In South Africa when you see shoes on the overhead lines, it means each pair tells a story and its usually one hellova story. So when I saw these shoes overhead in Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand, I wanted to know this story.
My mother and my sister immigrated from South Africa to New Zealand in 2000. I am not sure if one could travel further from South Africa, but Dunedin in New Zealand is a 28 hour journey. I guess I am just grateful to have been there.
Hi, my name is splitpin. I have a panorama problem. I cant help shooting them.
I was on South Island for three weeks. My sister and mother organised these days perfectly. I went and saw everything that was worth seeing. The big insight is that South Island is quite similar to South Africa except that its about a 10th of the size, which is so cool.
It takes 30 minutes to drive from the coast to snow covered mountains.
This is not a concept, this is a reality. I have never seen so much water and that colour. OMG. I managed to sit for for a good while and shoot this tranquil scene. Unforgettable.
They have salmon farms that you can go and choose a salmon for xmas lunch. The reception desk has got four little baskets on it. Dark chocolate, milk and normal chocolate, the chocolates are filled with different salmon, dry, smoked; sounds crazy, but incredibly nice. Trust me. New Zealand has got so much water they orgainsed hydro dams at different levels across the country and create so much electricity, they supply Australia as well.
Dunedin has got this beautiful , tidy, organised little harbour. There are only about 132 000 people that live in Dunedin and 25 000 if them are students at the The University of Otago. A focus being medical. Thats why my sister was there, and very relieved that my mom was there as well. Relieved, you ask/ Why relieved. Well, it might have been a crappy situation to have half your family leave for another continent, but I was and have always been grateful that my mom was in a first world country.
She would be safe and looked after. And she has been. Still is. She is going to 90 this year in December.
When I look at these pictures (often) it makes me wonder how a perfectly happy little country has managed to get it so right and stay that way. Still farming salmon and still providing electricity to neighbouring countries.
At the turn of the century South Africa's Electricty Company - 'Eskom' had billions in liquidity. They were considered a world class power utility that exported electrity to neighbouring countries, and still had excess. SA has huge coal deposits. Profits in the hundreds of billions. Today Eskom is hovering over 400 billion in debt, with the government bailing them out - way to often.
I guess we are talking about infrastructure here, history has taught us that a country's infrastructure's downfall says something. I live here. Ive lived through years of load-shedding. Water restrictions and days of no delivery.
So the story when I reminisce over these images is that I am happy and relieved that my mom, sister and nephews are looked after in a safe and stable country. Was always a good decision.
