Traces

Footprints. Australian Outback. April 2008 Ajr.

There was something haunting and vast about the Australian outback that kept me looking for the reassuring traces of human life - and there they were, right under my feet.

A Perfect Queenstown Moment

Matakauri Lodge, Queenstown. 2007. Ajr

Early morning at the very lovely Matakauri Lodge, perched high above Queenstown’s Lake Whakatipu. Surrounded by native bush on three sides and impossibly beautiful lake and mountain views on the fourth, this luscious spot makes for the perfect hideaway. http://www.matakauri.co.nz/

Small Moments of Beauty

One Swan

Swirling

Ta Moko

I’ve been going through my Okains Bay Maori and Colonial Museum photos again and found this one (right) referencing the art of Maori moko or tattoo. Traditionally, men were tattooed much more heavily than women, who mainly tattooed their lips (kauae) and their chins. There’s been a strong resurgence of interest in moko among both men and women keen to acknowledge their Maori heritage – and many are also choosing to be tattooed the traditional way using uhi or chisels, rather than with modern tools.

A Camel on Your Neck

Jewellery. April 2008. Ajr

Robyn Reid of Charlotte Plains, Cunnamulla in Queensland's Outback is a big fan of camels. You can't miss that fact. Not only does she wear one around her neck but she and her husband, Reid host Willie Cooma's Camel Wagon Safaris on their 70,000 acre sheep and cattle station. And if you're looking for adventure rather than just travel, this is the experience for you. www.charlotteplains.com.au

Autumn Gold

Canterbury University, Ilam, Christchurch. April 2008. Ajr

Christchurch is now dressed in its usual glorious autumn foliage. I took this shot yesterday afternoon at Canterbury University, where maples, elms, cherries, willows and other deciduous species have created a beautiful golden carpet.

The Spaces Between - 9

The Mall, Brisbane. April 2008, Ajr

I was very taken with this aerial feature above the main shopping mall in Brisbane. I have no idea what it is, or what it is for - or whether or not it serves any practical function - but I loved the way the sunlight played upon it, casting fabulous shadows along the pavement below.

Barry's Provocative Unpublished Minutes - 11

"Untitled IV"

More in the continuing series of works by nationally and internationally acclaimed New Zealand printmaker, BC

By the Sea

Boatsheds, Duvauchelle, Banks Peninsular. 2008. Ajr

There's a lovely rickety shabbiness to boatsheds that I love. I always think they'd make a terrific holiday house - I saw some lovely ones on Stewart Island in fact, that had been converted into just that. These ones at Duvauchelle on the way to Akaroa still serve as genuine boatsheds.

Speaking of bags.....

Traditional Kete, Okains Bay, March 2008, Ajr

.........I am reminded of the wonderful displays of traditional Maori kete I saw at Okains Bay Maori & Colonial Museum last month. Kete is the Maori word for a basket made from the dried leaves of New Zealand flax (Mahi harakeke). They were used for carrying food, belongings and treasures (taonga) and were made in a wide variety of intricate designs, patterns and colours. This is one of the best small rural museums in New Zealand

Art Trash

I found the perfect bag – practical, colourful, environmentally friendly and covered in foreign words. It’s made from plastic consumer waste collected by Jakarta’s trash pickers as part of XS Project, which buys the trash at well above market price, providing the collectors with an income. Then, “working with other groups and cottage industries, the waste is transformed into fun-ctional accessories that make a strong environmental and social statement.” Mine is made out of strips of plastic packaging from old Mr Muscle, Phillips and Persil containers and I love the fact that I can’t understand a single word of these Indonesian ‘advertisements.’ Lovely and useful all at once. www.xsprojectgroup.com

Cool Cars - 5

One 1955 FJ Holden Special - spotted in Eulo, Outback Queensland, Australia

new link

Technorati Profile

Self-Portrait 2 - In an Art Gallery

Me. Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane. April 2008. Ajr

I played around with light and shadow patterns in the Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane for over an hour. Watchful gallery staff seemed a little perplexed when they found me lying, kneeling and sitting cross-legged in front of this apparently blank wall taking photographs. There’s so much more to see when you take the time. http://www.qag.qld.gov.au/

Feeling Bullish

"Povi Tau Vaga" Michael Tuffery, NZ. Brisbane 2008. Ajr

Coming upon Michael Tuffery’s big bulls (made of old corned beef cans) in a glassy corner of the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) in Brisbane, was like coming upon an old friend. Tuffery, a Pacific/New Zealand artist collaborated with Patrice Kaikilekofe, (Futuna/New Caledonia) in the making of this work – “Povi Tau Vaga” (The Challenge), which was purchased by the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation in 1999. www.qag.qld.gov.au/goma

Red Roads to Nowhere - 2

Red Road, near Cunnamulla, Australian Outback. April 2008. Ajr

My previous posting about the Australian outback's red dirt roads (Tuesday) has received a surprising amount of comment. It seems I'm not the only one who finds them intriguing. I liked this response - from my brother in Los Angeles (previously Australia & NZ) - so much I am adding it here for all to read.

"Those are roads that none of us will ever see – unless we inhabit the outback. I think we have certain expectations of a road and those challenge everything we know about roads. We expect a road to go somewhere - we expect there will be a destination that we can reach for example. We expect to be entertained by variety. But those roads defy us to even initiate a journey. We realise that there may be no curves, dips, hills, or changes of scenery for a greater distance than our minds can accept. There might be no possibility of reaching a terminal point or a definable destination within a time frame that our conscious expectation demands. Indeed, there is a definite understanding that one might not reach a destination ever– an understanding that one could - and some do – die in the journey. Roads like those will not be dominated. They mock our puny belief system and expectations. They are roads we have never known and at a subconscious level they pose a threat to our belief systems. Do we really want to travel to ‘nowhere’ or to somewhere where there is nothing? Will we, at some distant point, find ourselves too far from our point of origin to return and yet still much too far from our destination? Could we become lost on such a road? Would it matter if nobody knew we were there, that we had not seen another single person on our travels, that we didn’t know where there was? Could it be that these roads might go to a place where there is no there?Are we comfortable and confident about such roads? Probably not."

Blue Skies & White Flowers

One White Dahlia

Ajr

Down and Dusty

When I was in Cunnamulla in the Australian outback, I did just about as much as is possible in any given day – kayaking; huge sheep and cattle station visits; sitting around a campfire with camels and walking over a 70-metre swinging bridge. I went underground to explore opal mines. There were wheat farms, grape farms and date farms to visit; and I cruised up the Warrego River at sunset in the company of millions of roosting birds. I visited mud baths and took a town tour in a 1955 FJ Holden Special. I soaked in naturally hot artesian bore waters and I visited the scene of Eulo’s last lizard races. And let’s not forget the Noorama Picnic Races. And that’s before you even consider the sand-boarding, the claypan boogie, the pub visits, the campfire dinners, the billy tea smokos and the general exploring. All of this a real ‘down and dusty’ outback adventure that scores ten out of ten with me. http://www.stephaniemillsgallery.com.au/

Barry's Provocative Unpublished Minutes - 10

"Serenade."

Small Moments of Beauty

Pink Kina

Sea Eggs

Tossed Ashore

Repitition and Reflection

"Narcissus Garden" Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane. April 2008. Ajr

I could have spent a whole lot more time photographing this huge and stunning work – “Narcissus Garden” – by Japanese avant garde artist, Yayoi Kusama (b.1929-) at Brisbane’s Queensland Art Gallery but I was already sprawled out across the floor getting these shots and the gallery 'watchdogs' were beginning to look fidgety. This collection of floating stainless steel balls (and yes, you could touch) first appeared in the Venice Biennale in 1966. They reflect Kusama’s ongoing fascination with repetition, pattern and accumulation – and spots. www.qag.qld.gov.au

Self-Portrait 1 - In a Desert

Australian Outback. April 2008. Ajr

Self-Portrait in a Desert.

Please note the extra long legs!

White Winter

By way of complete contrast (to the Australian Outback) let’s visit New Zealand’s snow-capped mountains. This is another sublime experience of course and if you’re looking for a secretive retreat in total seclusion, you can go no higher than Whare Kea Lodge’s mountain top Chalet, which is perched high in the Buchanan mountain range beside the Mt Aspiring National Park, near Wanaka in the South Island. You’ll get stunning views of just about everything but in particular, of Aoraki/Mount Cook and Mt Aspiring - all this in the stylish luxury that characterises Relais & Chateaux properties worldwide. That includes amazing cuisine, two gorgeous guest bedrooms and a personal host and mountain guide. And let’s not forget that the Chalet’s sustainable design excellence was recognised when Whare Kea received the Relais & Chateaux Environmental Award in 2004. http://www.wharekealodge.com/

Camel Capers

Let me introduce Willie the Camel Man of the Charlotte Plains Camel Wagon Safari – an amazing experience that brings you up close and personal with Willie Cooma and a selection of his 22 camels. And if you’re one of those people who have always assumed that camels are foul, biting, spitting, temperamental creatures, let me the first to assure you that not all camels are ‘created equal.’ Willie has a passion for these animals. He trained racing camels for 15 years, he’s captured wild camels in Australia’s Simpson Desert and he’s travelled over 45,000 kilometres around Australia with two of his favourite animals, Snow and Benny. That all makes for an astonishing rapport and spending two days travelling with others in Willie’s quirky wagon was one of the best, one of the funniest and yet also one of the most tranquil and enlightening things I’ve done. http://www.charlotteplains.com.au/ http://www.stephaniemillsgallery.com.au/

Tattoo

Tattoo. April 2008. Ajr

One inner arm tattoo - found in the Australian Outback

Seeing Red

Indian-born, UK-based Anish Kapoor is one of my all-time favourite contemporary artists, so I was in 7th heaven when I discovered this very sensual ‘lickable’ work – “Untitled 2007” – at the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) in Brisbane. Made of highly reflective lacquered resin fibreglass it explores Kapoor’s passion for the colour red. Reflections you see in it are an integral art of the work. Kapoor’s love of RED is also beautifully documented in his very luscious book on the subject, “My Red Homeland” Anish Kapoor. www.qag.qld.gov.au/goma

Words From the Outback

PASSIONharshnesscolourremotebrownARIDHOTexpansivevastgoldenDESERTEDRUSTYuntamedmagnificentHUGErawWILDNATURALPIONEERSpassionyellowmagnifientuntamedwilddustoutpostssurvivalstockopalsbondslarrikinsAUSSIEShomesteadsnaturalbeautysunsetsdirtheatsnakesshearershistorySURVIVAL

Mannequins

Store display, Woodend, Victoria, Australia. 2007. Ajr

I can seldom go passed a good mannequin. There's just something endlessly attractive about the ridiculousness of most of them that I have to capture 'on film.' I have files and files of mannequin photos from just about everywhere I've been.

A Sunburnt Country

The Bluff at Yowah, Australian Outback. April 2008. Ajr

I’ve been avoiding writing about my Australian Outback adventures because I don’t know where to start. How do you encapsulate the vastness, the magnificence, the beauty and the brutality of such a place in a few concise sentences, in a few photographs? This is a place where the locals think nothing of driving four hours to a barbecue, or driving ten hours to a meeting; a place where the letterbox can be at the end of a 30-kilometre driveway; where a single paddock can be 10,000 acres!
I flew in to Charleville, a two hour flight west of Brisbane and my ten days were spent in and around Cunnamulla, two hours drive south of there. I went to the Noorama Picnic Races in the middle of nowhere and I visited huge outback stations, the quirky town of Eulo (pop.40) and the even whackier opal mining town of Yowah. All of these sit in the Paroo Shire, in South West Queensland, which is a 16-inch-per-annum rainfall zone yet, up to November 2007, the region had received just 23 inches in total in the last eight years. The Outback is parched country. It’s beautiful country too but one false move and it will kill you. At the end of my ten days, back in Brisbane and on my way to the airport, the taxi driver summed it up beautifully: “The Outback is where you find the real Australians. The rest of us are just city dwellers who happen to live in Australia,” he said. I couldn’t agree more.

Camel Encounter

Camel Wagon Safari, Cunnamulla. April 2008. Ajr

There is much more to come when it comes to camels but here is my favourite camel photograph to get you started.

Red Roads To Nowhere

Red roads, Australian Outback. April 2008. Ajr

I have to confess – I became quite compulsive about photographing red Outback roads going nowhere. The striking contrast between the huge, vibrant blue skies and the endlessness of the rudimentary red dirt roads stretching far into the distance completely captured my imagination. I wanted to follow them all but, in the absence of time, I photographed as many as I could instead. Now, back in the chilly temperatures of an early Christchurch winter, my red-road preoccupation seems a little over-zealous to say the least and I feel bound to find a brilliantly creative use for one hundred and one red roads.

The Great Photo Sort

Sorting, filing and downsizing over 1,000 outback photos is taking me longer than I planned. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Tomorrow there WILL be images.

Home From the Outback

I am home from the stunning red-brown-ochre AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK.

And after I have slept I will begin loading photographs

so you will understand why I ALMOST

NEVER CAME HOME!

Barry's Provocative Unpublished Minutes - 9

"Advancing Australia's Fears"

Stairway to Heaven

Lyttelton Stairs. March 2008. Ajr

Well...... Heaven might be pushing our luck but I kind'a liked this rickety old set of stairs down a Lyttelton side street.

Small Moments of Beauty

One White Bowl

On a Ledge

In the Sun

Open for Business

Lyttelton Window. March 2008. Ajr

I found something very tantalising about this Lyttelton window - the contrast between the boldness of the bright red statement and the lacy privacy of the curtains perhaps.

Cool Cars - 4

One old Morris Minor - spotted at Daylesford, Victoria, Australia.

Small Moments of Beauty

One Dozen

Quail Eggs

In Rows

Winning Wines

One of the world's foremost seafood chefs, Rick Stein of television's French Odyssey fame is a big fan of Mud House Wines 2007 Mud House Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc - so much so he's added this New Zealand 'treasure' to the wine list of his Michelin-recognised Cornish restaurant empire that includes The Seafood Restaurant, St Petroc's Bistro and Rick Stein's Cafe. Mud House Wines received honours for three varietals at the 2007 Air New Zealand Wine Awards and is also enjoying an international 'glow' after having a wine selected by the Master Sommelier for service aboard Delta Airlines, one of the world's largest carriers. Just another of many coups for New Zealand's fine wines! www.mudhouse.co.nz

While I'm in the Land of Oz......

Sketch Book, November 2007. Australia. Ajr

In the mood of things Australian, here are a couple of pages from my September 2007 Australian sketchbook - 'loose' copies of Aboriginal shields in The Museum of South Australia, Adelaide and my take - inspired by Aboriginal art - on some standard Australian wild life. By the time you read this I will be on my way to the Australian Outback for ten days of hot adventures. As you might imagine, I won't have ready access to computers so my postings will be erratic.

Small Moments of Beauty

Hens' Eggs

Decorated

For Fun

A Slice of Italy

The day before I head off to Australia again, I am reminded of my last trip – to Victoria – and this divine place I found at Hepburn Springs, near Daylesford, an hour north of Melbourne. Lavandula is a magical spot riddled with history. Its old sandstone buildings were built in the 1860s by Swiss Italians, who came to Australia to try their luck in the goldfields. They stayed on to farm and this property had been in the same family for 150 years when Carol White restored the buildings and recreated a little slice of Italy. I spent hours here. It’s a photographer’s paradise and along with historic buildings, extensive gardens and a great shop, it also has a terrific little restaurant, alfresco wood-fired barbecue and some gorgeous accommodation. It’s the sort of place you want to sink into and never leave. www.lavandula.com.au

Cool Cars - 3

One Model T Ford - spotted in Christchurch's Merivale carpark

Birds of a Feather

Swan and Pukeko, Christchurch. April Ajr.

This afternoon I enjoyed three things Christchurch has an abundance of – cycleways, waterways and birdlife. I spent two hours cycling along the tracks beside the Avon River on its way out to sea, stopping to photograph water birds along the way. I took over a hundred photographs and it was hard work choosing just two to put here; but I think my swan and my pukeko capture something of the nature of both birds….the streamlined elegance of the swan; the innate curiosity of our quirky pukeko.

Misplaced Advertising

These pictures were sent to me by a friend last night - "a visual item just snapped in one of the departure lounges of Auckland Airport." It just goes to show what happens when you combine necessary information with (Telecom) advertisements, he quips.

When a Cabbage is a Tree

Flowering Cabbage Trees, Monument Rock, Purau. 2007 Ajr

Cordyline australis - Ti Kouka in Maori and the common cabbage tree to most New Zealanders – is commonly considered a member of the lily family; one of the largest tree lilies in the world in fact. Yet it is not quite a lily; it’s not a palm; it’s definitely not a cabbage and it’s not really a tree. I have a large one in my garden and while it’s an attractive tree, I hate the way it sheds its leaves all over my garden. Made of a very tough non-composting fibre, they won’t rot away in the compost heap, so I tie them in tight bundles and use them as kindling. They make excellent kindling. The early Maori also recognised the toughness of the leaf fibre and used it for making kete (baskets) bird snares, ropes and cords. They also made kauru (a sweet chewable food) from the roots of young cabbage trees; and early European settlers used the roots for brewing “a tolerable beer.” I loved this pair of cabbage trees, photographed just beneath Monument Rock, above Purau Bay on Banks Peninsular.

Did You Know........

..... that New Zealand has 3,820 lakes with a surface area larger than one hectare? Or that Lake Taupo is the largest freshwater lake in Australasia? or that Lake Hauroko in Southland is our deepest lake at 462 metres?

Barry's Provocative Unpublished Minutes - 8

Another provocative print from one of New Zealand's most highly regarded printmakers.

A Walk to Remember

Monument Rock above Purau Bay, Banks Peninsular, 2007. Ajr

Just a few days before Christmas last year, I was lucky enough to go on Tuatara Tour’s Akaroa Walk, a 3-day, 42-kilometre jaunt from Christchurch to Akaroa. I use the word ‘jaunt’ loosely; it was actually a very testing exercise – especially the 22-kilometre day two walk that started at Monument Rock above Purau Bay and stretched us all the way to the Hilltop, above Akaroa Harbour. By the time that day was over I was more than ready to sink in to the hot spa pool that came with our accommodation. Sore muscles aside, it’s hard to complain when you’re exploring some of the most dramatic scenery that Banks Peninsular has to offer – although I seem to recall complaining quite a lot at the time. In hindsight though, it was one of the best things I’ve ever done. www.tuataratours.co.nz

Meet The People - 7

Another in the series Meet The People - Ordinary and Extraordinary New Zealanders doing Interesting Things - As if the loveliness of Waiheke Island’s Te Whau Lodge wasn’t enough, owners Gene O’Neill and Liz Eglinton have given in to their passion for things French. For the last four years they’ve taken time out from Te Whau Lodge and taken small groups of like-minded travellers to the Vaucluse region of southern France. It’s a bonus that Liz speaks fluent French, that Gene is a superb cook and that together they’re sublime hosts. Their annual jaunt to their favourite village, St Didier is not a tour so much as a group of six people having a holiday together – visiting local markets and wineries, drinking coffee, walking through nearby villages and soaking up the pretty Provence scenery. And when it’s all over, they return to take up the reigns at Te Whau Lodge on gorgeous Waiheke Island, just a ferry ride from central Auckland that pretty much has all of the above except Provence’s depth of history. It is without doubt the very best of both worlds. www.tewhaulodge.co.nz

Small Moments of Beauty

Starfish

prickly, white

Far from the Sea

Historic Hotel

Duvauchelle Hotel, April 2008. Ajr.

The old Hotel Devauchelle sits beside the main road in the little harbourside settlement of Devauchelle on Banks Peninsular. You pass it on the way to Akaroa. It claims to be the oldest hotel in New Zealand. I can’t be sure of that; others have claimed the same thing. But as its licence was issued before 1850 and a hotel has traded on the site ever since, it’s certainly among the frontrunners for the title. www.duvauchellehotel.co.nz

To Market, To Market - Again

Riccarton Rotary Market, April 2008. Ajr

Waking to discover I had an extra hour up my sleeve thanks to the end of daylight saving and with nothing better to do, I set off to visit the Riccarton Rotary Market. Supposedly the largest outdoor market of its kind in New Zealand, this extravaganza of the nifty and the peculiar unfurls every Sunday morning at Riccarton Racecourse. If you want the bargains it pays to get there early but I wasn’t in a spending mood – which was probably just as well because I found little to tempt me. Over 300 stall holders offer everything from fresh fruit and vegetables to secondhand goods, collectibles, clothing, furniture, art, accessories, food and a whole lot of ghastliness that defies description. That aside, it’s a quirky, relaxed atmosphere and on this particular mellow autumn day, it felt like an okay place to sprawl out on the grass with dozens of others, drinking coffee and listening to a rather strange yet beguiling selection of free music. www.riccartonmarket.co.nz

The Art of Maori Tattoo

There’s been a resurgence of the art of Ta Moko (tattoo) as Maori seek to reclaim their heritage and cultural traditions. Every tattoo is customised to reflect an individual’s own beliefs, ancestry and spirituality. Sharon Henderson of Okains Bay thought long and hard about the sort of tattoo she wanted and she sought out one of our best Ta Moko artists to do it. Te Rangitu Netana, now living in Kerikeri is famous for having custom designed tattoos for British rock star, Robbie Williams. Sharon's decision paid off. She not only ended up with this beautiful, delicate, highly personalised work on her arm – which includes reference to her family’s whaling ancestry – she also won Best Female Ta Moko at the 2008 South Island Tattoo Show recently. If you are interested in Maori culture and Maori Tattoo, please click on my other blog http://maorilifestyles.blogspot.com/ and put Tattoo into the blog search box top left of home page.

Cool Cars - 2

One Sunbeam Alpine - spotted at Oxford in North Canterbury

Small Moments of Beauty

One Sandal

A BuddhistMonk

In Autumn

Buddha's Birthday

It wasn’t the sunniest of days for a birthday celebration but the crowd came, turning Christchurch’s Cathedral Square into a mini-Asia. It was officially the Celebration of Buddha’s Birthday & International Buddha’s Light Day. A few boring speeches were hurried through and then assorted ethnic dancers took to the stage in colourful costumes. Traditional Chinese music lilted through the Square; vegetarian food stalls did a roaring trade; and colourful monks lingered among the crowds. It was altogether a cheery and cosmopolitan way to spend a lazy Saturday lunch time.

Small Moments of Beauty

Chinese beads

in a

Chinese dish

Barry's Provocative Unpublished Minutes - 7

"The Canaletto Subdivision."

The Classic Kiwi Holiday

Little Akaloa Baches, Banks Peninsular, 2008. Ajr

It was a brilliantly sunny day when I breezed down the hill and into the tight horseshoe shape of Little Akaloa Bay on Thursday. I was on my way home from Okains Bay and took the scenic route. It's a road that curves around winding roads and hilltops and then drops down into remote, jewel-like hideaways where holiday baches (houses) cling to the shoreline.

Pioneer History

Photos: Okains Bay Homestead. 2008 Ajr

When I was in Okains Bay the other day I was lucky enough to visit an old relic of a house where time has stood still. Built for one of the bays early pioneering families, it is currently for sale for the first time since it was built in the 1850s. The outbuildings are all original and the home’s interior is just as its last fulltime owner left it in the late 1970s when she passed away. Since then it has been used as a holiday home by the extended family.
You’d think that alone would have ushered in change but no, to step in here is to step into a time warp. It felt like being marooned back in the 1950s and as I sat there, in total silence, I half expected the owner to come bouncing into the parlour offering me tea and scones. Her vases filled with plastic flowers are still there (miraculously dust-free); her black handbag still stands on the bedroom dressing table. There is a cream glove casually lying on a parlour cabinet, as if she had just rushed home from an outing and torn off her glove in her hurry to get to work in the kitchen. Cabinets are still filled with her china; coats hang in bedroom cupboards and, most bewildering of all, all the chair cushions appeared to have fresh ‘hollows’, as if someone had heard me coming and had jumped up and hidden, leaving their telltale ‘bottom dents’ in the cushions.
For all that, it seemed a happy, restful place – not at all ‘spooky’ in any haunted sense. It felt like a safe house, a house with soul and generations of stories to tell. Sometimes you can just feel that in a place; sometimes that overriding sense of family history is almost palpable.

A Bird in the Hand

New Zealand Birds, Okains Bay Maori & Colonial Museum, Banks Peninsula. Ajr.

One of the splendid native bird displays that took my fancy on Wednesday when I visited the Okains Bay Maori & Colonial Museum

Meeting the Locals

There are still many places in rural New Zealand where you share the road with stock. I came face to face with this herd of cattle when I drove around a steep corner as I was leaving Little Akaloa on Banks Peninsula yesterday.

Stepping Back in Time

Okains Bay, Banks Peninsula, Canterbury. April 2008. Ajr

This is the beach at Okains Bay, one of the outer eastern bays of Banks Peninsula, 90 minutes from Christchurch. I’ve been exploring there the past two days – lost in a time warp. It’s the closest thing I can imagine to life in 1940s New Zealand. Originally settled in the early 1850s – chiefly by saw millers after the rich timber reserves – it grew into a thriving little farming settlement complete with school, library, church, store and a cheese factory. The cheese factory closed down in 1968 and there are now only about 30 families left in the bay. The historic buildings are being restored though - that's nice to see; there’s a fabulous museum (see below) and every summer, hundreds of holidaymakers flock to the popular camping ground in the cluster of pine trees between the beach and the river.

For Book Worms

Okains Bay Library. Aoril 2008. Ajr

The cute as a button Okains Bay Library was built in the 1870s and has recently been restored.

Riddled With History

And this is where I slept – at the ever-so-dreamy Rowandale Homestead. It’s now home to Luis and Angela - the fifth generation of the Thacker family to reside here – and they’re perfect hosts. Several of their grand rooms are given over to homestead stays and if you’re looking for the ultimate escape, complete with fine food and wine, huge bedrooms, a delicious balcony bathtub, alfresco balcony beds, total silence, magnificent scenery and the chance to explore the nearby historic village, then pack your bags and get yourself there immediately. I fell in love with it. I didn’t want to leave. Built in 1908-1916 to what is purported to be architect Cecil Wood’s largest ever design, it has a Historic Places Trust Category II listing and was constructed from bricks made from onsite clay. Today it oozes character and spirit and, cleverly decorated in an elegant, shabby-chic style, it’s relaxed and sumptuous at the same time – and isn’t that how holidays are supposed to be? http://www.rowandalehomestead.co.nz/

The Best Little Small Museum Ever!

Okains Bay Maori & Colonial Museum April 2008 Ajr
If you go down to the bay today, you’re in for a big surprise…..Okains Bay Maori & Colonial Museum is a thing of beauty and wonder – one man’s passion for collecting taken to extremes. Murray Thacker is the man behind it all. When his collection bulged out of his home garage, he bought the old cheese factory building (in 1968) and relocated the astonishing array of exhibits he had collected over many decades. In 1977 it was made a public museum and today it gets around 6,000 visitors a year – which is quite remarkable in itself when you consider how ‘off the beaten track’ Okains Bay is. I spent ages here, totally captivated by the gathered histories of Maori and Pakeha alike. The Maori meeting house shown above (top; interior and exterior) was built observing all Maori traditions, using original materials from other meeting houses. Most of the carving was done by well known master carver, John Rua. The main Maori artefact museum houses many treasures, including a sacred god stick dating back to 1400, a war canoe from 1867 and a valuable Akaroa hei tiki recovered in England and brought back to Okains Bay by the museum’s founder. An amazing treasure trove – expect more photos in the coming days.

Small Moments of Beauty

White stones. Ajr.

When white stones

are not

what they seem

Camel Craziness

I have a bit of a soft spot for camels at the moment, which is just as well since I set off on a camel safari in the Australian Outback next week. In meantime this unexpectedly saucy little press release arrived in my Inbox yesterday, advising me of Abu Dhabi’s beauty pageant for camels. I kid you not. More than 10,000 camels from across the Gulf will be competing for millions of dollars in prize money. Camels from throughout the United Arab Emirates will strut their stuff before a panel of expert judges to decide which owners should win the US$9.5 million dollars and the 100 cars up for grabs. It’s all part of a camel festival aimed at celebrating the region’s cultural heritage. And for any of you who think this is a late April Fools’ joke , just enter ‘camel beauty pageant’ into the Google search engine and prepare to be amazed.

Meet the People - 6

Another in the series Meet the People - Ordinary and Extraordinary New Zealanders doing Interesting Things - Valmai Becker’s Phytofarm is a long way from the paper shuffling that dominated her many years as joint owner of the Canterbury College of Natural Medicine. Now Valmai spends her days on a dreamy 30-acre farm in the pretty, secluded Okuti Valley, near Little River, forty minutes east of Christchurch, where she’s established a large medicinal herb garden - a restful, revitalising place where she shares the extensive knowledge she has gained over her last thirty years as a practising naturopath and professional member of the NZ Association of Medical Herbalists. Valmai runs a series of seasonal herbal medicine workshops based around her own large herb garden, making everything from herbal teas and medicinal oils to shampoos, soaps and scented hand creams. Now that autumn has arrived she’s busy filling her drying shed ready for the Autumn Workshops, which will be held on April 8,10,19,23,28 and 30. www.phytofarm.co.nz

Barry's Provocative Unpublished Minutes - 6

"Cat Amongst The Pigeons - Origami Nightmare 2"

Feeding the Birds

Lake House, Daylesford, 2007. Ajr.

Last time I was in Daylesford, the gorgeous little Victorian spa town an hour north of Melbourne, I was lucky enough to be taken to dinner at the very indulgent Lake House – that much lauded foodie’s heaven where executive chef and co-owner, Alla Wolf-Tasker has cemented her establishment’s reputation as one of Australia’s best restaurants. Divine meal aside – and it was certainly that – I fell in love with their ‘pet’ kookaburra. She nests across the lake and glides in to wait for fresh meat treats, which guests and staff feed her by hand. I couldn’t believe my eyes when she landed right in front of me and the maitre’de kindly gave me chopped meat to pass to her. They’re such fabulous birds and this was the first time I’ve ever been able to get a decent photo of one. www.lakehouse.com.au

Speaking of Homesteads............

If you’ve got a few spare millions hanging around, you might like to invest in what is considered one of Christchurch’s finest homes – the very beautiful, very English Daresbury, which was designed by the acclaimed architect, Samuel Hurst Seagar and built between 1897 and 1901 for the very lucky George Humphreys. It was the Governor General’s residence in 1940 and 1950 and the Duke of York, King George VI was a guest. I’ve biked past this place on the nearby railway cycle track for years and drooled over every tantalising glimpse. It’s built over three stories and its 50 rooms include four big ground floor reception rooms; and upstairs, at least six bedrooms and five bathrooms. The top level includes a guest suite and entertaining area. Love it. Love it. Love it!

Steaming Successes

Wai-o-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, 2007. Ajr

I was just putting these photographs of some of Rotorua’s prettiest geothermal attractions together when, in the synchronititous nature of things, I received a press release from Destination Tourism Rotorua Marketing telling me about the launch of their stand-alone Spanish language website – the fourth in their foreign language sites after the launch of their Chinese, Japanese and Korean sites in 2007. They’re planning a French site for later this year. In the meantime, one of their major tourist attractions – and one of my all-time favourites - Wai-o-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, is still busy doing its thing. The russet-edged Champagne Pool (bottom right) is probably one of the most photographed volcanic attractions in the world but I like the brilliant yellow of the sulphur circles and the hissing, steaming fuss that the Lady Knox Geyser makes. If you’re a keen photographer, early morning is the best time to get there, just as the sun is coming through the trees. You can get some crazy ethereal lighting effects as the light hits the steam. www.rotoruanz.com www.geyserland.co.nz

Tall Storeys

Ascott Auckland Metropolis. 2007. Ajr

Auckland outdid itself in the blue skies stakes the day I took this photograph – one of my favourite views of the phoenix palms ‘tickling the feet’ of the Ascott Auckland Metroplis. www.ascottaucklandmetropolis.com

Small Moments of Beauty

March 2008. Ajr

Two ostrich eggs

gleaming

creamy white

"100 Chinese"

"100 Chinese" by Zhang Dali, Beijing. Ajr
I saw a row of mannequin heads the other day that reminded me of this fabulous sculptural work that I saw in Beijing in 2001. It’s by avante garde Chinese artist, Zhang Dali, who made a name for himself during the 1990s as Beijing’s only graffiti artist. Back then he created an ongoing work called “Dialogue”, which comprised 2000 giant heads spray painted around Beijing on buildings marked for demolition. He often hired workers to chip out the shape of the head in walls - it was his protest at the relentless demolition of old hutong areas to make way for modern construction. The whole series is documented in photographs. I saw this work, called “100 Chinese,” at Beijing’s classy Courtyard Gallery. Between 2003-2005, Zhang created 100 resin casts of migrant workers’ heads and a series of full size body casts - the latter he ‘tattooed’ and suspended upside down in a work called “Chinese Offspring.”

Toxic Beauty

Fly Agaric, March 2008. Ajr

The distinctive red and white spotted caps of the Fly Agaric toadstool (Amanita muscaria) always catch my eye in autumn – usually under pine or birch trees. Their ‘fairytale’ association with garden gnomes seems to have encouraged people think they’re harmless. They’re not. They belong to the deadly Amanita genus and they contain Ibotenic acid and muscimol, which cause hallucinations, vomiting, diarrhoea, convulsions and occasionally, in extreme cases, death. As they mature they fade from bright red to orange. I took the ants’eye view with this one, bypassing the red spotted cap for the beautiful creamy white gills beneath.