On the Tailings.
On this occasion the trip was to see these trees. They were planted a long time ago and in their struggle to survive in this harsh environment some have developed a slight bonsai look. It was that look that I was interested in.
Thanks for the photo Haruna.
Alexandra
This was a colour view of my garden on the weekend. The entire landscape was blanketed in white and I went out exploring, but to no avail. Photographing snowy landscapes is very difficult I find. It’s hard to say anything original. Still, it’s a beautiful sight and such a pleasure to be in an environment like this.
Thursday 17th April
Today I drove to Queenstown airport to pick up two Auckland friends. They are both coming to stay with me until Monday.
On the way to the airport I made a detour near Cromwell, into Bannockburn, a famous wine growing area. There were some sluicings there to see. By sluicings I mean an area of land that had a large hose turned on to it in order to seek out the gold. The result is that the landscape looks like the end of civilisation. There is even a vineyard nearby called Mt Difficulty. The sluicings are now a reserve, I recommend a visit.
The top photo is one that I took today near Bannockburn.I think that it is an improvement on what I have taken over the last few days. Certainly a contender for the calendar that I putting together.
The bottom photograph was taken by Vanessa,
one of the Devonport friends I picked up from Queenstown today. This photo was taken from the front of Henderson House, where I live while we looked over the Clutha River, the largest river in New Zealand. Largest I think means volume not length. I like her photo. The colour is exactly right. It really did look like that. At present the landscape can at times in this Autumn light, look almost on fire.
Here I am wheeling Barbara Henderson into the welcome party that was held for me a week or so ago. Barbara is the person who was responsible for architect Ernst Plischke coming to Alexandra, from Wellington by bus in 1950 to design and build this house, the house in which I am now living for a year. Barbara now lives in a rest home near here although she maintains a studio on this 3 and a half acres, to which she comes, with a nurse, every Tuesday afternoon.
Falcon
In this area there are our endangered native falcons,
elegant creatures that perch on
cliff faces. I love seeing them. Sometimes they glide over this house.
This specimen is in Central Stories, our local museum. It is of course, dead.
Last Night in Alexandra
Last night there was a big welcome for me here in Alexandra, held in the museum called Central Stories. There were about 100 people. Here’s a small section of the audience, a snap that I took during the speech that I gave, partly to demonstrate how mostly I use a pocket sized Leica. I am glad to see that they look so happy. We had many laughs.
I’m especially pleased to see that right in the middle is a man who is blind.
The evening was such a success, it was an event to be remembered.
The Henderson Arts Trust Residency.
I’m living in this house designed by Ernst Plischke and built, here in Alexandra, in 1950. The louvres
visible in this photo are a device to provide ventilation in order to cope with the fiercely hot weather that this region enjoys, often the hottest weather in the whole of New Zealand. One advantage for many is that this is a major region for growing Pinot Noir. The surrounding landscape has many many vineyards, or as a German friend of mine so enchantingly calls them, wineyards.
The stone used to build the walls of this house was cut from the basement. The white hatch that you see on the side of the wall is used to provide a portal for firewood.
Many people who come up the long sweeping driveway that leads through this three and a half acres to this wonderful building immediately think Frank Lloyd Wright. The flat roof
would not be allowed now. They are required to have more pitch, partly because there is a possibility of snow here, this area also has the coldest winters in New Zealand.
This is a most unusual residency for two reasons. Firstly, it is not media specific, the first recipient, last year was Vincent O’Sullivan, a writer. Secondly, one cannot apply, it is by invitation only.
A Long Way From Home
This Adelie Penguin, looking a little the worse for wear, is in the museum here in Alexandra, not on display, but in a storage cupboard.
Apparently in the early 1930’s it was brought back live from Antarctica to Dunedin, on Admiral Byrd’s ship Jacob Rupert. It died in Dunedin but after what interval I don’t know. I hope that it had a happy time there but I fear not.
I would like to have another attempt at photographing it, something more in the line of a portrait, although the sense of it sheltering in this metal box is interesting as well. Perhaps that idea needs developing.