Attending the Gallipoli commemorations was an eye-opening experience for the son of one veteran of the Gallipoli campaign.
Stuart Nichol's father returned from the war bitter and disappointed and never attended any Anzac Day services.
AUDIO: Stuart Nicol - Remembering my father.Â
Mr Nichols says researching the war and visiting the peninsula has made him understand the complexities of his father's war experience.
"I realise it must have been just pure horror, and you wouldn't want to relive it again," he says.
"You wouldn't want to think about it if you could avoid it."
Attending yesterday's Gallipoli commemorations had special significance for Stuart Nichol.
The war experience was something his father never talked about and wanted to forget.
Mr Nichols says visiting the peninsula, he was able to see the tough terrain his father and other Anzac soldiers had to deal with.
"They didn't get that far, but the struggle for the land, for every inch, must have been a real battle."
Emotional tributes
Others have described yesterday's Gallipoli experience as an emotional tribute to ancestors who served in World War I.
They say it was filled with an odd sense of trans-Tasman comradery.
Reporter Kurt Bayer says everyone was there to remember ancestors who had served in the war.
"For them it's very poignant, very emotional, and talking to them you can't help but feel some of that yourself."
Two-thousand New Zealanders won ballots to attend yesterday's dawn service and last night's memorial service at Chunuk Bair.
For many, it was a first-time visit.
Kurt Bayer says for some people treated it was a pilgrimage to honour ancestors lost at Gallipoli.
"You can't help but feel emotion in this place, because everyone you speak to feels a similar connection.
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