A Birthday Treat

Te Paki Sand Dunes, Northland.Images Courtesy ExploreNZ

Today is my birthday and I'm now at an age when reverting to adolescence seems increasingly attractive. And what better place to engage in something ridiculous and whimsical than the Te Paki sand dunes in the Far North. Located near Te Paki stream - which provides access from Cape Reinga to Ninety Mile Beach for the numerous tourist buses that frequent the area - the dunes have been pushed inland for around five kilometres and in places are over 100 metres high, making them perfect for a spot of sand-boarding. You can go it alone, or you can join the Dune Rider excursions, thereby side-stepping the whole issue of driving yourself north. And there's certainly something to be said for being driven about by someone else. www.explorenz.co.nz

Shed Memories

"One Shed, Two Sheds" Ronnie van Hout, Te Papa, Wellington. April 2009. Ajr

I love this work by New Zealand artist, Ronnie van Hout and the way it interacts with the architecture on the roof-top sculpture courtyard of the National Museum Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington. I photographed it when I was there last week (with permission). It's called "One Shed, Two Sheds" and was inspired by van Hout's memory of his father's locked and secret sheds. www.tepapa.govt.nz

The Tip of the North

Cape Reinga, Northland. Image: ExploreNZ

Here I am – at the very tip of the North Island – getting a glimpse of the Cape Reinga Lighthouse. It was built in 1941 and became fully automated in 1987, ending the era of the lighthouse-keeper. According to Maori mythology, the spirits of the dead travel to Cape Reinga on their way to the after-life, so theoretically it should feel like a very spiritual place. Overflowing with tourists as it invariably is though, it’s a very special kind of hell - which is a very great pity for it’s the sort of spot I’d love to sit alone in.

Boaties' Heaven

Bay of Islands

An Aerial View

Image courtesy ExploreNZ

http://www.explorenz.co.nz/

One Grey Day in the Capital

Wellington Waterfront. April 2009. Ajr

It was a grey day when I first wandered along the Wellington Waterfront a week or so ago, which seemed to suit the mood of this sculpture located outside Te Papa. I never did find out whose work it was. I did ask and all I discovered was that it (and others nearby) are not a Te Papa initiative. I liked the way this particular work interacts with the surrounding architecture - a lovely combination and contrast of forms.

Just Another Day in Paradise

Bay of Islands, Northland. Images Courtesy of Explore NZ

Who could blame our overseas friends for falling in love with New Zealand when this is what they have to endure? The Bay of Islands may seem 'touristy' to some, but get away from the towns and out on to the water and you discover the real beauty that makes this place so enduringly popular. It may be mid-winter - and okay, the sun may not be shining QUITE this brightly today - but there's a lot to be said for Northern warmth - and On the Edge makes it all so easy! www.explorenz.co.nz

More Britomart Boards

Britomart, Auckland. April 2009 Ajr

I find something unexpectedly fascinating - poetic almost - about the juxtaposition of all these lovely 'soft' words with the brutality of a construction site at Auckland's Britomart development. Love it love it love it and took Waaaay mote photographs than I should probably confess to. There's a few I featured a few days ago below...if you scroll down a wee way. Clever graphics.

The Art of the Sign

Auckland Art gallery. April 2009 Ajr

There's plenty happening at the Auckland Art Gallery but whether or not you call it art is another matter. The original gallery building is getting a huge makeover - it's currently wrapped in orange like a giant surprise package - and a new extension is being built. I loved the way the hoarding sign, the image of the finished gallery and the shapely tree all came together to make an interesting visual image. I also love gallery signs fullstop - hence the top photograph. I often photograph gallery signs. To me, they can be works of art in their own right.Sometimes it's about colour and shape; other times it's about the signs in situ - how they are juxtaposed with architecture and their surroundings. www. aucklandartgallery.govt.nz

The Collectors - 11

All photos April 2009. Auckland Ajr

Collectible Crown Lynn gathered across a piano top in Auckland. One collector's passion for early New Zealand ceramics is spreading throughout the house. Swans have alighted upon every surface and handpotted vases are clustered together in safe corners. For others in this series click on Collectors in the label line below this post.

Making Memories

Auckland's Whale and Dolphin Safaris. Images Supplied by Explore NZ.

Talk to anyone who has ever encountered a dolphin, be it in the water, or from a boat and they all say the same thing - that it was one of the most special moments they've experienced. Dolphins have a universal appeal and who could miss an opportunity to get up close and personal. And you can do just that with Auckland's Whale & Dolphin Safaris, which take you out into the Hauraki Gulf to swap pleasantries with these friendly marine mammals. Just another of the everyday happenings in a lucky travel guide writer's life. www.explorenz.co.nz

Down in the Cave

Dinner @ Tanuki's Cave, Upper Queen Street, Auckland.

One of the best little Japanese yakitori and sake bars I've ever been in. Packed to the gills with many others who feel the same way.

Choices

Multiple Choice in Cuba Mall, Wellington

April 2009. Ajr

Pleased to Meet You....

I'm George Bear

And I Live

@

The George Christchurch

www.thegeorge.com

And Speaking of Lips!

Queen Street, Auckland. April 2009. Ajr

Here's another saucy little billboard in Auckland's main street - perfectly placed near a set of traffic lights, which is probably just as well given the distraction factor

Delicious!

Auckland. April 2009. Ajr

I don't need to say a thing! It's all written on the window of this divine little restaurant!

Autumn Fashion

One Hot Orange Autumn Moment

@

Annah Stretton, Ponsonby

Auckland

High Speed Thrills in the South

Shotover Jet in Shotover River Canyon. Image Courtesy Ngai Tahu Tourism

Racing through narrow rocky canyons at crazy speeds may not be everyone's cup of tea but if you want to wake yourself up in a hurry, this is just the way to do it. Join the Shotover Jet team for more squeals and screams per minute than you thought yourself capable of. www.shotoverjet.com

More Art From the Capital

"Ferns" Neil Dawson, Civic Centre, Wellington. April Ajr

I can't resist - I have to bring you further views of Neil Dawson's terrific suspended sculpture, 'Ferns,' that is suspended above Wellington's Civic Square. I know it's been in place for a long time.; I know it's not new; but every time I visit the capital I see it afresh.

www.ferns.co.nz

A Trick of the Eye

How the eye can play tricks in the big city.

I loved the way Neil Dawson's suspended sculpture, FERNS appears to be hanging off the crane. A case of right place, right time. www.ferns.co.nz

Behind the Curtain

SKYCITY Grand Hotel, Auckland. April 2009 Ajr

I've spent a lot of time in the voluminous and elegant foyer of the SKYCITY Grand Hotel in the last couple of days - mostly because I was an idiot and got my appointment times mixed up and had to return twice to get it right. While waiting, I amused myself taking photographs - little glimpses of the hotel's huge and amazing contemporary New Zealand art collection through the see-through curtain thingy. Both SKYCTY Hotel and SKYCITY Grand are adorned with a wide array of artworks - from lobbies through to every single guest room. I love that about the place. www.skycitygrand.co.nz

Cool Cars - 43

One White 1939 Buick - Spotted in North Canterbury

Ajr 2009

A Kiwi Tradition

Image Supplied by Tourism Auckland 2007

Fish and Chips

In an Auckland Park

An Enduring Kiwi Tradition

Leaping From High Places

SkyWalker April 2009 Ajr Sky Jumper determined not to look down. April 2009 Ajr And just to prove that I DID go to the top of SKYTOWER today - despite my fear of heights - here's a couple of shotsI took of people MUCH keener than me. Keep in mind that SKY TOWER is 328 m (1,076 ft)tall and it has a glass-faced lift with a glass panel in the floor. Suffice to say I was quietly freaking out long before I ever got to the top observation deck. www.skytower.co.nz

City Graphics

Auckland April 2009. Ajr

I spent a LOT of time this afternoon photographing these hoardings at a Britomart construction site. Ernst & Young have also sponsored a hoardings art exhibition in the same area (more on that another time) and the whole place is looking colourful and interesting. I like it when construction sites ADD to a city. I might be the only person who thinks so but I do tend to think they do anyway. .... all those forms and textures and shapes and cranes.... I find it all visually stimulating. Factor in words and you've got a real winner in my eyes.

Billboard of the Week

A traffic stopper in central Wellington

April 2009. Ajr

Food Shot

Image Stephen Goodenough courtesy The George

Edible Indulgence

@

Pescatore Christchurch

www.thegeorge.com

Barry's Provocative Unpublished Minutes - 52

"The Bay Sun Lounge - Accessories Not Included" Inkjet 2007.

Here's another interesting offering from one of New Zealand's leading printmakers. To see others in this ongoing series click on Cleavin in the index line below this post - and don't forget to click Older Posts to see the complete set.

Collectors' Heaven

Auckland. April 2009 Ajr

If you ever want to fossick in a secondhand/antique shop, seek out this little gem in the Auckland suburb of Westmere - especially if you're into collectible china. Babushka's has an enviable gathering of just about everything. It was closed when I visited... thank goodness, for I fear I might have done something silly.

A Good Day for Washing

Kingsland, Auckland. April 2009 Ajr

A bright ruffle of washing on a suburban line in the Auckland suburb of Kingsland

Bright Lights, Big City

Auckland and the Sky Tower at Sunset. Image Supplied by Tourism Auckland 2007

Dare I confess to the fact that the bright lights of the big city are taking it out of me?

I feel like I've flown to Jamaica and back!

That's the lot of a travel guide writer - early starts, late nights, rushing about like a headless chicken, eating too much, not sleeping enough, writing long hours and generally fighting back exhaustion. Call that glamorous do you?

Gallery Graphics

Hot Pink

@

TheNewDowse, Lower Hutt

www.newdowse.org.nz

April 2009. Ajr

Cafe, Ponsonby Style

Auckland, April 2009 Ajr

I loved this little cafe - Agnes Curran - in Franklin Road, Ponsonby...a little slither of a place filled to the brim with visual stimulii - stacks of food books, collections of Crown Lynn crockery, a video projected onto the brick walls, old signs, food goodies to buy, food goodies to eat, magazines to read and a great picture window looking out onto an avenue of plane trees turning golden in the first flush of autumn. Just the spot to rest awhile from travel guide mayhem.