South Island
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The 1964 guide to the best rural bridges of the South Island
Gap fillers galore. BRIDGES SPEAK TO SOMETHING IN US. THEY ARE A PERVASIVE METAPHOR, POPPING UP IN INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS (BURNED ANY BRIDGES LATELY?), MORTALITY (THE BRIDGE TO THE LAND THE DEAD), FISCAL POLICY (BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN THE RICH AND THE POOR), AND FAKE- QUOTE MEMES. (NO, INTERNET, ISAAC NEWTON DID NOT SAY “WE BUILD…
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The tortoise and the bare
Sprinting starkers for charity in the shadow of the Darran Mountains. WILLIAM BLAKE ONCE WROTE THAT ART CAN NEVER EXIST WITHOUT NAKED BEAUTY DISPLAYED. IN FIORDLAND, THEY’RE ON THE SAME PAGE, AND THERE’S PERHAPS NO GREATER EVIDENCE OF THIS THAN THE SIGHT OF A CROWD OF LOCALS DASHING NAKED THROUGH A DARK, COLD TUNNEL EVERY…
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On the road
Mixing it up on the roads of Wānaka prepared cyclist Mikayla Harvey to mix it up with the world’s best. IN THE WINTER OF 2020, NORTHERN ITALY ENTERED ZONE RED, ‘LA ZONA ROSSA’, A SUITABLY DRAMATIC TERM FOR THE SEVERE RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED TO CURB THE SPREAD OF COVID-19. For local cyclists, both amateur and professional,…
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The truth is up there
A brief history of space junk in, and above, Aotearoa. IN JANUARY 2019, CRICKET FANS AT A NEW ZEALAND-SRI LANKA MATCH AT THE BAY OVAL IN MOUNT MAUNGANUI WERE STARTLED BY A CLUSTER OF LIGHTS TRAVERSING THE NIGHT SKY. TURNS OUT THEY WERE BITS OF KOSMOS 2430, A RUSSIAN MILITARY SATELLITE, HEADED FOR THE SPACECRAFT…
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Book Reviews: A Biker’s Tale and A Life of Extremes
A Biker’s Tale by John Hellemans IT’S PROBABLY MY BAGGAGE, BUT I’M SUSPICIOUS OF THE PLETHORA OF “HEY-LOOK-WHAT-I-DID” BOOKS WEIGHING DOWN ‘OUTDOOR ADVENTURE’ SHELVES IN BOOKSTORES AROUND THE WORLD. (REALLY? I WAS IN LABOUR FOR TWO DAYS, GAVE BIRTH TO A NINE-POUND BABY, THEN DIDN’T GET A FULL NIGHT’S SLEEP FOR THREE YEARS. BUT THAT’S…
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Book Review: A Life of Extremes and A Biker’s Tale
A Biker’s Tale by John Hellemans IT’S PROBABLY MY BAGGAGE, BUT I’M SUSPICIOUS OF THE PLETHORA OF “HEY-LOOK-WHAT-I-DID” BOOKS WEIGHING DOWN ‘OUTDOOR ADVENTURE’ SHELVES IN BOOKSTORES AROUND THE WORLD. (REALLY? I WAS IN LABOUR FOR TWO DAYS, GAVE BIRTH TO A NINE-POUND BABY, THEN DIDN’T GET A FULL NIGHT’S SLEEP FOR THREE YEARS. BUT THAT’S…
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Point of Return
Same place, different time. On the way up the West Coast to ride the Old Ghost Road in April 2019, I spotted this WOF sign in Waimangaroa, just north of Westport. We were running late, so as hard as it was for me to pass by an intriguing example of kiwiana, all I could do…
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Review: Alchemy Café Cinnamon Scroll
THE WINE WORLD HAS SOMMELIERS, BEER HAS CICERONES, RESTAURANTS HAVE MICHELIN STARS AND CINNAMON SCROLLS HAVE, WELL, ME. LIKE SOMMELIERS, I HAVE BEEN A STUDENT OF MY CRAFT FOR DECADES, WORKING COUNTLESS HOURS TO FINE TUNE MY PASTRY PALETTE. Rumours have been swirling in the cinnamon scroll community for months about a new chef in…
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Stumbling in the dark
Illuminating LUMA. One of the many things we lost in 2020 was the LUMA Southern Light Project. As we welcome it back, musician and light artist Scott Kennedy ponders LUMA’s flickering dream of “maybe”. As I write this, it’s two weeks before the start of the LUMA Southern Light Project, and as you read this,…