Welcome to EVE'S ART in Motion.

Third time lucky uploading this wee vid.

2009-07-06T17:07:00.000-07:00

Orientation in central otago...

2009-07-06T16:42:00.000-07:00

Return to Wanaka..

(some of this repeats the content of the previous blog..so please bear with me avid blog readers)

It was about three weeks ago that i left Dunedin. Sione finally sailed into town in our new toyota townace and after a few days preparation for the back country and some farewells we set off for Queenstown.
The van was throughly loaded with stuff..2bikes...clothes..my entire art portfolio...obscure foodstuff supplies...motorbike gear..camping equipment...bedding...kitchen supplies...we could probably be pretty much self contained for a few weeks..save for the fact the van was too full to sleep in. The poor van dawdled and trundled under its honorous load and hungrily gobbled petrol in an effort to perform. But at least i was inside without concern for biting wind of icy fingers.
Mental note to self; Never buy an automatic petrol 2l van without prior knowledge of its fuel economy.

Queenstown welcomed us with blue sky and minus temperatures. We were lodged in a stationary bus belonging to friends. Although delightfully designed the bus is a compact space to say the least. Lots of "excuse me...pardon...could i just squeeze past...could you pass me the.."to"...your in my bl#@dy way for the 5th time in two minutes...and ...NO! i was here first"
After i few days and a smattering of adapted routine we concluded that we needed an upgrade and a space big enough to swing your arm...if not a whole cat.

We took the town ace to Glenorchy for a long weekend. Funnily enough, in the sub zero conditions we had the campsite completely to ourselves. Long walks during the day to keep warm..fires, endless hot drinks and alchol to banish the bitter night air. However bitter night air such as this does not banish easily and even chased us into bed shortly after seven one evening. The reward was incredible scenery..heavy brooding mountains adorned with pristine white snow caps...icy blue waters in the tumbling river..yellow winter morning light over thickly frosted fields and trees.

Keeping warm in Glenorchy

It is clear in such a stately and untouched environment how nature has the upper hand. It would be unwise to underestimate the vastness of the distances...the relentlessly penetrating cold..or the fickle nature of powerful un-containable weather.
I am so glad i bought a puffer jacket in Dunedin..everyone down this way seems to own one.Indispensible!
After a couple of chilly nights at lake Sylvan campsite the clouds sank lower along with the temperature and we returned to Queenstown. The winter festival was just starting and town was slowly filling with 17-22years old sporting shorts, sleeveless tops and jandals. My god i must be getting old i thought eyeing the generous expanse of flesh bared to the eager southerly. (apparently we were see on tv siddle-ing past the scantily clad youth) As the clumps of excitable pre season boarders and skiers descended upon Queenstown with increasing intensity we made preparation for Wanaka.

A roof!

A new friends of a new friend(such is the nature of travel) offered us his house to sit while he sunned him self in Fiji for a week or two. With out further ado we relocated and have passed a wonderfull week with in a spacious abode with easyily accessible flush toilet..running water ..log fire and functioning gas hob. Heaven!

Out walking in Wanaka

On sunday we retrieved the front wheels of our two bikes which were left behind i auckland.... it was great to put the wheel back on, tighten the brakes and head off around the lakes edge. There are cyclists all over the place here. Its really good to see people out enjoy the lakes and mountains in such a virtuous and heathy fashion.

Dunedin back to Queenstown...

2009-06-19T18:58:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Queenstown…
The last few weeks have been spent in Dunedin..enjoying the comforts of four walls, some routine yoga and gym sessions and even a smidgen of paid work. I have also met some lovely new people. It seems a bit easier to meet folk in a smaller smoke where life goes at slightly more leisurely pace and you can get most places by walking.
The SV 650 now has a new home somewhere up in Timaru, in a garage no less. I am sure she will be pleased about that….but I like to think she will miss the last few months of open road adventure…. I was sad momentarily to see the bike go..but it didn’t last long.. because there will be other bikes along the way. Lighter bikes with a more upright sitting position and less unappreciated grunt.

Bye Bye ...... :(

So now I am the owner of a Toyota Townace.
Sione has driven down from Auckland to join me picking up the new van along the way.

The slopes of Southern Edinburgh...

We spent a day or so in Dunedin organising and getting van tuned and headed to Queenstown.
I must confess to thoroughly enjoying being inside watching frosty grass and snowy paddocks whizzing by. Here in Queenstown I spot the occasional nutter riding round on their motorbikes without gloves. They obviously suffer an abundance of blood in their hands… lucky sods!
I am listening to flamenco music on my computer as I write this. I choose to actively not listen to it most of the time because I just quickly get sad and frustrated that I am not dancing. It is only when I hear that my body starts swaying and twitching in an effort to respond to vaguely recognisable rhythms.

Instead…I look out of the window and see sharp clear blue skies and snow covered peaks in most directions. The landscape here is indeed stunning and of gargantuan proportions. We are living in a bus belonging to Siones friends. It is a small space but sufficient with sink, stove, shower, toilet etc However the cold encroaches into this small dwelling the minute the heater turns off or the door is left open. It was -4 degrees a couple of nights ago and the tea strainer and dish cloth were frozen to the puddle in the bottom of the sink…
We are both sleeping like logs and I look forward to adjusting so that getting out of bed before midday doesn’t seem like such an achievement.

Christchurch Botanical to be continued

2009-05-18T03:50:00.001-07:00

Pictures from a long weekend spent in Christchurch meeting up with Sione. Christchurch seemed relatively tropical after Dunedin..they tell me the cold is nothing compared to central Otago, home of great lakes and incredible moutains.For some reason i feel drawn to go spend a decent amount of time there. In a way it feels like the heart of the south island and i wont feel like i have really visited until i have lived here for at least a month or two.
Roll on Wanaka...

A nice Autumnal afternoon in the botanical gardens

Very serious....

In the tropical glass house... i wish it was this warm outside.

Reasons for not having a motorbike... and a closer look at Kim

2009-05-18T03:31:00.000-07:00

Me and Kim rugged up.

Kim doing her day job at the hospital.

Would you put your health in this womans hands?

It was snowing a week ago, ice on the deck and i had trouble just staying vertical going to the washing machine in my slippers...let alone going

anywhere on two wheels.

Hardened bikers would no doubt tut and shake their handle bar moustaches at my brisk retreat..but i don't have to much to prove in that regard. My tires after all are pretty much square from failing to lean on the corners... haha!

Back on the blog horse..but not the bike

2009-05-12T19:36:00.000-07:00

St Pauls (Fake) Cathedral

Hello all,
Yes i am still alive... fell off the blog wagon.
But i guess it was enevitable at some point... because life isn't always that interesting.
Or sometimes its so confusing that it is hard to decide what to pass comment upon.

Current location is the delightfully southern town of Dunedin.
Have been in residence here for the previous two weeks approx.
The bowels of winter are warming up their biceps for the chilly onslaught of the next six months.
And God did declareth

" there will no longer be any more camping, and no longer more motorcycling for those who are blessed with impoversihed circulation.... and those who take this warning in vain will be smited by the lord with the wrath of the dark heavy cloud and the many falling icy particles... and henceforth suchlike weather will condense and intensify over the coming season such that all mankind of southern hemisphere shall retreat both woman, child and ailing livestock into heated shelter with abundance of comforting foodstuff"

Consequently i am staying with a new found friend in her spare room, looking to replace the bike with a car in the new few weeks.

First Church of Otago

Dunedin is a charismatic wee town, with hills a plenty. Lots of lovely old building to contemplate and sketch. And i have even found flamenco teacher tucked away ...and a yoga teacher.
The art work has developed into a consistent daily trickle of something or other and there are definite signs of improvement.
So appart from failing to fully aclimatise to the reoccuring ice, rain and snow all is well.
A lovely lady called Kim who i met in Tekapo has generously offered me accomodation for the present...
So the poor bike now sits outside under a tarpaulin wondering what happened to all the action and where all the bloody rain came from. After all the months of loyal service i feel guilty and have promised to turn the engine over at least once a week.
I tried to explain to the bike that if she had heated handle bar grips it would all be different...but like most relationships its all about timing.
Maybe i should buy a bigger tarps...

Back track Blog...

2009-05-11T18:01:00.000-07:00

Brook and Joseph at work on their home

So for those of you who have managed to contain your boredom i will now provide a quick summary of what happened over the last few weeks since i left Tarkaka.
To make up for a notable absence of written material this post will contain numerous photos and ofcourse the continuing artistic saga of my sketchbook.
Please enjoy.

Departing Tarkaka to Murchison

A pleasant ride to Murchison from Golden bay...sad to leave Brook & Joseph but excited about heading further south.
A rest day in Murchison was largely uninspiring due to semi constant drizzle and an abundance of sandflies.
Upon local advice i purchsed a cosumed a considerable amount of vegemite as the B vitamins allegedly deter biting insects. Could be the cold, coincidence or the Bvitamins worked as have had no problems since.

Murchison to Hanmer Springs

Stayed at a peculiar youth camp in the forest with military looking cabins and amenities. Treated myself to a cabin.Despite, slightly functional appearance of camp it was great value for money and very well resourced.

Delighted with my roof...
...despite its impersonal exterior appearance.

Went for many runs in surrounding woods.
Beautiful autumn colours everywhere.

Still struggling adequately encapsulate this with the watercolours.

Hanmer to Christchurch over Arthurs Pass.

Arthurs Pass Brrr!

A cold drive on the bike but plesantly short for i had been offered a bed in ChCh by Miranda, sister of friend(Janine) from dance school. Miranda is a practising artist with a studio and was busy putting the final touches to her masterpieces for a show the following week in Auckland.Miranda with her Art work above..

Doing the pout...

Her house and her man.

Made lots of biscuits, bought as possum-merino beanie(yey!) and saw Rita Angus at the Art Gallery.
Was a lovely few days refueling my slightly drooping artistic spirit and getting fired up about the southern landscape to come.
Lovely to get to know Miranda more, see her work and studio space and meet her man.

Cont next post...

Christchurch to Lake Tekapo, Tekapo to Wanaka

2009-05-10T20:21:00.000-07:00

A good solid ride from Cristchurch via Geraldine to Takapo, but got there easily before dark.

In fact i had enough time spare to run up a very large hill and loose my keys somewhere at the top. Having returned to camp i groped around in the dark for the missing items to no avail. This lovely lady called Kim wandered past in the dark and was kind enough to lend me are spare torch for the night as well as providing the requisite sympathy appropriate to someone who has lost an essential item in the middle of nowhere.
Loss of key = inability to start bike + locked storage box ( = inaccessibility of tooth brush, torch, books and all vaulables )= real problem.
By 9pm i concluded that no sleep would be had until i had walked up the steep hill once again and found the key..so armed with Kims Super Marvellous key-locating torch i once again accosted the slopes in search of my treasured possesions.
The path up through the woods was dark, empty and silent so i comforted myself with anticipation of finding my keys and singing loudly.

Care of some greater benevolent force i located the keys between the cracks of the seat at the top of the hill and placed them carefully in my zipped and buttoned pocket.
I returned back down the hill joyous and triumphant, whilst checking intermittnely that the keys hadnt jumped out of my pocket again.
..and that is how i met Kim.

Lake Pukaki

Passing Mount Cook

Tekapo to Wanaka

Lake Wanaka

Longish ride but with lots of straight open road.
This meant i could test the accuracy of the speedometer.
" Officer...i was just checking the experiential difference between 150kph and 100kph"

Arrived at Wanaka in time to seek out arty mentor-type friend Craig from Auckland, who was busy strutting his portfolio at a local Art Fair.
It is always fun hanging out with Craig because despite taking his painting very seriously his wry sense of humour accompanies most other activities and never fails to keep me enertained.

Me and Craig up the top of Mount Horrid(Iron)

Unfortunately i was denied the option of camping in the early Wanaka frost as offered a whole room to myself in a very pleasant appartment care of friends of Craig.
Woe is me ...
oh the suffering...
ended up staying there for the best part of a week.
Did alot of ambling about amongst autumnal foliage and a few trots up big juicy hills.

What did concern me is how i will cope when i really do have to return to small wee tent with my little wee sleeping bag...

Towards Mount Aspiring

Lake Wanaka

A quick sniff of Queenstown, then off to Dunedin.

2009-05-09T15:25:00.000-07:00

I took the high road over the Crown range to get from Wanaka to Queenstown... and unbeknownst to me that was pretty much the end of the spiffingly clear blue skies for a good long while.
Sione flew to Queenstown for the weekend so we could catch up and do some planning. Was great to see him after a five week gap and we had fun zipping about on the bike exploring the very twee town of Arrow and mooching along the lakeside.
To be fair i didn't get a particular good look at Queenstown but hope to return at a later date for further assessment.

Dunedin, Carolyn & Kim

Sione unsuccesfully departed for Auckland on the Monday as the Quantas flight was cancelled due to light drizzle. He was offered the alternative of a 6hour bus to Christchurch followed by the possibility of a connecting flight the next morning, returning to Auckland.
Hows about that for crappy service?!!!
WARNING Do not fly Quantas to Queenstown when rain or snow is forecast as their planes dont have sufficient equipment to land safely in these conditions...unless you dont mind long bus journies , sleeping in airports, combined with substancial delays and general inconveinience.

Meanwhile i jumped aboard my soggy cycle and sped for three hours through the downpour toward a thin strip of clear sky along the coast above Dunedin.
I arrived at the campsite in the dark, irritable and tired.
Dunedin is considerably bigger than i expected and henceforth the campsite was smack bang in the midst of suburbia... an uninspiring spot close to a busy road with plenty of big blaring orange street lights around. Further more the pleasure costs around 20-28$ to camp as a single person , unpowered for a night in Dunedin. insane!

Carolyn
Cloudy Skies

Anyway, the next day Carolyn arrived from the big Auckland smoke and we sped in her hire car out onto theOtago Peninsular, in search of penguins, seals,albatross, stunning veiws and big long tramps.
Our plans were foiled when the following day started out grey moving toward black and the heavens cast copious amounts of nasty damp liquid down upon the inhabitants of Otago.
We drove South..
But it was still raining there.
So we stopped at a hiccup of a town called Waihola, where with a much appreciated turn of goodluck we found the local Christian youth camp and scored an entire house for the less than i paid for my camping spot the night before.

Carolyn

...and Carolyn

The raining didn't really stop in a convincing manner until Carolyn left for Auckland on the saturday morning. But we had managed to squeeze in the odd walk and a wee spot of sketching.

A bit too much time indoors...

The City of Dunedin.

Kim napping

So here am i in Dunedin..staying in the spare room of Kim who i met at Tekapo when i lost my key.
Kim is essentially full of a lot more beans than the average person and when she is not working horrendously unsociable hours at the hospital. She is always keen to go exploring by bike, foot or car, so we have been known to run around the dunedin area generally behaving like a pair of idiots or back at the ranch watching copious amounts of James Bond(she has the complete collection)

Kim being a noodle.

Ari-moana

A month of Sundays

Meanwhile it has been raining solidly for about five days but i am keeping myself busy drawing and painting and getting art books out of the libriary.

10th April - Takaka

2009-04-11T05:06:00.001-07:00

Takaka Museum
Curious Juxtaposition of ageing artifacts

It is a blissfully hot sunny day here in Takaka, and today is the last Market saturday before the wrath of winter arrives. However apparently winter isn't actually that wrathful around here and rumour has it that many day are bright, clear and sunny like today with warm balmy heat...at least until the sun goes down or a southerly rears its ugly head. None of that nasty sticky mouldy humidity that lurks in the corners of most Auckland seasons...and what with the ridiculously gorgeous countryside it must be a real-estate agents dream, i can't believe Takaka isn't five time the size.
Takaka appears to be a haven for alternative lifestyles at my saturday morning glance. There are many small boutique boasting a vast array of impressive handcrafted merchendise and paraphernalia.There is no shortage of local artists around here..thats for sure. I have now seen the image of a koru, fern and pookeko thoroughly exhausted across a selection of t-shirts, hats plates, coaster, purses, mugs, jewelry, cards... the list goes on.
I wish my panniers were bottomless so i could shop some..
I think there would be a big market for bottomless panniers!

So the last few days have been spent staying at Tui community with another old friend from dance school...Brooke and her partner Joseph. They have been living in the Golden Bay area for over a decade...nearer two.. and are in the midst of refining and expanding their lovely home overlooking Wainui Bay.
The Tui community sits on the southern side of the bay tucked in just next to the entrance to the Abel Tasman National Park. As you can imagine life here is replete with ludicrous amounts of natural beauty and good clean living. Brook gave me the Tui tour last night as the sun slowly sunk down over another exquisitely serene horizon. The community has refined,evolved and adjusted over the years, and now contains a number of facilities for residents and visitors including an events area, art studio, shared main meeting house and onsite organic produce shop plus extensive vegie gardens and orchard.
All that and the national park within a 100metre walk.
It has taken a while for my post Wellington Caffeinated brain to slow down and be present with all this wonder..now just as i am readying to depart tomorrow i have finally managed to relax.(isn't that always the way?)

First trip to the beach

Brooke and Joseph are immersed in a number of impressive building projects at the moment...which has left me with plenty of time on my hands to go walking in the national park whilst continuing to brandish the almighty sketch book.

Taupo Point
Gibbs Hill
The View to Wainui

Sketching however has take a bit of a turn with the advent of my new paint box. Pencil sketching does not bear much relation to water colour painting unfortunately...so once again i am having to take a step back and assess how to handle this new medium. Combined with hoards of sneaky sandflies you can imagine i have really been having a fantastically productive (Nnnnnot!(co.Borat)) time.

But hey, it the journey not the destination...not the destination..not the destination...(mantra like echoes)
Walking over rope bridge

River Bed

Wainui Falls

Tomorrow i head toward Westport, armed with plenty chocolate so that i can properly celebrate Easter even though on the move, as well as re-covering any of the toxins i may have lost during the last few days of healthy balanced diet + fresh sea air = unfamiliar lack of environmental pollution and other physiological stressors.

Sigh!

From a Kumara hut to Picton

2009-04-07T16:57:00.001-07:00

Woke up what Liz-e calls the Kumara Hut, greeted by a marvellous view of Hougton Bay. Home of Wellingtons super pro surfers according to Jeff which is quite believable considering the nuber of rocks.

Had the clutch lever replaced finally and met up with the chp who had taken it upon himself to drive into the bike in the first place. Always good to put a name to a face, and the poor chap was very apologetic after checking that i did'nt play poker in case i was scamming him.
Once aboard the Bluebridge ferry i utilised my two rachet tie-down donated from the bike shop for the crossing. I was particularly grateful for this as i eyed up the unimpressive selection of short bits of thin rope on offer for the job.

That ain't goin nowhere!

As the fery trundled out of Wellington and into the Cook straight myself and a few lucky others spotted dolphins playing alogside the boat.
Luckily the crossing seems quite calm so i can refrain from starving myself..!
However, as i sit hear writing i note some latent twinges of sea sickness so might stop for now.

Shanti boogi...

The rise and fall of the bike and Nadia ... Fix No.3 & 4

2009-04-07T16:27:00.000-07:00

Nadia arrived fresh off the banana plane from Auckland yeaterday...and we are destined for the Kapitit Coast once again for the weekend.
So she taxied off to the train station, whilst i squeezed my recalcitrant possessions back onto the bike after a week of them splurging all over a bedroom floor.
After managing to attatch my free range panniers back on to the bike i realised that my bike must have fallen over at some point during the night due to a bent clutch lever, seriously skewed mirror and big scratch on left side fairing. Even though the bike now boasted a new front tire yesterday(No.3)(300$!) it would now require immediate clutch lever therapy to enable meeting up with Nadia at Kapitit (No.4). So back to the bike shop again....no levers in stock so we bent the old one somewhat back.
By the grace of God the driver who had knocked the bike over left a note with contact details...

Nadia and i spent and enjoyable weekend with the general dynamic of her trying to avoid exercise and me trying to repeatedly trick her into doing as much as possible. She won by (as an ex Personal trainer) offering to train me so that i was too tried to drag her on et another hilly walk.

I lov my Thermorest!

April 1st (no joke!unlike march) Fixing bike No. 2

2009-04-07T16:01:00.000-07:00

Welly from the Baron's boat

So here am i snuggled up in a Wellingtonian cafe of all things.
Here on the Terrace every other shop seems to be a cafe..(imagine the cold turkey potential in this racey business district with smart suits and high rise buildings if caffeine suddenly vanished from the face of the planet).

My plans for the day were abruptly shafted by a stuck half open choke after starting the bike this morning. This combined with a near fatal brush with an obivously, short sighted possibly completely blind and maybe deaf U-turning driver last night..and furthermore all the lights on the bike's control panel have ceased to function. My intentions of going to a recommended yoga class were replaced with visting the bike shop again( a new one this time)Scootereeze, very helpful indeed) and persuading them to fit me in sometime before the end of next week.
Thank god for being a woman biker..it definetly has some perks.

So while the bike is at the shop i am consoling my self with a cuppa.
My coffee knowledge has expanded since yesterday when i surprised(....Booo!after 5years) visited an old friend Liz-e in her office at the Havanas Coffee roasters.

Other than it being fantastic to see her i also learnt that beans can be roasted in a number of ways, either air, gas or electric...which has explains why some cuppas have that subtle aftertaste of 'eau de leaky gaz'.

Me & Liz-e

So while the bike is at the doctors i will head to the botanocal gardens and try to cheer myself up by drawing flowers.

Rose Garden - Hybrid Tea

Yesterday evening i attended my first flamenco class since Auckland. Jill, the teacher is a charismatic energetic woman and enjoyed observing her movement and teaching style.After two classes in a row my 2 brain cells had finally ceased rubbing together.
I rode to Houghton Bay to spend the evening with Liz-e the coffee baronesse and her coffee baron husband.
With 5years of girlie chat to catch up on you can imagine how late we got to bed...

Liz-e & Jeff & Shanti

Liz-e trying hard to sit still....

31st March- Wellington. Fixing bike no.1

2009-04-07T15:24:00.000-07:00

I have been in the great capital of New Zealand for three full days now...and its been a blast from the past of the one year spent when first arriving on these antipodal shores.
Having always held Wellington in great esteem as one of my favourite(ever) cities i was curious to see if it still met up to my previous estimations.

An old friend from dance school called Frank has been kind enough to offer not just floor space but a whole bedroom to myself...happpy joy! Frank is currently toiling from home at present and his workload involves that he spending much time at his computer. This gave me ample oppurtunity to sketch 'Frank at work'.

Frank & I having more of a giggle!

Yesterday was spending exploring the welding workshop of Wellington(a subject that my guide booked failed to cover). I finally located a wellding who had time to re-attatch my top box, and to reduce my costs by reducing his labour time i helped dismantle the neccesary components. Just then the boss welde appeared with his handlebar moustache and the emphatic biker talk ensued.

" south island...yeah you'll love it down there...are you camping...yeah, the best bit is .....the best time of the year is...., you wanna go to...., then there's a real nice road from.... to ...... with no traffic, Just watch out for the.... yeah na! .....good on ya, drive safely"

Friendly biking kiwis are one of the invisible support structures for this trip...sometime hilarious but also very genuine.

So box and rack reassembled i went and visited the Crayfish man from Mahia(see earlier post), and found him in his very nice restaurant/cafe/bar called Hummingbird on Courtney place. Being another kiwi he made time to sit and drink coffee with me.
Wellington city centre seems much the same , aside from a few new buildings and a few missing ones. One notable change is the continuing increase in cafes, which judging by the smell and the number of occupants all do good coffee. People round here must be wired up to thir eyeballs!
After more nostalgic wandering it was time to go home.
Frank was out running so i donned my Asics and triited down to Owhiro Bay along the coast to find him...which i did and then it was home and time for tea.

THE DAILY THINGS WE DO

2009-04-07T15:19:00.000-07:00

The daily things we do,
For money or for fun
Can disappear like dew
Or harden and live on

Strange reciprocity.
The circumstance we cause
In time gives rise to us
becomes our memory

Philip Larkin Feb 79

Friday 27th ..to Paekakariki

2009-04-07T14:34:00.000-07:00

Early afternoon today i sailed into Wanganui Pak N Save, departing 5mins later armed with a ciabatta, humous, sprouts & fruit smoothie. In the corner of a random playing field i made uncerimonious work of the bread and dip returning quickly from the dungeon of the muesli/tea diet once again.
My strength somewhat returning i fininshed my biking day near the bottom of the Kapitit Coast at the pleasant little campsite of Paekakariki.
This triumph was only marred by the realisation that the rack supporting my top box has completely rusted through on one side, requiring immediate welding or replacement....$$$$!
All in a days work.Zzzzzz!

Warning-Nostalgic photographic moment.

This Honda C90 was my first bike back the innocent age of 19. Upon passing my test, myself and a girlfriend caught the ferry to France, and to the horror of the french motorists i realised how small and discreet the continental traffic lights were.

Ski-less fields and too much tea- thursday

2009-04-07T14:05:00.000-07:00

The last two days have been spent exploring walking paths from Whakapapa. Up to Upper Tama Lake on Wednesday, and up to the ski fields and the wall of Mordor yesterday. I have four sketchs to show for my troubles, and it has been a challenging project to succesfully capture the barren inhospitable terrain that cloaks the volcanos.
After two days in this environment, even with crystal blus skies the unwelcoming, unyeilding landscape has begun to sink into my bones a little too much.
Up at the snow free ski field huts and lodges looked eerily lost upon a vertical face of crags and cliffs.( i assume it looks alot more inviting when blanketed in snow)

The chill in the air sharpens back down at the campsite and i manage a despondent session of yoganext to my tent, numb feet hanging in the air in shoulder stand.Brrrrrrrr! Meanwhile in the campsite kitchen post-tramp trampers huddle in clumps writing endless journal, playing cards or scrabble and eating copious amounts of starchy carbohydrates in anticipation of the approaching evening cool.

There is no two ways about it, this place is cold and kind of ugly, even sight of Taranaki peeping up through the clouds didn't do much to rouse my spirits. Having done my artistic tour de volcanage, listened to many stories of happy tongariro conquerers, it was now for serious nutritional replenshment and consistent warmth.

Whakapapa Thurs - Walking and sketching

2009-04-07T13:25:00.000-07:00

Whakapapa Village is somewhat bizarre.

This isn't helped by the eerie , bleak atmosphere of the volcanic mountainside terrain.
Three volcanos rise up out of the barren rock strewn land, not to mention straggley ground level shrubs and ooodles of boring pine along the horizon.
The benefit of thi is that one can (weather permitting) see everywhere at once without any issues of the view being restricted by bothersome native trees or high rise buildings.
The result is a humourless rock infested vista that is essentially most impressive in its relentless expanse, as opposed to any particular features or detail.

Furthermore, the village itself is composed of an odd selction of amenities.
There is a large (bordering on strangely displaced) Chateau, then a bottle shop/bar, cafe, store that all look kind of similar from the outside... a small collection of self catered accomadation, and ofcourse ye olde camp site....and finaly not forgetting the Visitor Centre, the mecca of information exchange and planning that serves trampers from all socio economic walks of life.

(one evening i ambled around the Chateau where the upper crust appeared to be enjoying another vino with the day's carte de la jour. High ceilings and lush decor...i shivered as i realised it looked a lot warmer than my tent...i think i am suffering from roof-envy)

My intentions for today involve tramping and sketching, so shortly i will wander to the tourist information centre to obtain some cheerful local advice.

Upper Tama Lake

Water Fall Track to Upper Tama

Tongariro & Whakapapa Wednesday 18th March

2009-04-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

Arrived yesterday late after riding up from Taupo.
Glorious weather with not even a cloud over the mountain. A pleasant contrast with the wall of rain i pedalled through to get here back in 2001!
I departed Taupo with a sense of leaving behind familiar ground, the walks, cafes, the camping shop with stocktake sale...all now a relative home away from home. Combined with my memory of Ruapehu being wet , desolate and uninviting.
As ever once packed and on the bike, speeding through along the lake edge my courage slowly returned, and shortly i was ascending the foothills at the southern end of Taupo without really realising

OVERDUE UPDATE live and clear from Wellington.

2009-03-27T23:46:00.000-07:00

Dear loyal blog,

Apologies for having travelled from Auckland to Taupo, then Taupo to Napier without so much as a dribble of text to explain my whereabouts.It has taken two days to get to Napier because of the distance...and much time has been spent aboard my well behaved bike, and erecting and dismantling my shiney new knight of a tent.The journey has been relatively smooth and uneventful, save for a horrific rise in campsite prices since i was last down Taupo way(200%)(2002)

Went for a run to Huka falls early yesterday, it was a lovely walk from Spa Park along the Waiwera to the falls where upto 270cubic metres of water per second get squeezed through a narrow gully. With frightening power the water tumbles down into a large pool and churns its way off down river, to the sea somewhere i suppose. I felt an almost magnetic urge to leapt of the rock into the briliant turquoise mayhem below...it looked like it would be tremendous fun, but according to a strategically placed chart showing various undertows and other ominous currents that might be curtains for Stella!

Safely back a the campsite i spent a significant period of time looking for my keys(for bike,box,padlock...everyting), after an hour of increasing concern i located them in the side pocket of the new tent, where i had safely put them last night during a passing moment of conscientiousness.New tent...new system..

A selection of slightly ridiculous twenties hats in one of

Napier's many Art Deco boutiques.

It was 144km to Napier, and though the weather was good and the scenery not without its inspiring moments...my lower back and butt were sore making the ride long and uncomfortable. After spending a couple of hours mooching around Napier, taking in the veiw and exchanging guide books, i drove to one of the many local vineyards and spent the night recovering in the luxury of a friend's house with relaxing chatter and brilliant red wine.

An afternoon spent at Tomata peak running about and sketching the plains of Napier & Hastings

3pm Tues Afternoon- Mahia

My campsite at Mahia.

I am somewhere beautiful and the sky has finally cleared after days of persistent grey. I spent yesterday driving up from Napier, winding through kilometres of Hawkes Bay , through small variatants in hick agricultural towns and their respective information centres.

Despite the miles of lovely scenery, rich turquiose coastline, frolicking dolphins, a new coffee maker i am feeling slightly melancholy. The sense of adventure and freedom, the desire to run sketch, explore, meet new people has been replaced with a quiet sense of fatigue and despondency. Maybe it is the change in the weather, that brisker chill on the breeze, the colder touch of the water, combined with the current emptiness of the campsite.I elect to be gentle with myself, keep active and but also rest up...heading to the beach now.

Wednesday - Mahia

Awoke early and went for a dolphin free swim. The local dolphin'Moko' is obiviously booked up elsewhere over the last day or two because i keep missing him. Once back on land and dry i leapt aboard my pannier free beast and dawdled the 25km to a place called Morere Springs.The Springs are set in more tranquil kiwi bush and for the bargain price of 6$ you can access a selection of walking tracks and variety of pools of the thermal nature. i managed to nail the two & half hour walk in 1.20hr...and i was trying to walk slowly. i was intending another speed tramp but got sufficiently distracted by sketching another Nikau Palm Grove.

Local Walnuts fallen off a tree.

The hot pool was indeed hot and gave me ample oppurtunity to realise how incoherant my secondary school french is with a family from Geneva. And as with most Europeans...their English is always so much better. I endeavoured to keep throwing in the odd french word here and there, i think they appreciated it.

After splashing around in a number of pools and taking care not to contract Amoebic Meningitis by keeping my head above water level, I boarded the trusty beast and headed back to the campsite.

The campsite had filled and a cheerful group of 70+yr olds gave me a good few mins ear time as well as hoem grown cherry tomatoes. Ron & Isobel were kind enough to invite me to dinner in their outrageously clean campervan. I wondered at their lifestyle..and wether or not I might do that with my pension. Isobel is 5th generation Kiwi, her ancestors having orignally arrived from Scotland fleeing the impacts of the Enclosure act back in the 1800s. The 1st generation apparently spent most of their lives simply clearing the bush of their plot in Masterton, the next managed to get get some animals in with a bit more clearing.The generations following saw the land become a successful dairy farm, and nowadays is produces mainly beef..still in the family.
After dinner I went for another walk up the hill at the end of the beach, pondering an accumalated sense of inner quiet after 3days at Mahia Beach. I love it up there,the expanse of ocean below gives a sense of flight and freedom, combined with sweeping views of Hawkes bay coastline and the peninsular itself.
More time for drawing, writing, swimming chatting with the old folks intheir motorhomes....an awful lot of muesli and tea...but that never killed anyone.

Thursday -Mahia Still

The plan was to leave Mahia today..how ever it is 1.30pm. The brilliant lue sky is punctured with only a few small perfectly polite white clouds and the heat os reminiscent of a midsummers day. In addition my 4th night at the campsite is free, and word form the outside world claims that the weather is abysmal.

Later the same day...
Life has been benevolent today. The weather blissfully warm and sunny. Got off to a good start except for scoring a thumping migraine by running too far in the hot sun....thank goodness for Nurofen.
Back on the beach I later went for a lovely swim with Moko the dolphin. A litle less cautious that on Monday I ventured into deeper water and dove down with my goggles. To my delight he was swimming right beside me upside down with what I swear was a smile on his face.
Moko has been a icon of Mahia beach for four years now, a completely wild animal who has for some reason elected to adopt the bay as his home and the human residents or visitors as his comunitee. He has been known to spend upto 14 continuous hours on the beach playing with children and other swimmers during the summer. He is almost full grown and although hard to estimate in length he is undoubtedly very powerful.
To be in the presence of a wild but gentle animal left me pretty smitten, however the cold water finally forced me out.
That evening I met dined with an Italian fulltime traveller, replete with scraggy ringlet and facial hair, he had all the trademarks of a man adamantly refusing to be pinned down. Some locals has forced two fresh;y caught and cooked crayfish upon me(gee life is hard) So the Italian took it upon himself to prepare them in a sauce with pasta. An empassioned perfectionist chef I quickly realised that just following orders was the safest strategy. The food was great and a definite improvement from muesli.
The next day the Italian had departed without goodbye.Taken on the breeze of his next travelling whim, as graspable as a handful of very dry sand.

One of the good things about winter is the absence of mosquitoes, and I hope this will include sandflies in the south island.

Friday - Mahia to Taupo

Today I haven driven the 270km to Taupo to meet with Sione for the weekend. It was a long ride but I was blessed with clear sky and more good scenery. In such good weather even the 40kms of bleak pine forest before Taupo looked endearing. Now I can look forward to some good company, cuddles and access to a sizeable supermarket.

Off we go again....

2009-03-11T13:51:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning, 12th March, near 1oam and i am just making sure the Auckland traffic has truly abated before i set off. Every thing is packed onto the machine,my phone battery charged, a cup of tea down the hatch and felt the responsibility of polishing of any remaining chocolate in the fridge...just so it doesn't go to waste you understand.
There is a sharper chill in the air this morning and i console myself that the excessively bulging pannier of clothing will shortly be put to good use.
Have spanking new Tent! yippee. Wind and rain, i will no longer cower in your presence with my piece of light weight Vaude Hogan Canvas technology....yippeee again.
....and the high light of yesterday was placing my finished tax return for a year of self employment into the letter box. 'Yessss' with a similar tone of triumph to getting of the gravel at Spirits Bay(see earlier post)
So no excuses now... Darling Noah(my beloved cat) is also now settling into his new home with equally loving and attentive owner...so what more can a girl want....other than to jump aboard a large motorbike and vrooooooooom off over the horizon.
So Taupo today...and Hawkes Bay tomorow.
Will update sometime within the next fortnight...so be ready on the edge of your seats.

Note. Discalimer All liability and responsibility for the copious amounts of spelling errors appearing on this website may be attributed to the influx in the recent decade of 'texting' based cellular phone activities where much language suffers significant abbreviation and phonetic based curtailment. Also noted by this discalimer is general reduction and diminution of the written word based documents and an increasing dependency on spell-check functions.
The above have appear to be making an unfortunate contribution to accumalated mental negligence and consequently, possible loss of function on a neural level.

Summary. Sorry for the spelling..i blame the texting.

Post Gravel, headed south.

2009-03-04T20:20:00.000-08:00

5th March

So i have retreated back to Auckland, and as you might guess i managed to sucessfully navigate myself back along the gravel Yippee! (see triumphant photo!)

Spent a night at Taupo bay after Spirits bay and then due to servere weather warnings and a persistently leaking tent i headed back yesterday.
Incidently Taupo Bay is a treasure of a spot, the only thing that took the edge of it's idilic beauty was the large shark gliding up and down the beach most of the afternoon! No swimming for me...or anybody else.

The plan is to regroup, perhaps purchase a better tent, enjoy some home comforts, time with cat and man...then plan route south. My conclusion after the last week is 'less is more'.
Not so many different places = more time to sit and sketch and less money on petrol.

Spirits Bay sketching day

2009-03-04T19:27:00.000-08:00

2nd March

Leapt out of my tent excitedly hoping some one might be selling coffee at hte Spirits Bay Doc campsite...no such luck. Damn that absent stove!
Fortunately the german tattoist and Co. must have felt my yearnings and invited me to their luxurious campers mansion for a cuppa.Phew!
It was also good to have someone to chat to after all of the previous days adventuring!

I then packed my bag and set off on a smaller adventure up the side of the hill at the end of the bay. Carefully clambering around the back of the Tapu Maori cemetry hill i climbed onto a small peninsula with fantastic veiws of Cape Rienga and North Cape.

Today was set aside to work on my landscape sketches, which i feel genrally lack clarity and Oooomph! After much clambering around and 6 sketches later i had made small progress. This is obivously a long term project.

It is gettin dark as i write nad the mossies are dive bombing.
Today has been very picturesque, however i look forward to leaving...getting that gravel road behind me, picking up my stove and being able to text people.What a hopeless city dweller!
Feel happy with sketching progress and thouroughly enjoyed listening to Coffee Break Espagnol as the sun set on the bay.

Aim for the Cape, Avoid the Gravel.

2009-03-04T18:46:00.000-08:00

1st March

The day started in Aripaha with 7am Coffee prebooked with Marcus the cycling social worker. So at least thta got everyting off to a good start.
Then to Kaitaia to stock up on food for me and the machine. Consatantly getting cornered by folk wanting to reminice about their past biker days or where they used to live in Auckland..or where their mother's sister's husband was born in the UK. Your'e never alone with kiwis around.
Anyway, care of good weather and an empty road i got myself to the top of the tar seal headed north, Waitiki Landing, by about 1pm.
As i munched on and avocado and fruit bread sandwich i comphrehensively quizzed the shop keeper about the gravel road to Cape Rienga. after much coxing and fetching of maps she persuaded me i would be fine ...just as long as i took my time.Just then, another motorcyclist on his returne trip appeared looking visibly puffed
"hard work! I'd never do it with my own bike"
Hmmmm thought I.not very reassuring.
Still onceagain he said
"Just take your time"
So off i went.
After what seemd like 8km but probably nearer 2km the issue of taking my time suddenly became irrelevant.The gravel became so loose and lumpy, and i became so tense and petrified that stopping with out falling off was an achievement. Afeter a few minutes of this and a couple of rear wheel skids, i readily concluded "fuck this! Im going back"
So carefully white knuckled, both feet on the ground i turned the heavy chunk of uncontrolable bike and made my way back to the tar seal.
Now you might expect me to quit while i was ahead, hitch a lift...or alternatively check into nice beachside campsite at the end of a sealed road, with a complimentary kitchen stove and a cafe nearby selling really good coffee.
But No!
Foolishly or courageously i thought"i won't be beaten so easily by this gravel, apparently the road to Spirits bay is in better condition with less traffic....and only 15kms. I'll try that"
After 5km that seemd to take forever i began to grasp some principles about staying upright with road tyres on gravel.
a;trying to stop quickly is suicide, better to allow the bike to meander in a general direction and slow down on it's own.
b;especially do not try to stop on bends where one side of the road ot 1/2metres higher than the other...if anything choose your escape route and speed up slightly.

...so i eventually arrived at Spirits Bay. my trousers were drenched i terror stricken sweat(see photo). All i had to do was get back in one piece, but i quickly elected not to thik about that or my saty would be screwed.

After 2/3 hours of calming down and a pleasant conversation with another German i began to relax enough to appreciate the incredible beauty of the landscape.

The plan for tomorow is lots ofproductive sketching time and recovery for the return trip.
Dear 'Bike on Gravel road God', I am forever in your debt. Stella.

Aripaha & 11 hours of Rain

2009-03-04T18:02:00.000-08:00

28th February

The campsite is really quite pretty now that the heavy grey clouds have departed.

I had a fantastic ride yesterday from Opononi, meandering up the Twin Coast tourist route having started with the ferry crossing from Rainui.

Then wound my way through the Waipua forest paying token homage to Tanmahuta."sorry Tane, would love to stay but hear there is rain on the way"

Once in Aripaha i put up my tent and went for a brisk walk along the beach. By the time i had found a nice dry deck to do some yoga on the drizzle had become a persistent patter...which increased...and increased, and increased until all the campers were sheltering in the dining area together.As the evening progressed the heavens yawned impossibly larger amounts of water onto the coastline and it was hard to hold a conversation over din of rain bullet on the tin roof.
The positive was spending time chatting with other travellers, two Germans, a cycling social work called Marcus and a latent Artiste called Mia. We ate and drank wine whilst doing our best to ignore the roar of descending water. It occured to me at one point that my tent is almost 9 years old and might not be up to such water logged escapades anymore. By 10.30pm the tent dwelling campers finally started asking questions such as'how do i get to/into my tent with getting me/tent even wetter?, is the tent already wet inside anyway?will any of my bedding still be dry?...shall i just sleep on the table herein the dining room?" and other such inquiries. Shortly ther was a small break i the rooftop cacophony and we all dashed to our repective abodes.
..and yes mine was damp with the odd tickle and dribble of water. However by 2am the dribbles had become distinct puddles and splops intermittently fell from the ceiling onto my bare legs. My sleeping bag proved far too hot to sleep in, so dampening some more by sweating i finally ended up sleeping on top of it, trying hard not to dip it into the channels of water down the sides of my thermorest(mat).
Finally sometime around 3am the rain abated....but then as forecasted the 100km gust of wind started flapping and battering the tent to & fro. The damp roof of the tent was pressed down onto my legs with some particularly strong gusts, and the only compensation was that the wind was drying things out slightly.
By this stage I wanted to drag my damp sleeping bag to the dining room so i could drift into much craved Zzzzzz in a dry place. The roar of rain was now roar of wind plus slapping and smashing of tent. I felt though that the tent neede my morale support and presence, especially on the offchance it might not be there i the morning. Maybe by 4am i fell asleep.

The following day i unsurprisingly awoke feeling rough, seedy, slowminded and critical..i don't fair well without sleep.
Went to kaitaia for restock, found it glum and depressing largely because,
a;i was glum and depressed
b;everything was closed.
c; the woman i the tourist info centre adivsed that due to high unemployment and low socio economic status it isn't really safe to leave my bike or myself unattented for long periods.

So much for rugged freedom and adventure. feeling suitably uncourageous i returned to the campsite and spent the afternoon running to walking to crawling my way along the beach.
The one thing that did cheer me up was the chap camping next door..walking north to south of NZ. He slept in this in that storm.Respect!

Opononi + Goats

2009-03-04T17:41:00.000-08:00

27th February

Spent the night at Opononi at the mouth of the Hokianga harbour.
Across on the northern side of the harbour are some spectacular sandunes, estimated to cover may 8 square kms from just the side i could see. They have that magical pristine untouched sandune quality, rather like fresh snow without any footprints.I get the urge to run all over it and mess up the smoothness. However, I didn't rate my chances of sucessfully swimming the mouth of the harbour , for the sake of leaving a few poetic & transitory footprints.

Opononi's campsite boasts possibly more goats than campers, and on this particular day one spritely chap had either jumped the fence or cut loose from his tether.Whilst i packed up my tent he proceded to sucessfully harrass and having his wicked way with each of the lady goats who were all tethered up...No interest in heading for the hills with his new found freedom..it was all about the jiggy-jiggy. A suspect thet Opononi campsite may have a whole lot more little goats some time soon.
In an effort to second guess the predicted rain i have packed up every thing straight away and am having a leisurely pre-departure cuppa.

1st stop-Kai Iwi lakes

2009-03-04T17:12:00.000-08:00

26th February
Awoke late today, had good intentions of getting up for a run at 7.30am. However probably due to lack of stove i woke up hungry in the middle of the night.My midnight snack turned into the discovery that my Bulk Bin muesli has weevels in it...Yuck! thought it tasted a bit odd.
All the same i ran around the lake, it was hot and i was probably still hungry so very slow.
Its a good job i did run as the neigbours just left me with four types of cake...all homemade.
I head further north today..really into the unknown(with no good christian neighbours bearing stoves or card games).Atleast i have now done enough exercise to happily sit on the bike for the rest of the day.
Note to self;packing and unpacking bike ie panniers tent etc is time consuming, so try not to move every night.

25th February

Sitting on the beach between Dargaville & Maunganui Bluff. Hot! and i quiet deliberately left my sunscreen back in the tent on account of overcast sky earlier. However, it has morphed into another late summer scorcher, and once again i give thanks for belonging to the great olive skin gene pool.
The good weather makes the surrounding landscape look even more beautiful. The main lake is as beautiful and warm as when we came here last year with my brother.The sea looks inviting and shortly i will frolick gaily amongst the waves in my Gstring...swim suit back with sunscreen(hopefully no fourwheel drives full of fishermen go by meanwhile!).
Realised this morning that i had left my damn, bloody, dog gone stove in the kitchen drawer.A lot of god darn good it is there! So much for being obsessively organised...maybe not obsessive compulsive after all, and that possibly not such a bad thing. It also gave me a good excuse to meet the neigbours in an effort to heat up my morning coffee.

2009-02-23T16:34:00.000-08:00

Ps.the new BMW 650cc Finduro bike plan fell through somewhat sadly due to $$$ never mind. This does however mean i won' t be embracing gravel roads with any enthusiasm.

All packed & ready to roll.........away!

2009-02-23T16:13:00.000-08:00

Tuesday morning.Its sunny, so no excuses. Everything is sitting in the middle of the living room ready to be attached to the bike....and as per usual, just when i thought i was getting away with relatively small luggage allowance, at last minute all these large essential items appear out of nowhere. The option is to spend another hour or so unpacking and further refining, however my record to date is traveling ridiculously light depriving myself of pleasurable items such as a towel, sufficient warm clothing, inadequate footwear or cooking equipment. So this time it is all coming with me, for better or worse...
Consequently there is a small truck load of bulging bags and sacks on the living room floor.
Thank goodness for bungy cords!
So up north is the first direction..not much more detailed than that at present. The extraction process from home, work, community in Auckland is the main priority. The rest will follow.
Maybe kai-iwi lakes for high tea and a swim before headin toward 90mile beach tomorow or day after.

Last class...

2009-02-18T18:27:00.000-08:00

Have just ejected my Website details out into the ether, to be veiwed, judged, commented upon by all and sundry. Am inviting a large group of people to spend their precious time reading my amusing, inciteful or sometimes incredibly bland and unimportant observation about my life...oh dear! what on earth am i doing? is this really a good idea?

Unfortunately many of you have been so utterly supportive and encouraging..that i have no choice but to continue.

The ToDo list before monday inlcudes...
-Buying a new BMW Motorbike(far more appropriate for NZ metal roads than my current steed)
-Pack, Store, Distribute or Dispose of personal posessions accordingly.
-Spend meaningfull quality time with various people...without spiralling into excessively emotional and unsightly farewells.
-Hug the cat, appreciate my partner(more more more)

Big weekend!
Happy Sigh!

2009-02-12T18:33:00.001-08:00

Yippee! it seems to be working!