Contributors
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A diamond in the beer garden
Digging vinyl at Nelson’s Family Jewels Records. “I THINK THAT A TOWN THAT DOESN’T HAVE A RECORD SHOP IS CULTURALLY IMPOVERISHED,” SAYS GRANT SMITHIES, WHOSE LOVE FOR OLD VINYL RECORDS LED HIM TO INSTALL EXTRA PILES UNDER HIS HOUSE TO SUPPORT THE WEIGHT OF HIS MUSIC COLLECTION. When Nelson’s The Everyman record store closed down…
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That Middlemarch Submarine
How a historic bateau plongeur ran aground in the Strath Taieri. THE TOWN OF MIDDLEMARCH IS 80 KILOMETRES FROM THE NEAREST BEACH. IT’S SO DRY IN SUMMER THE CLIMATE IS CLASSED AS “DESICCATING”. THERE ARE DUST STORMS. YET THERE, TUCKED AWAY ON ABERAFON STREET OFF THE MAIN DRAG, SITS AN EXTRAORDINARY SLICE OF NEW ZEALAND…
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How to dance on a liquid spaceship
At the bottom of the world. AOTEAROA IS FULL OF TOWNS WITH QUIRK, AND THOSE WHICH HAVE SPROUTED UP NEXT TO THE GREAT SURF SPOTS HAVE THEIR OWN PARTICULAR CHARACTER. WELL-SUNNED LOCALS WITH ONE EYE ON THE WEATHER, THE SCENT OF WET WETSUITS AND WAX, A GENEROUS RATIO OF ARTISANS TO OTHERS: THEY DOT THE…
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Firstborn son of the sky
The point of return. NIC LOW’S NEW BOOK UPRISING IS THE ACCOUNT OF NINE EXPEDITIONS INTO THE NGĀI TAHU HISTORY OF KĀ TIRITIRI-O-TE-MOANA, NEW ZEALAND’S SOUTHERN ALPS. GUIDED BY ORAL HISTORIES, NIC TRAVELLED ON SKIS, ON FOOT AND BY WATER TO REVISIT THE STORIES OF HIS ANCESTORS. In this excerpt, he visits Aoraki / Mt…
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A history of bats
When mammals fly. A BAT CAN’T SEE IN THE DARK, BUT A BAT CAN FIND ITS WAY. TO BATS, EVEN THE BLACKEST NIGHT IS THREE-DIMENSIONAL. THEY CAN CATCH TINY INSECTS WHILE FLYING AT 60 KILOMETRES PER HOUR USING NOTHING BUT SOUND. WE THINK THINGS ARE AS WE SEE THEM, BUT BATS KNOW OTHERWISE. THE WORLD…
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Review: NZMSC Outdoor safety videos, Season two
The NZ Mountain Safety Council Following the success of their 2018 Tramping Video Series, the NZ Mountain Safety Council (MSC) has made seven new clips detailing the dos, don’ts and be-carefuls of some of the country’s most popular tracks. With a total of 19 short films now on offer, it’s like the Marvel Cinematic Universe,…
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The art of the rod
Carl McNeil’s fibreglass rods are pretty fly. WHEN A MASTER FLY CASTING INSTRUCTOR, WHO BY HIS OWN ADMISSION MAKES THE BEST FLY RODS IN THE WORLD, ASKS FOR THE NAME OF THE ARTICLE YOU ARE WRITING ABOUT HIM, AND YOU SAY, ‘THE ART OF THE ROD’, YOU DON’T EXPECT HIM TO REPLY WITH, “THAT SOUNDS…
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Music Review: Lacuna by Reb Fountain
Seeing Reb Fountain perform live is a bewitching experience, not just because she is an absurdly-talented songwriter and musician, but also because she has a way of dancing that makes you want to question everything you ever thought to be true and give yourself over to Reb’s groove. That director Lola Fountain-Best chose to focus…
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Review: The Story of New Zealand Freeskiing
To push a stick in the sand and write the story of a sport that is about as niche as you can get (maybe aside from a short history of underwater hockey) is a bold leap of faith. But I’m glad Sam Masters took it. In The Story of New Zealand Freeskiing, he has captured…