Re-connecting with New Zealand

After spending nearly 6 months in Queensland Australia I was keen to get home.

I had booked to go to a 4 string music festival months ago up at Kawhia in the North Island and  therefore spent some time getting Clowning Around #2 out of mothballs and ready to go.

But first the Waimea Menz Shed were showing how to make boxes and other knick knacks at the Mitre 10 garden event.

These three women had no trouble knocking up their boxes without men’s help.

Very good with hammer marks, but I don’t think they even noticed.

Another Menz Shed event. Helping provide food for 160 KTM riders who were on a off road and on road rally around the top of the South Island

We couldn’t get the borrowed barbeques to work so we rushed to get our own home barbies which did the trick.

Now fresh off the Ferry and intending to parkup where we usually do, at the Evans Bay free parkup, but unfortunately the WCC has made the area smaller and therefore it was full, so I headed out towards Miramar and found a much better secluded spot in Shelly Bay.





Part of this area had been gifted to the local Maori Iwi tribe as a Treaty of Waitangi settlement, and is still awaiting development.

The city art galley (with the big hand on top) and the city library to its left is under refurbishment. The artificial grass, that you see in the lower corner, is a lunchtime soccer pitch which is a terrific idea. And yes I did feel like joining in!

Another of our favourite spots is Ngatitoa domain in Paremata, which is an easy drive north from Wellington City

Onwards North to park at the mouth of the Patea River, which as you can see, is a black sand beach.

These murals are in Whanganui, I think they are all new since our last visit a few years ago.

Murals give a vibe to a place and add art and colour...I do my best in that department!

That’s all for this NZ Blog, 

Next, Dawson Falls, Hollard and Pukeiti Gardens, and New Plymouth.

Till then.

Stay safe, have fun, and be creative.

Jimu & Christine.

OZ Blog #22 The return to the Motherland, New Zealand!

The last two days in Cairns just to show the transition back to New Zealand, I walk past the Wicked Campers Yard and am happy I don’t fit that demographic anymore!

Although even in my flaky youth I wouldn’t have done it this way because I was a backpacker with a huge backpack.

Down on the waterfront I was impressed by this sculpture.



No idea what fruit this is called, its not being eaten by anything so probably not of commercial value.

Brisbane airport shuttle from the Domestic terminal to the international has 100% electric buses, this must be a thing of the future.

Today international flights have wi-fi available on the plane and I was therefore able to post one of my OZ blogs from 30,000 feet, which is quite a feat!

The North Island comes into view...doesn’t it look green.

North towards 90 Mile Beach.

The Auckland Harbour Bridge.

We did a large loop to the south east taking in Rangitoto Island.

Obviously at low tide!

Yup New Zealand comes into touchdown...isn’t that green so peaceful.

While waiting in the queue for Customs, I spotted this notification of New Zealand’s dangerous and exotic pests, somewhat different from where I’ve been.

The very next day I was doing some clowning at our local RDA where Christine volunteers, which brings my OZ blogs to a natural end.

Here is Christine on duty leading the way with the pony rides, a very popular event on the day.

The timed wooden horse event was fun



Gymnastics on a horse, this team came all the way from Golden Bay



A special equestrian trained horse from Motueka did everything but talk.

Here is Spice...it was his job to mark one of the squares to seal the raffle winner...it was number 5.

So that is the end of another successful adventure in Australia, all in Queensland.

We are all set up to continue next year...hopefully we’ll get out of Queensland, but meantime New Zealand is wide open for more adventures.

Many thanks for viewing our OZ blogs.

Till then stay safe, be creative and have fun!

Jimu

OZ Blog # 21, Return to Cairns, InkMasters and Kuranda Birds and Butterflies.

I am now back in Cairns for a few days to attend the InkMasters Workshop on Itaglio Printing.

But first another foray back to the Cairns Art Gallery. Every time I visit they have a new impressive exhibition on!

This one however was quite for me disturbing. This is Patricia Piccinini’s take on what could happen to the animals, the environment and society in the future because of today’s major world issues around global warming and pollution etc!







I certainly brought up in me allot of thoughts around what we are doing to the planet now and its not good!

Back to the Ink Masters workshop held just across the road from the Cairns Botanical Gardens 

The tutor Carme Dapena, from Barcelona, was very friendly and definately hands on!

This type of Reduction Intaglio is a very old process and is a three colour process patented back in 1719.

A copper plate is etched and then burnished and etched.

I wasn’t aware that the copper plate had a plastic film on it, so I had to revisit the etching process!

Taking the first print, starting with yellow!

This is the inking and rubbing off process, which in itself is a major skill set taking months if not even years to master! 

I took this photo in Malanda, and very ambitiously this was my project. 

We made 5 prints always changing things as we progressed, This one I think was for me the most successful. 

The three colours build on each other and therefore the other colours are possible!

Here is some of the other students work.

An after workshop relaxing sunset bike ride around the Botanical Gardens.

Heading back to the Atherton Tablelands I stopped in Kuranda to visit Bird World.

I also visited the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary. I much preferred this as we were in an enclosure with hundreds of butterfly’s.

It was so easy to photograph them.



They are constantly releasing fresh butterflies every day!







Here is one laying her eggs

Back at the Caravan I notice another new (for me) insect.

Apparently I’m told this is a common wasp, not at all like our NZ Wasps!

Preparing for our return next year I line the floor of the Canopy with rubber and some artificial grass



 A few days cooler and wetter weather created these little fungi!

I had volunteered to help out at the Tablelands Folk Festival, held in Yungaburra only 30klms away.

On the Friday before I helped setting up some of the tents and lugging heavy speakers around to the various venues.

As a volunteer I could go to any of the concerts and workshops for the whole of the Festival

This Folk Festival’s theme this year was a focus on the International Year of Indigenous Languages.

A local man made this 8meter Puppet called Memetica a giant Aboriginal Elder.

I took the Chris Matthews workshop. He’s from WA is totally self taught, and an absolutely masterfull musician and performer.

It’s not every day you see a harp balanced on the chin, ...well it was Irish music!

After the Festival on little walk around town I noticed this old timber mill.

Only recently (a few years ago) a cyclone came though and put its restoration in the too hard basket.



Here I am catching the bus down to Cairns and soon my flight back to NZ

That’s enough photos for this OZ Blog, the next one will by the final OZ blog heading across the Tasman for 2019. And picking up the vibe of New Zealand.

Till then, stay safe, be creative and have fun.

Jimu & Christine.