Number 79: MONA, Hobart

Visionary, monumental, subterranean, darkness, color, form, light, ancient, old, new, sparkling, texture, odd, quirky, unsettling, inspirational, unique, vast, detail, sound, water, oil, noise, silence, edgy, cool, death, consciousness, conceptual, looming, deceiving...

Number 79:

MONA, Hobart

David Walsh's Museum of Old and New Art is a triumph! 

And to quote the man: A temple to secularism, rationalism, and talking crap about stuff you don't know much about. We won't tell anyone. Come and play. 

And we did.

Fred and I completely captivated by all that MONA has to offer.

MONA, moods.

Number 78: Hiking Mt Wellington, Hobart, Tasmania

We flew into Hobart from Sydney. A cruise liner in the harbour, a fine day with sunshine, people milling around the picturesque streets of Hobart and we ignored it all. We left the oyster shucking, cheese tasting and wine sipping possibility and headed for Mt Wellington instead.

Number 78:

Hiking Mt wellington, Hobart, Tasmania.

I chose 'Sunday Suffering'!

Route: Starting from Fern Tree at 420m - Fern Glade, Milles Track, Ice House Ruins, South Wellington Track to the Summit at 1271m.

Rating: Difficult, Rough Terrain, Experienced Walkers only.

Distance: 8km uphill and road walking down  - 7km Sharon, 12km Fred, he fetched the car for me!

Verdict: Amazed to have accomplished this fierce hike, views spectacular and flora remarkable. First bird of the trip, Black Currawong.
Exhausted, body aching and so pleased it's done.

Dwarfed by the boulders along the path, following the orange beacons!

Snow melt and boggy conditions on the Alpine Heath.

Summit, cold windy with quite magnificent views. We are 1.2km above the city of Hobart.

Magnificent dragon-leafed richea.

Number 77: Meeting John Cooper, a renowned Australian bird photographer

John Cooper's work features prominently in glossy calendars here in Australia. He specialises in close-up photography and his images are exceptional. And he lives in Cowra.

Number 77:

Meeting John Cooper, a renowned Australian bird photographer.

John Cooper's fabulous bird photos.

Guy and Inel made sure we had special outings during our stay, glorious walks and birding, an observatory to see the rings of Saturn, movies at an Art Deco theatre and an evening with John Cooper.

They had him over for dinner with some friends. 

I so enjoyed the sharing of bird stories over a glass of French bubbles. We then gathered around a big screen and enjoyed an old-style evening of looking at photographs.

Australian birds are a delight and even more so when viewed through his lens, with his creative eye and his staging. 

I am also thrilled with the gift of his 2019 calendar. 

Number 76: A flower to delight, the Waratah

Our transition from Central Coast to rural NSW took us past the Blue Mountains Botanical Gardens, a tranquil space floating in the mountains with beautiful views and magnificent trees. And for me the jaw-droppingly magnificent Waratah.

Number 76:

A flower to delight, the Waratah.

I do not know much about the floral kingdom, but I revel in the beauty of blooms, blossoms and flowers. The Waratah, meaning the red flowering tree and the New South Wales State Floral Emblem, stopped me in my tracks. I knew nothing about this Australian endemic tree but it is the most admired flower of the year for me!

The magnificent Waratah in bloom.

Enjoying the Blue Mountains Botanical Gardens with Inel.

Number 75: A gin tasting here on the Central Coast

A cold and rainy day, so what better than a pop past an award winning Gin Distillery here on the Central Coast called Distillery Botanical, a Garden Grown Gin. I was interested to see what sort of botanicals and approach is used in the Australian market.

Number 75:

A gin tasting here on the Central Coast.

Even more than a delicious G&T I love seeing the bottling and labeling approach that these boutique Distillery's adopt. And I was not disappointed with my first gin tasting in Australia , blues, greens and an almost cubist approach to their Roots and Leaves Dry Gin and a little Wombat on the label too - I am definitely in Australia.

Inel and I sat watching the storm over the sea with a gin in hand, a good thing indeed. The Roots and Leaves Gin uses the roots of Angelica, Galangal, Ginger and Tumeric all from their garden as well as the leaves of Kaffir Lime, Lemon Verbena, Mandarin and Curry Tree. 

Another one may be calling....

A visit to Distillery Botanical.

Number 74: Spacemakers and Roomshakers, Art Gallery NSW

Inel and I had the afternoon free in Sydney while Jossie went for her college interview. We called an Uber and headed to the Art Gallery nestled among the huge Fig Trees of the Botanical Gardens. And a Henry Moore greeted us as we hopped out the car.

Number 74:

Spacemakers and Roomshakers, Art Gallery NSW.

A room of heady spices and filled stockings and another room with fifty thousand vibrating spheres of color. This must be my art highlight of the year to see the Ernesto Neto and Nike Savvas installations.

The remarkable Ernesto Neto installation called, 'Just like drops in time, nothing' 2002
polymer stretch fabric and spices.

Weight, tension, gravity, aroma, translucence, balance, bodily, invisible forces...
The artist's comment:

"I want people to see my sculpture through their pores, as well as their eyes, to feel it with all their senses."

Fun in Sydney with Inel at her favorite Henry Moore sculpture.

The truly wonderful installation called "Atomic: full of love, full of wonder' 2005 by Nike Savvas

Pointillist, hover, revel in color, light, infinite cosmos, field of atoms, heat, vastness and shimmering intensity of an Australian landscape.
The artist's comment:

"I prefer to see art as fluid, open and malleable - where everything is up for grabs"

Number 73: Bouddi National Park, New South Wales

Whipbirds and Orioles calling, glimpses of the colorful Rainbow Lorikeets, huge gum trees, the beautiful texture of the Sydney Red Gums, lofty sea views and picturesque harbour scenes, beaches, sandstone cliffs, strange rock formations and tessellation's, a world apart, the beauty of Bouddi National Park.

Fabulous flora here in Australia.

Number 73: 

Bouddi National Park, New South Wales

Stranded and peaceful.

"The Bouddi Peninsula is a very special place - a place to 'kill care'.

We are at The Nest in Killcare, 'killing care' desired, after leaving our little man and New Zealand family. Killcare is north of Sydney and we have time to be with Guy and Inel and their family in this beautiful part of Australia.

Looks like an Oyster Farm.

Apart from sitting on their deck with its glorious sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean, we have been heading out to walk in different sections of the Bouddi National Park, from woodlands, to dry eucalypt forests, to low shrubby heathlands and mangroves.

The shrubs are in full bloom, the weather is mild and the bird calls are quite remarkable. 

The Olive-backed Oriole was a new bird for my Australia list this morning. I completely love the Australian bush and its fabulous birdlife.

Another new sighting were the tiny blue Soldier Crabs moving as a squadron across the mudflats! And they walk forward unlike most other crabs. 

We have been spotting dolphins, whales, orca and turtles too.

Tiny blue Soldier Crabs.

Number 72: World of WearableArt 2018, Wellington

All I can say is it was WOW!

Number 72:

World of WearableArt 2018, Wellington.

Shawni and me at WBC, Wellington

How I loved being spoilt by Shawni last night, a pre-show dinner and the WOW awards show at the TSB Arena.

The first floor WBC  - or Wholesale Boot Company - in Wellington, was a trendy and on point restaurant with sharing plates and unusual flavor combinations. 

The show was other worldly, grand in its conception and really did deliver us to another world, one of creative genius, vision and inspiration.

I had to pinch myself,  I was with Shawni experiencing WOW 2018 and I so appreciate the remarkable moment. 

Thank you Shawni.

Number 71: Zealandia for some Lifers

Tui, Hihi, Kaka, Takahe, Kakariki, Pateke, just some of the quirkily named endemic birds of New Zealand.  I booked Fred and I onto a Zealandia by Night Tour with the hope of another Kiwi for my world list, the Little Spotted Kiwi.

Number 71:

Zealandia for some Lifers.

Little Spotted Kiwi, in the open!

I have 2 of the 5 kiwis found in New Zealand on my life list and I was very keen to try for another this visit to Wellington. The only mainland option for the rare, endemic Little Spotted Kiwi is at Zealandia, an amazing conservation space right in the city. They have effectively created an island by fencing out all the predators! The map below shows the very limited distribution of this smallest of the 5 kiwis.

So, wearing every layer we have with us, we braved the icy cold wind and headed into the bush at dusk with our guide Jono, binoculars and cameras in hand. 

We had our first tantalising views of a female Little Spotted just at dusk, as well as hearing the male kiwi's call across the valley.

The tour ended on a quite surreal note, Jono had a message come through that a male kiwi was right

out in the open and we hustled to get the the visitor centre. Not only was the bird in the open, it was feeding on the grass right at the entrance to the reserve.

So exciting!

Photography is almost impossible in the dark with the red torches but I have to post Fred's photo, my 'evidence' of the sighting and kiwi number 3 is in the bag and on my list.

Lifer number two come this morning when we went back to Zealandia, this time for the North Island Robin, a split since we first birded in new Zealand. Jono had given me some pointers on where to look for the confiding little robins.

And, there it was!

North Island Robin.

Then back to what we do very well, lunching in town with Shawni and pottering around the CBD, we found the yummiest chocolate brownies at Lashings, a new spot near Cuba Street to celebrate another good day is this beautiful city that we have grown to love.

Number 70: #WellyLovesWOW

This week has been the build of the 2018 World of WearableArt, known as WOW, here in Wellington and the show is celebrating its 30 year. And what a build up it has been!

Number 70:

#WellyLovesWOW

With map in hand; I have seen branded cars, buses with a call to action, restaurants with a WOW menu, the huge mirrored WOW sign on the waterfront, stores with window displays, newspaper articles, light poles with banners and a WOW Hub at the TSB Arena.
Fred and I have been on the WOW Wander to see garments on display from the WOW historical collection in 12 unique installations across Wellington city; a department store, office blocks, hotels, a theater, museums, a library, a cafe...it's been a treasure hunt.

Garments from WOW's historical collection seen on the WOW Wander around the city.

#WellyLovedWOW

Shawni has tickets for us for Friday night, what a special treat and a big tick on my bucket list for New Zealand, having first heard of WOW in 2011 while we were touring New Zealand in a camper van. We visited their museum in Nelson and saw garments on display in both Auckland and Wellington.

Number 69: Rare Sheep, historic Weaving Mills and 'Lord of the Rings'

The weather was not kind this morning so we headed to Petone to visit a remarkable New Zealand creative success, Stansborough.

Number 69: Rare Sheep, historic Weaving Mills and 'Lord of the Rings'.

Stansborough Mill and Store visit.

Shawni has a wool throw that has caught my eye and she mentioned Stansborough to me. The story of creating and registering a New Zealand wool breed, the 'Stansborough Grey's', sheep whose wool is unusually silky, soft and lustrous.

I was excited to visit their store and mill today, out of the rain and cold.

We were completely enthralled by the business. Stansborough still use Industrial Revolution Weaving Mills from the north of England; bobbins flying, metal clanking, wood thumping, gears grinding; absolutely amazing as we watched the apprentice weaver making up a bolt of fibre for Gandalf scarves.

Stansborough's unique fibre created by their grey sheep was used to costume most of the main characters appearing in the Lord of the Rings sagas.

We met Cheryl, the creative genius behind the business, she shared her story of the farm, keeping a breed of sheep from extinction, learning to weave on the monstrously huge mills, designing her gorgeous range of throws, blankets, shawls and textile heirlooms, which are all innovative and highly prized worldwide and her client list is jaw dropping. 

And now me, I now own a twill weave Stansborough Grey throw. 

Number 68: Foodie pleasure, finding something unusual on the shelf.

One of the pleasures of travel is looking out for the fresh, unusual produce as I potter around supermarkets. I was chuffed to spy something I have not seen or used before - Garlic Sprouts!

Number 68:

Foodie pleasure, finding something unusual on the shelf.

A first for me - Garlic Sprouts.

The label on the long stems of the garlic sprouts promised a light garlic flavor with the texture of asparagus, indeed.

Chopped and lightly sautéed in our Thai Green Curry last night it was quite delicious. Tonight I am going to try the sprouts finely chopped as a garnish with our Moroccan Chickpea Soup.

Number 67: A taste of Dutch Culture, Wellington Botanical Gardens

It's spring in Wellington and the tulips are in flower and a riot of color at the Botanical Gardens.

Number 67:

A taste of Dutch Culture, Wellington Botanical Gardens.

It feels surreal at times that Fred, born in Amsterdam, our daughter born in Johannesburg and now a grandson born in Wellington, share this Dutch heritage and the spring celebrations at the gardens were hosted with all things Dutch. The organ player cranking out tunes, traditional costumes, a miniature windmill and the aroma of chips with mayonnaise, 'poffertjes' baking and coffee.
We enjoyed at all!

Fred and Shawni sharing their Dutch culture with little James.
He was more excited with the duck in the pond though!