Sunday, November 25, 2012

Of rust and rocks

Barry and I have headed off for a few weeks to New Zealand.  We spent some lovely days in Auckland and then hopped down to the South Island where we are pottering around and generally having a great time.

Our first real stop was Oamaru - a beautiful town that in amongst its various claims to fame, also calls itself the Steampunk Capital of NZ. We had the best fun touring Steampunk HQ - mostly because we wandered out in to their back yard where they had loads of junk and pieces in different stages of progress.  Barry has posted on many of the wonders as well - it was a rust-lovers heaven...





We drove further south to the Moeraki Boulders. Susan had introduced me to them and recently made a book inspired by them, and I was keen to see them for myself.

Again they were wonderful. I spent the whole time thinking about worlds, atlases, maps, exploding worlds...they were incredibly powerful in their own way. We had lunch overlooking the ocean and have now headed down Dunedin way...







Wi-fi internet is fickle in places, so most of my travel posts will be like postcards I think!

13 comments:

  1. Ooooohhhh wish I was there! Boulders with maps and tracks .... no wonder they kept you pondering about lost worlds. Amazing rusty metal images too. Have a wonderful time in NZ!

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  2. Ahh....Moeraki! Not my home district(I am from Waikato), but very special to me.

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  3. Sounds like a trip full of inspiration, those boulders are amazing!!

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  4. Fiona- love these photos! So many amazing textures. But...especially the boulders...they are like mysterious stone tortoises.

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  5. a gorgeous post - rust and the moeraki boulders. Two of my favourite things! I was particularly pleased to think you had been to see the boulders - they look quite different on the day you saw them - tide more in and the sky blue. The tide was further out on a grey misty day when we saw them. I would love to be there a couple of days to watch them change from sun up to sundown.

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  6. The Boulders are wonderful! But the rust! Steam punk HQ - oh, I'm feeling very envious. Maybe I need another visit to NZ.

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  7. Looks like a great holiday and lots of grist for the mill.

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  8. those rocks are marvelous, incredible, super. the words don't say it. i want to smell them in the water...feel the surfaces. sublime, actually.

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  9. Thanks all, there was south inspiration in all that we saw...other rust lovers get the pure delight and wonder of SPHQ SMS many understand the mystery and deep wonder of those boulders. In a way both will travel with me for a while and hopefully find a way to be expressed. Sometimes travel is great to let you step aside and look at things differently... Will keep you posted as we head up the Wild West coast.

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  10. Those boulders are beautiful! Fantastic photos Fiona. Hope you both have a fab trip. Keep sending the 'online' postcards. They are a visual treat.

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  11. Thanks Lesley it is lovely to share parts if our side if the world with others far away - little glimpses here and there...go well

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  12. What a fantastic read! I'm so glad you are having such a grand time. I haven't been to Dunedin for many years and it's just wonderful to see these images. Thank you so much for sharing! :) Enjoy the rest of your journey!

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I appreciate your thoughts and comments; thanks for taking the time.