Yipee skippee! It works!

I have no explanation. Our laptop was refusing to let us online several days. It was defunct today when Dennis turned the laptop on to charge his MP3. I walked in from the pool, and thought, "I'll just try it" and - well, it worked! That of course was about an hour after my link heavy post. Sorry about that. So I am going to upload several photo contents posts now and schedule them for the following days while I have access. Of course when you take hundreds of photos its hard to decide if any of them have sharing merit. Lets start with with views and see what you think :

First, a driving break by Lake Wakatipu on the way to Queenstown. That beat a service station on the M6 Motorway!

Then, Queenstown. I think we all know that I am not bad at booking accommodation but sometimes I surprise myself: this is the view from our apartment balcony.

And from our room here in Syndey.But, if you are frightened of heights don't look down!

From the business centre of the Shangri-la

Travel blogging without photos is quite sad so you are going to have to do some work and hunt out your own illustrations via links. What have I done since the laptop malfunction that is worth mentioning?

I have been shopping with Erica who enabled me to buy a lot of aboriginal designed fabric here. I was fortunate enough to visit these girls, the day before they close for a month and also to see the huge choice of fabric here although only one FQ actually called out to me. We then went to visit Lisa Walton where I bought a fair pile of her fabric but still regret not buying more. But the man from Qantas weight control, he say, no. (Which, I suppose is why she does mail order :))

I went here this morning and ate an Indonesian vegetable pancake and a huge strawberry jam doughnut for breakfast. One or the other would have been good. Both of them - well, its 4.30pm now and I am still pondering the wisdom of my choice.

I bought some art by this artist. It is a small version from this series. I would have bought a great big version in a blue colourway but Dennis hates all aboriginal art so I bought just a tiny piece to hang somewhere he won't see it! It's funny - I like Aboriginal Art full stop but in each gallery I have been to (and I have been to everyone I can find!) I am instantly drawn to work by this artist even when it was from other quite different series that I had never seen. Weird. Or maybe because she is unusually young the art is fresher and inspired by tradition rather than tied by tradition?

I was interested and inspired by this exhibition , this one and this one too - my sketchbook overfloweth. (And will in a couple months appear on my website I expect when I get home and can post photos and articles).

Oh and I did this too. As ever, I arrived early and was bumped to a group ten minutes before my scheduled start time just so I didn't have to hang around. The only time the climb does not operate is when there is an electrical storm within 10km. When we were climbing they pointed out lightening way over the Blue Mountains but then it started to move closer and my group was the last one allowed to the top - all others were hustled down quick smart for the night and re-booked.

Thank you for your 'keep blogging' comments'after my last post and Linda, I did immediately think of Firefox but how can I download it if I can't get online?! 'Its very frustrating!

Laptop malfunction

Our laptop has developed a software malfunction with Internet Explorer which I cannot fix so we cannot get online except via hotel business centres ( which being inteded for conference delegates not tourists tend not to open when we are wanting to surf at 10pm) or I suppose internet cafes. But neither allows photos to be posted and so I am afraid the blog version of the holiday and casual emailing is all on hold for 6 weeks or so or until I can fix it. I am trying to believe that the world will not fall down if I 'go dark' for six weeks but it is kind of giving me the shakes.. which is maybe why it is a good idea to try it.... shake, shake.....
But fear not - I shall give you retrospective posts when I get home

Milford Sound

They say that the most stunning part of New Zealand is the fiordland at the very southwest tip. Milford Sound is the most accessible fiord being a two hour drive from Te Anau. Or, you can do what our B&B hosts here call the scenic sleep and get a 6am four and a bit hours ecah way bus from Queenstown. Or, you can walk for days on end through wet forest sleeping in huts with bunks and cold water. My parents did that and I am still trying to figure out why.

We planned to do it the wimps way and have been staying in a fantastic boutique B&B in Te Anau called Dun Luce - highly recommended if you are ever out this way. But, of course you cannot preplan the weather and yesterday when we went out to the sound it was variable. That is, it varied from straightdown rain to blow in your face rain to straightdown rain again. Solidly all day. The cloud was lower than the road in some cases and when we arrived for our cruise you could not really see the otherside of the fiord.

But, the huge advantage of weather like this is that the fiord sides run with hundreds of temporary waterfalls which dry up within two hours of the rain stopping. Our boat being the small one (holds 200 but only 54 on board) we got to sail close to the fiord walls and so could see the close up detail although we never really got the sense of being in a canyon so misty was it. It was also hard to photograph without getting the camera wet!

I did get a little bit inspired by the distortions caused if you took photos from inside through the water running down the window - can you see elongated hexagon patchwork shapes in the second picture here? Do I need to get a life?

We thought about going back the next day to do the cruise with a different perspective but guess what - it rained! It is a consistent pattern here - if we are in cities the weather is glorious, the moment we step into the great outdoors, it tips it down. Ah well, at least I have a spa bath to warm up in and not a cold water communal sink in a hut!

A little house with attitude

A whole city block in Christchurch is dedicated to the Arts centre. Originally part of the university it has clositers and staircases and towers and is a very Oxbridge kind of place. Now its dedicated to artists studios, a cinema, a theater (where one evening we saw a very good production of Cole Porter's Anything Goes), galleries and places to eat. On the weekends there are extra craft and food markets. It is a delightful place to be inspired and to relax.I also got to meet reknown weaver Anne Field in her studio there who has a loom you can try - hmmm, might have to get me one of those....!.

These photos are of a simple yet fascinating piece of art strung between two buildings. Like a scribble in the sky the wire form seems to change as you walk around it.

Maori raincloaks ( to excess)

Today we are in Te Anau and once again it is raining - anytime we try to do anything outdoors based it rains! So it seems a good time to tell you about my obsession with Maori rain capes called korowai. These were heirloom cloaks made for the chiefs of the tribes, woven and often containing thousands of valuable bird feathers or made out of dog fur. Others, as you can see in this painting by Goldie have little thread (flax) 'tags' all over them. I have become rather fascinated with them and was delighted in Christchurch to find that the museum had a special exhibition of modern cloaks made by Roka Ngarimu-Cameron. As part of a master degree he explored innovative ways of weaving and design resulting in a catwalk of cloaks all easily recognisable as derived from the original but changing into more modern forms. It was particularly interesting to see the addition of tartan to reflect Scottish mixed heritage. they were hard to photograph but the lights that made photography hard showed the work off to great effect in the room.I have been thinking about how to use these cloaks as inspiration for the innovative samples I have to do for my City and Guilds. So it was with great interest that I came up out of the underwater observatory in Milford Sound yesterday to see this art installation on the wall inspired by those flax 'tags'.
Or so I momentarily thought. Then I realised it was the bare lighting wires the builders doing the renovations had partially installed. Proof that the definition of art is in the attitude of the viewer!

Too cheap for a new paint job.

Seen in cathedral square, Christchurch.

Look carefully!

A woman's view of Christchurch

Christchurch has everything for the discerning woman:

men in old fashioned garb to punt you up and down the river,

men in kilts to entertain you at the Pipe band championships,

men in tight shorts to whizz past you on rickety bikes in some speed trial thing I could not work out but which involved going at suicidal speeds around a small city centre circuit,

dead men who have done very impressive things in their life involving pointless and dangerous journeys to snowy places,

men to serenade you with "Lay Down Sally" in the late afternoon as the Arts Center empties and the air cools,

and my personal favourite - mediatative men sitting happily in the distance, reading and waiting patiently for their wives to finish taking arty photos of the Arts Center.

Canterbury Fibres

I am in a state of such deep relaxation these days that being bothered to write a blog is all a bit much. So I am very behind. Forgive me. As we set off from Kaikoura I said to Dennis, "Right, straight to Christchurch then?"

"Yes, " he said, "Unless there is a quilt shop on the way."

Seriously, he said that. And strangely enough, there were:

I got to go to Quilters Quarters in Rangiora, Cottonfields, Jolene's Web and Hand's all in Christchurch. Minimal shopping becuase I am becoming weight challenged. Well, not me, my luggage. I am considering saftey pinning all my half meters together and wearing them as a kind of sari on the next flight. I didn't think I'd get to Jolenes because on the map it looked out of the way. But the sat nav brought us in a different way and I suddenly saw a sign for the neighbourhood of Belfast. I knew that was where Jolene's was so I pulled into a car park to check the map and realised - I was parked in her car park. Some things are meant to be.

Our first full day in Christchurch I got to go to lunch with Robyn Kirk who did me that favour of taking my surplus Christchurch hotel booking off my hands when I advertised it here. She is pictured left with her friend Ann who joined us after lunch. Alastair Kirk, Robyn's husband drove us for miles ( and extra miles becuase we put the wrong Barker's Lane into the sat nav) to take us to see Jane van Keulen. The he sat and waited for us for an age while we noseyed around her studio. It might be that some of her threads ended up in my bag.

I nominate Alastair for Quilter's Husband of the Year for that but I fear he will not win as I also have to tell you that my very own husband wandered up to me when I was in the Quilter's Barn just outside Blenheim en route to Kaikoura and found me stroking the very same fabric I had bought a half meter of in Picton for a rather exorbitant price.

"You've got that one, haven't you?"

"I know. I know. But its pretty. I am wondering if I should get more," I say showing him how well it fits in with the other five bolts I have arrayed on the table already

He shrugs as if it is obvious.

"If in doubt buy more."

Seriously, he said that.

Although, thinking about it Alastair is in with quite a good chance as, two days later on the road to Christchurch and another four shops to come, out of the blue Dennis said,

"You know when I said, if In doubt, buy more?"

"Uhhuh."

"I meant of that one fabric. Not fabric in general."

Sometimes the secret of a good, happy marriage is knowing when to take your spouses' advice and when to ignore it completely.

Kaikoura...

.. was a wash out. The only reasons to go to this little village is to watch wildlife, swim with wildlife, fly over wildlife, be taught about wildlife by a Maori guide or call in at A Patch of Country quilt shop. Well, the quilt shop was delightful but named well - far too country for my style and the first in which I didn't buy a single piece of fabric because none called my name. Or maybe they did but where drowned out by the torrential rain banging down on the roof. All wildlife activity was cancelled due to gale force winds and so I got to read a novel from cover to cover in one day whilst hunkering down in our apartment.Not actually unpleasant.
On day two the cloud suddenly shifted slightly and we got a glimpse of mountains we hadn't even known were there until then. This view from our apartment deck lasted, oh, ten minutes. Then more mist, drizzle, cloud and other forms of damp precipitation.

However, there was a short lull when we went to the seal colony. There must be some seals somewhere.....

Oh, there he is! Fast asleep and sheltering from the rain. We took his example.

Montana World of Wearable Art

Nelson houses the museum of the World of Wearable Art. It is twinned with a classic car museum, I am guessing for spouses. Dennis opted for the cafe and a book! I was not allowed to take photos as I stood in awe and wonder but the local paper has a good slide show of winners from this years show here and the official site has past winners for you to drool over also. there are also books available from Craig Potton publishing ( or Amazon) - brother of Jenny Burton out apartment owner.

Silk painting

So here is how it worked: Jenny Burton (you know, I mentioned her - owner of the apartment) invited me into her studio and I got to see the work books and samples for the canopy I blogged about and some other work of hers. I suggested that she add textile courses on to her accommodation as an optional extra as she used to teach. She said that her friend Susanne Williamson was better set up for teaching - oh and Susanne sells stuff on the market under the name Unique Threads.

So off we went to market. In the rain. I found her stall. I stood for a while ( in a puddle I later deduced by the sogginess of my jeans hems, although I did not notice at the time) while she sold a scarf to a woman who liked them all but had a friend who told the buyer that almost every colour did not suit her. Then when Susanne came free I basically asked if could go to her house the next morning and be taught silk painting - and the amazing thing: she said yes!

So today, after a textile activity-less month I got to play. My samples and resultant scarf have to stay with her to be steamed and will be mailed home, but the photo shows my wet and salting scarf on the table - the pattern comes from a Maori war canoe. I can't wait it to see how it turns out. Does Dennis mind me disappearing for half a day? Well, you know: Man has TV controls. Man has international rugby union on Sky Sports. Man is happy.