In which Piglet and Kanga go rafting

 "Are Piglet and Kanga going down the river?"asked Eva.

Tom needed models for a photo shoot. He's doing the brochure for their new business, Foris. They will be offering day trips from Rotorua which will include a bit of river rafting down the Rangateiki River, and a guided walk through the Whirinaki rainforest.

Tom lines us up

Only a wee side trip to this lovely waterfall

I'm a reluctant model

The 12 km raft trip includes a bit of everything, from white water rapids to gentle stretches of river.  Great scenery and lots of bird-life. These photos are from another company that does the same stretch of river...

More from the Garden Festival

I can't resist showing a few more photos from the gardens I visited yesterday. It was off to Palmer's for me today, with a much better idea of what thrives locally. 

Rotorua Garden Festival

I love visiting gardens. So I had the best day going around some of the gardens open this weekend. Starting at Lake Roti-iti, then heading around Lake Rotorua to Hamurana, discovering the gorgeous countryside of Kaharoa where there are views out to White Island (and I even spotted the Rena out by Motiti Is), and on via Ngongotaha and Kawaha Point, back to Lynmore and home again.

Are gardeners really nice people, or is it that really nice people love gardening? I'll go for the latter, seeing as I can't really call myself a gardener, not after the magnificent work I have seen today. Or maybe it is the exceptionally nice ones who love to share their gardens. Whatever.

The foral art group had been at work at one garden --

A table under the trees set for tea, and one on the terrace set for cocktails and then I guess dessert.

Dunedin's rhoddorendons are pretty special, but they obviously love Rotorua conditions too.

April showers

The colours look unreal, but this is just what it looked like yesterday with another rain flurry darkening the sky, hiding the far shore of the lake.

I took this photo standing at the door of my lounge. That's blossom from the quince tree scattered across the drive, and yellow blosson from the kowhai on the lawn of the house in front of mine. 

Some of my favorite kitchen things

So, this thing is, my big round chopping board is a piece of rose mahogany from Tolga Woodworks in Far North Queensland. It was sold as a raw piece of wood, for someone to make a bowl from I guess. The smell of the wood still comes through when I scrub it in hot hot water and I just love it. The origins of my big wooden stirrer are now forgotten, but it does a great job as a walnut smasher when not being used for stirring, and it is a fabulous thing that I use almost every day. Bowls I have a few - only a very few. This one I bought in Bangkok a few years ago and it brings back memories of picking it out in a crowded shop smelling of sandalwood and spices. 

On spices, my spice rack is like a bit of artwork on the wall. Nothing unusual really, but I got this one at the National Gallery in Victoria when I went to see the Golden Summers exhibition of the Australian Impressionists. Just using the spices reminds me of being young beside the upper reaches of the Yarra in high summer. The teacup comes from the Dunedin Potters' Co-op gallery on Lower Sturt Steet. Reminds me of walking up from the markets on a cold Saturday morning with a bag of vegetables on my way to have coffee in the Octagon. It was very special when the gallery was full of flowers for the Rhododendron Festival. The dried chillis are from Rachel's garden, just up the road here in Rotorua. I forget to use them though.

 

This old clock is set at ten past eight. It used to work, I used to have a lego key which fitted it perfectly (!) and I'd wind it up once a week, but I lost the key (any more, Matt?) This clock was on the wall of the farm kitchen when I was a kid. Time to run for the school bus! Maybe a wedding present of Lou and Joan's? But I also love it for it's own sake. Very cool. 

These two things are from Singapore. The C. K. Tang money box is about my most favorite object. This was their old store on Orchard Road, long gone, sadly. What a lovely shop that was, with it's sloping wooden floors and old shelves piled deep with all manner of things, a treasure trove. I dream about that shop. And the Villeroy and Boch sugar bowl, which has a matching milk jug, came from the new C. K. Tangs and was a wedding present from Justin. One day I might get a teapot to match.

Finally - just a few of the boxes, tins and containers from old sorts of places. The world has got too small, that you can now buy french sardines at Capers in Rotorua, eh.