I won’t go into the whole story here, but suffice it to say that after we pulled into a freedom camping spot and went to start dinner, we realized we were out of water. Oops. 😬 We back tracked down the road to the nearest town and eventually found some, thanks to a very helpful […]

When we were getting ready to go on our trip, a parishioner reached out to a NZ friend for recommendations. Among the long list was the Wholemeal Cafe in Takaka. “10/10 coffee!” Being in Takaka, we had to try it. Sure enough, 10/10! In fact, the whole vibe of the cafe was wonderful. . . […]

When I look back at this sketch I think of the incredible views, the twisty steep road (one point coming up the other side I had to down shift into 2nd), and the laughter we shared. They refer to this as a hill, but it’s likely steeper than a pass. When we came into Takaka, […]

This was a fun spot to spend the evening and the night. (The next time through – stopping for lunch – the freedom camping was nearly full, giving us an idea of what the summer “on” season experience is like.) The evening stroll along the pathway was just perfect! Here I tried to capture some […]

After the Park (see yesterday’s previous post), we ate lunch in the van before preceding. As we were making lunch, this weke came up and was very tempted by someone’s biscuit (cookie). I had to sketch it in a couple of poses. This lead to sketching one of the seagulls (which look a lot like […]

Here are some sketches from our experience walking past the Interpreters Center and out on the beach. I found myself taking a bunch of landscape photos throughout the trip, so watch out! Those might become future sketches. . . . #SketchWhatYouSee #SketchForToday #Sketching #Sketch #PenAndInk #InkAndWash #InkAndWatercolor #CrossHatching #CrossHatch #BicPenDrawing #BicPenArt #BicPen #BicPens #PilotAcroball #PigmaMicronBrown […]

(Able Tasman Park) We hiked down to the beach through massive ferns to see Split Apple Rock. At first the only other people there were a school group and Maori guide who came in via double canoe. That was fun to see. We wandered around, enjoying the scenery and taking photos. Oh, and yeah. The […]

In our driving around, we started paying attention to traffic signs. We’d tried to snap a photo as we sped by, and I’d later add another one to the collection. I’m glad we had a resident expert! The first time I saw the double arrows, we were following a semi-truck at night (OK, 7 pm, […]

The Coffee was essential, the beer was a treat. We liked the moa on the front, the beer was good, and really enjoyed what the cans said. Jed’s Coffee was the morning (and afternoon) staple. The Number 4 was good, but our college student was a little surprised at how many scoops Dad was using! […]

Gotta sketch some boats – even if they are in dry dock. And then a very quick sketch of part of the harbor. . . . #SketchWhatYouSee #SketchForToday #Sketching #Sketch #PenAndInk #InkAndWash #InkAndWatercolor #CrossHatching #CrossHatch #BicPenDrawing #BicPenArt #BicPen #BicPens #PilotAcroball #PigmaMicronBrown #PigmaMicron01 #StaedtlerPigmentLiner #Watercolor #DanielSmithWatercolors #theoboatology ______(\____________/)______ This is from the Rev. Joel’s Instagram feed: […]