Let me start this blog with a bit of the history of my photo I have chosen ...

It is written that on 5 January 1903 (that like over 100 years ago) on voyage from Onehunga to Kawhia, Raglan and Wanganui, the steamer ran aground at 11.40pm on a dark and moonless night, narrowly missing her sister ship, the Ngapuhi. The captain and crew rowed to New Plymouth breakwater where they stayed the night.

The bow of the SS Gairloch is slowly crumbling into the sand near Oakura on Taranaki's coast. This rusted iron skeleton is all that remains as storms, time and tides gradually claim what left of Gairloch.

I have read that a short wade out at sea are the bottom plates and parts of the ships engines which has now become home to an array of sea life ... I haven't seen that bit though.

So now that you know what my picture is of, here it is:

So where am I heading with this? Am I grateful for shipwrecks and disasters? Noooooo Was this the ships end, yes, but in ending it created a home for sea life, and created some history to witness in our current day ... it also created a beautiful photo opportunity of course ;-)
You this week marked the end of something for me, something I was and am very passionate about, and while it is not the final end I would hope, it just got me thinking how the end is not the end it is a change, I AM GRATEFUL FOR having had that experience, having been given the opportunity to learn and grow, and I am very grateful for Karen and Tanya for always having faith in me and my abilities, under their guidance I blossomed. May I never stop learning and growing!
So this week was the start of a change, something new again ... the winds of change are blowing in my sails ....