I could come and spend 4-5 days a month here easily. Nothing to do but what I do - I hike, boogie board and write, then play a little melodica into the night.
A series of elderly people, mostly in threes stroll by in comfortable attire, warm and baggy layers.
If I get the courage up I'll go for a boogie board tomorrow morning at the surfing lagoon by the point.
A wind surfer glides by, the wind and the swell propel him forward effortlessly. Today is a perfect day for windsurfing, but only the one guy is out there, skipping over waves and riding the best ones in. He makes it look easy. There are two surfers who seem unable to catch a good ride. The wind surfer mocks them, swooshes by with ease and elan.
NEXT MORNING - A light incessant rain shower, like a thin veil has enveloped Castlepoint. In this weather Castlepoint feels like Wuthering Heights. Rugged cliffs, gorgeous sandy beaches, more cliffs and a lighthouse beaming through the mist.!
Boy did I need this!
Yes, it took tons of nerve to go out there all by myself and catch some waves. I spotted a French family with a couple of boogie boards going in the water so I put on the wetsuit and fins, grabbed my board and joined them. Exhilarating, frothy waves, not the topsy turvy kind that are attracting all the surfers down to the Point. I don't quite have the nerve to surf the Point all by myself, but am happy to play in the waves in front of my bach.
The day is a moody one, peek a boo sun through brooding clouds.
Two thirty-something ladies stroll by with identical baby prams. Three little girls go into the store. One of them has a wad of bills in her hand. They emerge minutes later with triple scoop ice cream cones. In fact I see a lot of people come out of the store with ice cream cones. Hmmm - I may have to try one of those...
Pukka 's spirit has perked up considerably . There are lots of sticks to entertain herself with as she plays in the waves.
View of the Pahutakawa from my bach.
This morning I sprang out of bed at daybreak. Off on another adventure with my dog Pukka. Destination - South Island, Kaikoura specifically.
A blur of chirpy banter greets me as I head upstairs to the passenger seats. There are lots of families travelling and I am greeted by a mayhem of cherubic chubby cheeked kids. At this early hour they are almost tolerable. It is now about 8:00 am and the ferry Lynx has just drifted away from the capital, whose eccentric spires and cylinders are aglow with an orange light splashing upon the fleecy clouds, which look like phantom shadows swooping over the bay.
A peripatetic synapsis of cell phone jingles comes from the pockets and handbags of my fellow passengers. The music of this morning's ferry is a mid range drone with syncopated kid yawls. I've decided that children are at their best at 8 a.m.
We encounter a set of undulous waves as we enter the Cook Strait. Kids gleefully shout out "woah", at the crest of every wave, the "whoah" becoming more and more exaggerated with every boat toss. At this time of day the tots that might normally scream the whole trip are generally mellow. They peer, as if suspended, expressionless.
I return to Barina, home away from home for the next few days, where Pukka has been patiently protecting the fort. She groans as I settle in. We make our way off the ferry to the accompaniment of klaxons, metal clinks and lapping water . Pukka perks up as soon as I start the car. She knows we are headed somewhere exceptional - I've never let her down yet.
Kaikoura is a a tiny peninsula jutting out from the east coast, with a backdrop of rugged mountains. The unusual combination of warm water currents from the subtropics, with colder, nutrient-rich waters from the south. attracts an abundance and variety of wildlife rarely seen in one place. It is a favored "eco-tourist" destination, because it is home to many near extinct wildlife species.
Chasing whales, videotaping Dusty Dolphins, swimming with fur seals, photographing the mighty albatross. I collected lots of limestone pebbles and other sea treasures to bring home.
. Goofy Albatross
Happy Valley Art Klubbe
Make HaVaK part of your daily awareness, as you stroll through your every day life. Be ready wherever and whenever the whim to make more of your week overwhelms you. If your eyes alight upon viable supplies like glue or weird shaped rulers, anything spongy and/or funny shaped while you're battling through your errands, BUY IT! Bring it next Thurs., 7:30. Consider popping into LittleJohns Art Supply to buy a good brush that you like. Make it yours. Buy two if you can afford to, one thick, one thin. And if you're in the mood, go for the third one that's shaped like a fan or else the round tip one.
Find an all purpose outfit to attend in, something that you have no qualms smearing, tearing, ripping into bits to throw into your work in progress.
Make HaVaK a part of your routine and, as Anais Nin once said:
"And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.:
-- Anais Nin, writer (1903-1977)
HaVaK is alive and kicking into its new inspiring location. Anything goes in HaVaK aRt, the more whiMsical the better.
- marine animals; whales, seals, turtles, dolphins, eel, anything that lives in or around water.
- Giraffes, elephants, snakes, pelicans, WETA or cricket, any peculiar shaped animal or insect.
- icons, symbols, logos
- still life
- abo art (aborigine style)
- Maori themes (from maori tatoo book?)
- impressionist style
- cubist style
- pointillist
- fractal
- alien landscapes
- city
- monochrome
- two colors
- cartoons
- wishing stones (painting the limestone pebbles I brought back from Kaikoura)
- umbrellas (In Sydney at the modern art museum there was a room with painted umbrellas by various artists. If I can locate some cheap white umbrellas I'd be willing to buy them for HaVaK)
would be fine too....maybe as bedcovers or just to
hang on the wall....or on the floor.....we could make
lamps with simple bulps and cables and wire and paper
or linen.......everybody will have to pay more for it
though....but it is something people could take
home....
i also love the wishing stones...that's simple, and
very personal..."
- NicoleWeber
1) Paint with your left hand
2) one person uses a sponge, the other uses a palette knife
3) you both use palette knives
4) limit your palette to 3 colors plus white
5) paint with a sponge and a rag.
6) We could pick a random word out of the dictionary.
forcing new avenues of expression..."
-- Shane Cooper
forcing new avenues of expression..."
-- Shane Cooper
