Coromandel

Lichen
Roger Smith 2011
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The McDonald's Double Up (or double down, I forget which) arrived on its tray looking nothing like the illustration that had tempted me to part with $2 for the privilege.

A lank slice of artificially bright yellow cheese was sandwiched between two meat wafers which bore  passing resemblance to patties, but only just.  Sustaining it was not and neither was the apple crumble and ice-cream.

In the promotional poster the latter came steaming hot on a plate with a generous scoop of snow freeze ice-cream on the the side. In reality it came in a small plastic tub  topped with the ice-cream which reduced it to a mushy mess.

You will have gathered by now that I am not among the legion of fans who frequent McDonalds; in fact it is a 'meal' of last resort.  So it was today as we motored through Thames en route for Coromandel township, from where I have writing this now.  The necessity for food and the relative lack of choice suggested fast food - how wrong we were.

Coromandel is about three and a half hours easy driving from South Auckland where we live.  The only slight delay is the eighty year old Kopu bridge, built in a time when traffic was slight and a single lane with a couple of passing bays coped with most  vehicles.

This is how I remembered it from childhood trips in the late 1950's and into the 1970's.  Unfortunately when Aucklanders 'discovered' Coromandel as a quick weekend retreat the traffic grew exponentially and the old bridge created a huge bottleneck. A new one is scheduled to open before Christmas.

Heading north from Thames one follows the coast.  Even on a blustery Southerly day as it was today, the coast is pretty site although care needs to be taken on the corners.

Coromandel Panorama
Roger Smith 2011
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We are staying at the Harbour View Motel which is, as it name suggests, a series of  six units overlooking Coromandel harbour.  Ranked number one by Trip Advisor.com it has thus far lived up to its rating.  The unit is generous in size and well appointed with a view from the deck looking at moored yachts and an oyster factory at left.

Unfortunately the world is 'no longer my oyster' as the wretched shellfish are loaded with purines which trigger gout.  The pain of the infliction is more excruciating than missing out on the delicacy, but only just.

Duet - Coromandel
Roger Smith 2011
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Tomorrow we intend heading to the Driving Creek Railway built by NZ potting legend and railway enthusiast, Barry Brickell.

On Feeling Prosperous

It was with considerable interest that I read the findings of the 2001 Legatum Prosperity Index.  According to them two Scandinavian countries, Norway and Denmark rank first and second, followed by two from the Antipodes; Australia and New Zealand in that order.

Given the $NZ16 billion debt that New Zealand has and the significant infrastructural damage it has sustained from a series of earthquakes I find this analysis quite remarkable.

Singapore by comparison ranks only 16th in their index.  So I used their preposterously named 'prosperiscope' to compare the two countries - NZ and Singapore -  and see where they believed the difference lay?

Here are the results with New Zealand in black and Singapore in brown.

The prosperity ranking is based on 8 different criteria:

1. Economy - measures  countries’ performances in four areas that are essential to promoting prosperity: macroeconomic policies, economic satisfaction and expectations, foundation for growth, and financial sector efficiency
2. Entrepreneurship and Opportunity - measures countries’ performances in three areas: entrepreneurial environment, innovative activity, and access to opportunity. 
3. Governance - measures countries’ performances in three areas: effective and accountable government, fair elections and political participation, and rule of law
4. Education - countries’ performances in three areas: access to education, quality of education, and human capital. 
5. Health  - measures countries’ performances in three areas: basic health outcomes, health infrastructure and preventative care, and physical and mental health satisfaction
6. Safety and Security  - measures countries’ performances in two areas: national security and personal safety. Sub-Index Score. Own Calculations. Data are from 2011
7. Personal Freedom  - measures countries’ performances in two areas: individual freedom and social tolerance. 
8. Social Capital  - measures countries’ performances in two areas: social cohesion and engagement, as well as community and family networks

As might be expected Singapore is well ahead of the average in terms of the economy

Both countries are level pegging at the global average when it comes to Entrepreneurship and Opportunity.

However according to the Legatum Institute which is an independent non-partisan public policy group based in London, Singapore's ranking fall well short in four areas: Governance, Education, Personal Freedom and Social Capital.

I have no doubt that the Singapore government would take issue with this analysis and the criteria used.  I too find it hard to believe in the gap between Singapore and New Zealand in the area of Education and the 'social cohesion' rating for NZ seems highly over stated and therefore over rated.

The video below explains how the Legatum Institute  arrived at their Prosperity Index.

Video source: The Legatum Institute

Today's Print - Taking The Waters, Queens

Taking The Waters, Queens
Roger Smith 2011
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Today's Print - Rocks Taiwan

Rocks -  Taiwan

Roger Smith 2011

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