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Over the summer my husband was driving down the Maitai Valley road in search of a new swimming hole as a fierce and ferocious eel had been biting kids at our local swimming hole.
Winding along the dry and dusty gravel road he came across a bush beaten, old man holding out his thumb for a ride. The man was from Blenheim and came to meet his brother, in three days he walked through the bush, over Mt Fishtail down a ridge, to the Pelorus River, to Captain Creek Hut. From there over the Bryant Range and to the Dew Lakes, and finally down into the Maitai. It was slow going and there was lots of windfall were his comments as he requested a drop off at the Sprig & Fern to quench his thirst.
I remembered this story over the weekend as I stood on Dun Mountain and took in the vast expanse of land laid out at the base of Mt Fishtail, Mt Fell and Mt Richmond. There is always so much yet to explore in our "backyards" and I hope I’m still out and about in my later years…
Also I visited the Dun Shelter nestled against a bank on a tussocky plateau. It was very quaint from the outside, but I wouldn’t recommend picking it as a place to stay. A bit drafty, no mattress and suspicious holes in the floor and wall that I suspect were homes to rodents.
Despite having walked, biked, driven past & slept in the back of a yellow hilux when I was little, and many times camping since at Lake Tennyson over the years, I'd never gone for a stroll around the Lake. We'd planned to visit the area in a fine weather window that looked perfect to re-study the Princess Stream Tarns also in the area. Unfortunately the morning we were to leave, the local St James very helpful weatherman Mark Inglis (I do follow his posts very closely to keep an eye on conditions in the area) put some photos up showing quite a lot of snow coverage. I'd be hoping it would just rain...it did not, his wife Anne then sent photos of more extensive snow coverage from her heli drop...
This painting of Mt Owen has taken a bit of figuring out. It wasn't feeling quite right, and after much deliberation I decided that "glow" wasn't how I wanted it. That particular night so golden and warm, I think we even had an Aurora later on. So I ended up re-doing the sky and tarn, adding in more soft warm tones and now I'm layering up the warm sun highlights on the tussocks. It's now starting to glow.The inspiration for this painting came from a overnight trip to the summit after a run of beautiful, still bluebird days. Starting from Courthouse Flat...
This particular fisherman's hut immediately caught my eye, tucked remarkably close to a large schist rock, its tiny proportions and wonderfully simple construction make it an intriguing feature within the vast landscape on this sunbathed morning. There is something particularly appealing about the contrast between the small...
