North Island…..
Poroporoaki ki te whenua o te kapua roa ma
Farewell to the land of the long white cloud
Wow this last two weeks have gone so quickly!
Last week I spent my time with my sister, Jane. When I returned from the South Island, and met her, she went flying over a man’s case and really badly cut her mouth, sprained her wrist and ended up with a black eye, poor Jane ☹
So, the bonus from that was that we got to spend a whole week together, nattering, crocheting (well she did once her wrist was better) but I steamed ahead with a new design.
This one is going to be called Rosslyn, that was a lovely place I stayed on the South Island, and has many other meanings, which I will share once the pattern is published…..but that won’t be until after I return home, so maybe late summer by the time all the photo tutorials and testing is done.
We also went to the local beach to collect drift wood to frame the piece I made in the first week I was here, and we found this amazing piece that looks like a dragon, for Jane’s garden.
My final week was spent on the North Island too.
I hired another car and went off to Lake Taupo and Rotorua.
The drive up there was amazing, more mountains, more lakes, more rivers, more oooooh’s and arrrrr’s from me as I was driving.
Then I hit the desert area, now it is a real shame that this is the Army testing and exercise area, as there are literally no places to stop, but I did sneak in one stop. The landscape is like the moors in England, beautiful purple heathers, and gauze type shrubs, the difference here is the amount of Pampas grasses, huge clumps of them in the normal parchment colour and beautiful shades of pinks and purples too. Though I could not stop and take a photo there is a stream that runs down a little ravine, bubbling over rocks and all sparkling in the sunshine, with the most amazing mix of heathers and pampas grasses…. The picture is seared into my mind as one of the most beautiful things I have seen here, just a shame I cannot share it with you all.
Lake Taupo is HUGE!!
I arrived late afternoon and had a look around, and a walk around the lake, my hotel was literally right on the shore of the lake.
Then after the long drive (4 hours) I settled down for the evening, and enjoyed the private hot tub I had. 😊
And wouldn’t ya know it!
Rain, rain and more rain, it didn’t stop me going to Huka Falls, which was awesome. You can feel the vibration of the water crashing down through the rocks, and with the rain, the water level was much higher and faster than normal. But still the most amazing turquoise colour, and a very cleansing/healing experience for me.
They also have a glass sculpture garden there, so worth a visit if ever you are in the area, just a short drive from Huka Falls.
I also went to an active thermal area, called Craters of the Moon, but it was really cool, and I have always had a love and fascination with volcanoes.
My plan in Rotorua was to go to the Mauri centre and spend some time looking into the history and spiritual culture. But it was raining so hard, that I just couldn’t face getting soaked again, and drove back down to Lake Taupo, had some lunch and spent the afternoon with my hook and yarn.
Now I am back at Jane’s, for my last two days in New Zealand, so it is farewell to the land of the long white cloud, and off to Australia on Monday.
I am looking forward to meeting friends old and new while in Australia, but am not quite sure how long I will stay in Aus, as unfortunately Mum has not been well and is in hospital at the moment, but taking it one day at a time.
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What a wonderful journey! One I will never make, so I must do it through you! How wonderful to spend time with your sister. I hope your mother gets better soon. Love and hugs.
It is so wonderful to see our favorite designers out having a holiday and enjoying themselves.
Your work is so beautiful, I finished Mandala Madness and working on Star. Have Rose of Avalon waiting for me, yarn and all, and now Rosslyn, is absolutely divine. Will make that one too, for sure.
Thanks for this post Helen – wouldn’t you know it but I have 5 weeks before arriving in New Zealand for a month. I loved to see your pictures and my add the glass sculpture park to my itinerary.
Have followed and saved all your photo’s. Am looking forward to the hooking you have done, love the Rosalin round.I’m in Bendigo VIC so if you get to come here, I will be so glad to meet up with you. Sorry your Mum’s not too well. Kindest regards,
Edith