Also at work tonight, one of the locals, Skinny, gave me a connection for another great activity here in NZ. He had a friend, Allan, who lives in Invercargill - the town at the southern tip of the South Island - who works at or runs the aluminum smelting plant. He told me that I can go down there and the guy would give me a tour of the plant. SUPER COOL! So now I have another place I'm going to have to visit before I leave. And apparently they also have the largest truck museum in the world there. I'm not really all that into trucks but if I'm in Invercargill I might as well go!
This afternoon I went up to the Driving Creek Railway to buy my souvenir from Coromandel. As you may remember I did the train ride a few weeks ago with Patricia and Alanna but I went there today to buy a piece of pottery. One of the potters, Paul Armstrong, comes into the cafe on a regular basis and so I decided I'd buy one of his pieces since I know him. I got a beautiful glazed mug from his "seconds" pile. Although there are technically some imperfections I think the pieces is beautiful! It's also light weight - so easy to ship - and functional - you can always use another mug! While I was there I started asking the woman behind the counter all sorts of questions about how the place works. (See background information below). While I was talking with the ladies they introduced me to a visiting potter from the States - a 24 year old girl, Maya, from Miami. She took me to her studio that she shares with her boyfriend Chris - from Ohio - and I got to chat with them for a bit. It was really cool to see some Americans over here making art and having a great time. She made me a small eyeball out of clay but apparently when it dries it will just crumble and fall apart. No keeping it but that's okay. Here's what it looks like:
It was really cool to get to talk to a traveling potter, and especially one from the States. They're only there for one month but seem to be enjoying themselves. Pretty cool! Anyways, I'm happy I have my souvenir sorted and can now finally ship a package home. (Since getting here, I have acquired a lot of items and now need to ship them home or get rid of them as things will definitely not fit back into my suitcase! Please wish me luck with this as it's going to be quite a task!)
That's all for tonight. I'm working both jobs again tomorrow and then pig hunting and the motorcycle ride on Saturday. I think next Tuesday Elli and I are going to do the Coromandel Costal Walk - a 6 hour walk, return, at the top of the peninsula. It's supposed to be really nice and neither of us have done it yet. It's hard to do if you don't have transportation but Elli's landlord said she could borrow the car for 1 day so that's great. I just hope the weather will cooperate for us!
Best!
Background on the Driving Creek Railway and Pottery:
The railway was built by a gentleman named Barry Brickell back in the 1970's as a way to transport clay around the hill to use for his pottery. It now operates as a way to both transport clay and as a tourist attraction for visitors to the area. You can take the railway up the hill and as you travel see pottery constructed by the artisans as well as learn about the local flora and fauna and see beautiful views of Coromandel Town and the ocean. As the railway they have both full time potters and traveling guest potters. What I gleaned from them today is that it is not a teaching facility but a place for experienced potters to work and share ideas/technique with the permanent potters and vice versa. Any experienced potter can apply to visit and most come for about 6 months at a time. About half of the visiting potters come from around NZ and the other half come from around the world. They pay for their own clay and pay to fire their pieces and then can sell them in the shop at the railway or anywhere else they'd like. It is very neat concept. Here's a link to their website if you'd like to check it out.
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