Before I get too far ahead, on our way to Cathedral Cove, here’s a cute New Zealand quail who walked along with us for a bit. Many NZ birds have little or no fear of humans, and some have even evolved to lose the ability to fly.

We traveled quite a bit on the following day. In the morning, we passed by kiwi and avocado orchards, sustainably harvested tree farms, and stopped to pick up lunch in an old gold mining town, Waihi.

Old pumphouse in Waihi

From there, we stopped near a river to enjoy our lunch, and then on to Okere Falls.  I had trouble managing the colors and trying to sketch the water, so I did this quick color layout for reference on site.  We were lucky to see several rafts pass by, and sketching the rafters was more my speed than water, as you can see here, sketched from my photo.

Later we stopped at Tikitapu (Blue Lake), a very serene place to take out our paints. Finally, we went to see two Maori wood carvers, where they work, their tools and how they decide what to carve. We then enjoyed a home cooked dinner with them, very delicious and a great end to a busy day!

Maori wood carving tools.

Photos of Maori wood carvings

Maori sketches for wood carvings