Again I had headaches and altitude sickness and found it tough going. It was pretty cold the final stretch also – had on three layers of merino up top and a jacket as well. The wind bites into your face and reminds you how high up you are – 4,800 metres which is twice the height of many NZ mountains.

It started snowing soon after we got here, as you can see on the poor yaks.

Thankfully tomorrow is an acclimatisation day so my headaches should reduce or go away, and the day after tomorrow we actually end up 100 metres or so lower.

However the snow means that the pass over to Everest Base Camp may become too dangerous. One day is an eight hour trek between lodges with no shelters inbetween. The height gets up to 5,300 metres but the real danger is the snow means you don’t know if you are on the trail or not, as there are no markers or signs.

We’ll decide tomorrow night probably whether to try going over the pass, or to head back down and try going up the main route to Everest Base Camp.

Today was around a 350 metre descent day, climbing to Machhermo at 4,400 metres. My head ache from yesterday returned which pretty much confirmed I have acute altitude sickness.

It’s not a pleasant thing to have. If it gets worse I will either stop ascending or descend. To try and mitigate or treat it I have doubled the Diamox dose from 125 mgs twice daily to 250 mgs twice daily. Also having garlic soup for lunch and dinner, and drinking at least four litres of water a day.

The Diamox makes you go to the toilet more often anyway, and add to that four litres of water, two bowls of soup, and lots of lemon tea – well when at the lodge I’m going to the bathroom around every hour, and usually twice at least during the night. Luckily I’ve not yet needed to go while between lodges – as that would be very cold!

But the discomfort doesn’t take away from the amazing experience and views.

Some amazing birds you see high up in the mountains here.

The view from outside the lodge at Dole. Not a bad sight to wake up to.

This is the sink. The water was frozen this morning.

Believe it or not this is one of the better toilets!

The rooms are basic and very very cold during the night. Am now sleeping with clothes on in the sleeping bag. Also the walls are paper thin so you don’t get a lot of uninterrupted sleep.

A nice section through some trees.

Dole from above as we leave it. Stunning views.

The view ahead.

A typical local house.

Two of our guides with a great view behind them. The guides are fantastic. Great senses of humour and lots of experience.

A long trail along the hills.

Finally Machhermo at 4,400 metres.

Some local crows to welcome us.

To help acclimatise we climbed 200 metres up the hill, which gave us a good view of the next day’s trek.

One of the guides showing his climbing skills.

A cute baby yak.

We attended a free seminar by a (New Zealand) doctor at the International Porter Protection Shelter. The charities involved do amazing stuff. This is the chart that stuck with me – that we were already at only 57% atmospheric pressure.

A tenting site for the really hardy ones.

Will decide in the morning whether or not to go up to Gyoko. If I can make it to there then we have two days there which should help me with the altitude sickness.

Today was a long and hard day. We spent around seven hours trekking and did a fairly big four hour climb up to Mongla at 3975 metres where we had lunch. Then we did a quick 35 descent to Phortse Tenga where we dropped back to around 3600 and then had to climb it all back up again to arrive at Dole at 4020 metres.

I had a slight headache at lunchtime which may be due to the altitude. We also all have started to notice the reduced oxygen a bit – the first half hour of the day had us having to breathe deeply – but then you acclimatise.

Today was also the first day that I tramped with a jacket on. Only for the last half hour, but despite being sunny, it is getting colder during the day, as well as the night.

You can again see Everest in the background and our path towards it.

See most of those people taking the lower path. Well we took the higher path. The lower path is the more direct route to Everest Base Camp, while the higher one takes you up to Gyoko, and then you cross a pass over to Everest. It’s an extra five days the way we’re doing it.

After lunch was at first a lot of climbing.

Looking back, one can see the path we’ve followed.

We’ve reached snow level.

This village here we didn’t go to. It is mainly for sherpas but a few tourists go there. Very cool nestled away against the mountain.

All those tents are for a large party of Germans.

Quite a few waterfall crossings today.

Very pretty scenery, and just around here we sighted a very rare red deer. No photos of it sadly, but was great to see one.

Underneath the snow is a running stream.

More steps up. I quite like the semi-natural rock steps compared to wooden ones.

You can see the waterfall underneath the ice and snow.

This part almost looked like New Zealand.

st

And finally we arrived at Dole.  Very dusty and dirty so had a wonderful hot shower. Not quite a normal shower though – more a bucket of hot water poured through a pipe – but It did the job.

Questions for Oral Answer.

Questions for Ministers 2.00PM – 3.00PM

1. Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Minister of Energy and Resources: Does he think conservation land, designated as ecological areas, should be opened up for petroleum exploration as part of Block Offer 2014?
2. Hon DAVID PARKER to the Minister of Finance: Does he believe that the Government’s policies have reduced income inequality; if so, does he agree with the IMF that rising inequality slows economic growth?
3. Hon TAU HENARE to the Minister of Finance: What progress is the Government making with its share offer programme to free up capital to invest in new public assets without having to borrow more from overseas lenders?
4. DENIS O’ROURKE to the Minister of Transport: Does he agree with the conclusion in the 2012 New Zealand Transport Agency commissioned report by Opus International that coastal shipping, followed by rail, are the most cost effective modes of transporting freight over long distances in New Zealand?
5. Hon ANNETTE KING to the Minister of Health: What recent reports has he seen on the funding of hospitals in New Zealand?
6. MIKE SABIN to the Minister of Police: What steps is the Government taking to reduce the supply of methamphetamine and its precursors into New Zealand?
7. CHRIS HIPKINS to the Minister of Education: Is she satisfied that no student will be worse off as a result of the establishment of the new category of Expert Teacher; if so, why?
8. JONATHAN YOUNG to the Minister of Energy and Resources: What update can he give on the Government’s Warm Up New Zealand home insulation programmes?
9. ANDREW LITTLE to the Minister for Economic Development: Does he stand by his statement, “Taranaki is one of the leading regions, if not the leading region in the country.”?
10. JACQUI DEAN to the Minister for Senior Citizens: What recent announcement has she made about elder abuse and neglect prevention?
11. DENISE ROCHE to the Associate Minister of Health: Does he stand by his statement that “he has absolutely nothing to hide” in regard to any potential conflicts of interest in regard to his duties as the Associate Minister of Health?
12. GRANT ROBERTSON to the Minister of Justice: Does she know the name and employing department of the Chinese official that she had dinner with in Beijing on 20 October 2013 on her Ministerial visit to China; if so, is the reason that she has refused to tell the House that information is because she believes it is not in the public interest to do so?

Today Labour are asking about income inequality, hospital funding, expert teachers, regional development of the Taranaki, and Oravida. The Greens are asking about petroleum exploration, and ministerial conflicts of interest.  New Zealand First are asking about coastal shipping.

Patsy question of the day goes to Johnathan Young for Question 8: What update can he give on the Government’s Warm Up New Zealand home insulation programmes?

Government Bills 3.00PM -6.ooPM

1. Veterans’ Support Bill – Second Reading

2. Credit Contracts and Financial Services Law Reform Bill – Second Reading

The Veterans’ Support Bill is being guided through the house by Minister of Veterans Affairs, Michael Woodhouse. This bill proposes a new support scheme for veterans of military service that would replace the current scheme prescribed in the War Pensions Act 1954.

The Credit Contracts and Financial Services Law Reform Bill is being guided through the house by the Minister of Commerce, Craig Foss. This bill proposes amendments to the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 and the repeal of the Credit (Repossession) Act 1997. The objects of the bill are the reform of the legislation governing consumer credit contracts.

* This is a Jadis post as DPF is lost on a mountain putting together yet another travel blog while us in the real world cover his work load, blog load and ensure people think he is may still be a serious political commentator.  Warning: this post may or may not apply!

I love the blue bear.  I am awaiting Cunliffe’s response to how blue the bear is.  Clearly this is a plant from the National Party who are clearly using poor wee George for political gain.  Remember, Cunliffe accuses Key of using the Royal tour as some sort of electioneering stunt.  Well, Duncan Garner calls Cunliffe (and Winston) on this BS:

David Cunliffe does himself no favours accusing John Key of using the Royal visit as some kind of vote booster.

It’s laughable.

And Winston Peters ain’t much better.

Peters says Prince William, Kate and baby George shouldn’t even be here in election year at all.

I completely disagree and I hardly think we have much say in when they travel.

This is petty and I hope the royals don’t read about this stupid and snarky politics from our leaders.

It’s classless and uncouth.

Does anyone really think voters, at the end of September, are going to support John Key because they recall how months earlier the PM hosted the royals? Really?

Come on. I just don’t buy it.

David Cunliffe said Labour welcomed the royals and did not want to play politics with the visit but he said such visits should be as ‘even handed as possible between the Government and Opposition.’

Isn’t Cunliffe playing politics with the visit by saying all that?

He sounds like a kid that missed out on pass-the-parcel.

He sounds like he’s screaming at the top of his voice saying – pick me, pick me!

Surely it’s the job of the PM to host the royals at different times throughout this 10 day visit.

He is due to meet them 5 times during the tour.

Seriously there’s something wrong with us if we can’t host the royals in April and have an election at the end of September.

Our politicians need to grow up. They look bloody stupid – and none more so than David Cunliffe and Winston Peters.

I totally agree with Duncan.  Most Kiwis won’t associate the Royal Tour with politicians (unless they do something to embarrass them). They’ll associate it with having the opportunity to see the Royals up close, in our wee country and “oooh ahhh what a gorgeous George”.

Stuff reports:

A consumer group has welcomed a High Court ruling on copper broadband prices, saying it should eventually deliver lower prices for telecommunications users.

The court said today that Chorus had lost its challenge over cuts to copper broadband prices by the Commerce Commission.

This is not a surprise.

The commission had decided Chorus could charge only $10.92 a month for copper broadband connections, down from $21.96.

Brislen said lower prices were not expected soon as a drawn-out process to establish final prices for the sector was continuing.

Not as drawn out as it could be. A final price may be set by year end.

In a judgment released today, Justice Stephen Kos rejected Chorus’ appeal.

“The simple fact is that the commission did not accept Chorus’ submissions,” he said.

“Despite the combined intelligence and force with which Chorus’ submissions were delivered, I am left unpersuaded that the commission erred in law.

“In my view, submitters were plainly aware that a price point above the confines of a more limited benchmark range was a possibility. The commission, in my view, was also open to that possibility.

“In my view, the commission has done just as Parliament had prescribed.”

This is a key point. Parliament passed the law. The job of the Commerce Commission is to interpret and implement it. Those who don’t like the outcome shouldn’t have attacked the Commerce Commission for just doing their job.