Xmas 2009

Our first Nelson Christmas was great fun. We had 13 people in the house on the day. It was a real treat to have Simon's sister, all the way from Copenhagen, to stay for a week. Simon, Ronan, Flynn and Colin (Simon's Dad) are pictured above.

Simon, James and Tamsin Owen

Musician, Brett Holland

Kay all glittered up

Tamsin on Skype

Berry picking for the Xmas desert

Boxing Day on the beach, Colin James and Flynn

James Owen in his new Xmas Tee

Valerie

Kays sister Valerie came to stay with us for the week before Xmas. Valerie has lived in northern NSW for 11 years and adores Nelson. We loved having her to stay and had a fun time rediscovering our favourite spots.

the school fair

The end-of-year School Fair season is upon us at the moment. They are great fun and an important fund-raiser activity.
Among others, we attended Ronan's Primary School gala last weekend.
The difference in a smaller community like Nelson is that you will find the local judge on the raffle wheel, his legal assistant cooking hot dogs and the new entrants teacher putting on a karate show.
All the usual stuff was there; coconut shy, auction, food, sponge throwing at the teachers etc. Flynn is pictured here at the receiving end of Kay's mighty throw!

Kay goes potty

Kay has been producing some amazing pottery pieces with the Nelson
Community Potters. Every week Kay goes to a pottery class located in an old converted bungalow just 2 minutes walk from home.
Pictured above are two of her latest creations!
Nelson has a long history with the art of pottery, and it is still alive and strong today.

Flynn goes bush with his mates

This photo is a pic of me and some other of Jimmy's friends going up to his land up in Brookland, in the photo we are standing on the back of Jimmy's dad's trailer going up the giant mountain (it had lots of gorse).

The 2008 Nelson Arts Festival!

The 2008 Nelson Arts Festival was a real goody this year.
Eleven days (and nights) of innovative theatre, music, dance, cabaret and writers do their thing at the Historic Founders Park and the wonderful Suter Gallery.

We attended a number of events throughout the festival this year. Simon was on stage on the opening night, delivering his Pecha Kucha talk (see his show notes here). He was also (dragged) onstage on the final night of the Festival by Ronan Ronan!

Simon is pictured above on the lawn at Founders on the final day of the Arts Festival, quietly enjoying a cold ale from the on-site brewery.


The iconic windmill at the entrance to Founders Heritage Park.

The Wild West

We took a trip to explore the West Coast of the South Island last week. It was a real Road Trip - we just pointed the car in the general direction and drove!

It was a great trip. The West Cost of the South Island is a wild and unpredictable part of New Zealand. The pace of life is slow, and the local 'Coasters' are very friendly.


We bought a pub along the way...


I don't think we're in Kansas anymore Toto.


We explored about 4 kms of a vast underground cave network just south of Westport. It took 3.5 hours with an experienced guide, including a trip on 'Cecil' the train to the cave entrance shown above.


This is a shot of the 'back door' of the cave. Beautiful!


We made it as far south to the Franz Joseph Glacier.



The trip home was half the fun - especially when we discovered
the rustic charm of Blackball. Read about out stay there in the next post...

The Blackball Hilton

On our way back to Nelson from the West Coast, we stayed at The Blackball Hilton.
Formerly The Blackball Hilton - an original, old West Coast Pub off the beaten track' in historic Blackball (16 minutes up the valley from Greymouth).
The cosy pub was once the focal point of a bustling and notorious mining village. Nowadays it is again an important part of Blackball's social life. It's a relaxing and easily affordable place to stay.

Read more about this interesting town here.


An abandoned mine.


Kay outside the 'Blackball Hilton'.


The TV3 program 'Spookers' concluded that this old homestead in Blackball is the most haunted house in New Zealand! What is that in the top window?



A local Coaster told us where to pan for gold. After crashing through gorse and climbing down a rocky cliff face we found 'the spot'. We found a couple of gold flecks!

The Salmons drop in!

What a treat to spend a sunny afternoon with the Salmon family last weekend. Davey, Rose, Ben, Mosey and Florence are dear friends of ours from Hinemoa Street, Auckland.
The Salmons were adventuring it up big-time down this way while exploring Mount Arthur and the Karamea. These guys sure know how to have some serious fun!

Spring has sprung

Hurray - Spring is here!
It was the coldest and wettest Winter in Nelson - so the locals say. We're actually very pleased to hear that because it means that next year will not be so bad!


The colours are starting to change and blossoms are everywhere.

However, there is still snow to be seen on the Tarkaka ranges.

Weekend in Wellington

We flew to Wellington for a long weekend in the capital city. It was fun to be back in the bright lights!

Staying in a hotel on the waterfront, we explored central Wellington on foot during our 3 day stay. It was a very early start to our trip on the 'red eye' flight from Nelson, but Jo and Jeff cooked us up a beauty breakfast at their Lyall Bay apartment on arrival.

First up was the Weta Cave in Miramar. This is the retail store for the masters of film effects. Golum was in store that day and here is a pic of Kay giving him some advice on how best to smoke that fish.

We took a guided tour though Parliament and the Beehive.

The Cica Theatre is a must visit. We attended the final Theatre Sports night. It was recorded for National Radio.

Te Papa is a destination all on it's own. This place contains some of New Zealand's most precious treasures. The Rita Angus art exhibition was a highlight, as is the newly permanent 'Blood, Earth and Fire' exhibit. Many live shows are held there. We were lucky to be there for the Indonesian and Javanese Puppetry Festival. Here they are 'back stage' in the Soundings Theatre, Te Papa.

the Nelson Lakes

We had a great time away last weekend, staying at the Nelson Lakes with our friends the Chisnells at their family bach (pictured below).  Chris' family has been holidaying in the St Arnaud area for generations, and they were well qualified to show us a good time!

The Nelson Lakes, surrounded by snow peaked mountains, are pristine and beautiful. About 1.5 hrs drive from Nelson, they are elevated and in a semi-alpine environment.

The next day we were up bright and (brrr) early getting ready for a day in the snow. Our destination was the Rainbow Ski Field. He are Chris and Alex at the base carpark awaiting our shuttle up up to the slopes.

Go Flynn! We have never seen so much snow. The conditions were perfect. It truly was a winter wonderland. Thanks for your hospitality Chris, Alex, Quinn and Baxter.