Author Archives: thecuriouskiwi

Taupo Street Art

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Graffiato: Taupo Street Art Festival returns over Labour weekend and 10 more walls will be turned into works of art. It’s the 8th year of the festival in 2018 and the current street art trail map (downloadable via the link above) helps you find 30 of the art works that have been created over the years.

New Zealand has some captivating street art and sometimes I think I’ve found a favourite art work or artist and then around the next corner – ‘wow, another favourite’. In Taupo it was more ‘bow wow’ as it was the realism of the dogs … Read the rest

Te Puia, Rotorua

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Te Puia combines Maori culture, our national icon – the kiwi bird, and geothermal activity on the city’s doorstep, 3km from Rotorua centre.

Visit during the day to spot the two brown kiwi in the Kiwi House and see geothermal features including the naturally erupting Pohutu geyser. Watch Maori carvers and weavers at work, and walk onto Rotowhio marae with its carved wharenui (meeting houses) and pataka (storehouse). Cost – from $54 per adult (add on options available). (Discount for New Zealand residents and locals).

The evening experience adds more Maori culture with a powhiri (welcome), cultural performance, and Maori … Read the rest

Lake Okareka Walkway, Rotorua

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Lake Okareka Walkway is around 5.5 km return. The first 2km to Silver Beach is flat and easy going, the last .5km or so to the Okareka outlet requires some uphill climbing  including stairs.

The last .5km of the track is narrower, it’s not too difficult but it’s not accessible for pushchairs and wheelchairs. It took us about 2 hours return to do the walk but we dilly dallied watching birds with binoculars and taking photos.

Lake Okareka Walkway starts on Acacia Road where you will find a car park and an information panel. The walk is for people only, … Read the rest

Govett-Brewster Art Gallery / Len Lye Centre, New Plymouth

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The exterior of the Len Lye Centre in New Plymouth is eye catching and impressive. The 14 metre tall structure is made of concrete clad with stainless steel. The curved stainless steel reflects and plays with light making the outside of the centre an art piece in itself, and probably the most photographed building in Taranaki.

Who was Len Lye? 
Christchurch born Len Lye (1901-1980) was an artist who made films, wrote poetry and painted, he also became known for his kinetic sculptures. Len Lye spent most of his life overseas, his connection to the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery began in … Read the rest

Reuse & Repurpose – Curious Letter Boxes Part 10

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From blog posts to book, this series of letterbox blog posts inspired the book – ‘It’s In The Post – Awesome Letterboxes From Around New Zealand‘ published by Bateman Books in October 2020.

Road signs, digger scoops and an unexploded bomb are some of the items people have reused and repurposed to make curious letter boxes ……… Read the rest

Herd of Morrinsville?

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If not, Morrinsville is a small town in the Waikato that’s big on cows – farming them and turning them into street art to help tell the story of the town’s history and heritage.

The Herd of Cows? website has a street art trail map so you can find the 48 members of the colourful herd and read about the artists that painted them. Some of the art work on the cows is wonderfully whimsical, and one of the cows is a whopper – Mabel the 6.5 metre tall mega cow stands outside Maber Motors at 86 Thames Street.

You’ll … Read the rest

Curious Clocks in New Zealand

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Maybe I have too much time on my hands, but after seeing the neat historical clock in the Old Bank Arcade in Wellington I thought I’d look for other curious clocks around the country. There’s no better place to start than a clock museum …..

Claphams Clock Museum, Town Basin, Whangarei
Claphams Clock Museum in Whangarei has over 1600 clocks and timepieces. The collection was started in 1961 when the Whangarei City Council paid a token sum for 400 clocks belonging to local man Archibald Clapham.

Archibald was an aspiring clock-maker turned clock collector and he welcomed people into his … Read the rest

Has Banksy been in Rotorua?

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Probably not. However I spent some time Googling phrases like ‘How do you know if it’s a genuine Banksy?’ before I came to that conclusion. It was fascinating reading, if you find the real deal on a wall here’s some of what you’re likely to need – 24 hour security, a diamond chainsaw, a team of art curators and builders, and a lot of money to pay for it all.

How do you know if you’ve found a genuine Banksy? A couple of tips – Banksy’s work is painted in busy areas where it will be seen, so not in … Read the rest

Three Memorable Meals in Rarotonga

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So much food so little time, infact there are 30 plus places to eat dinner in Rarotonga and we went out 10 times, so that’s a lot of places we didn’t get to, but here are three of the best we did:

Sails Restaurant, Muri – lagoon side dining
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You can sit on the deck at Sails Restaurant and look out over Muri Lagoon while deciding what to order from the menu which is a mix of small and large plates, meat and seafood dishes. The Rau Rau Platter ($30) caught my eye as it was a chance to … Read the rest