Veronika Wild

Main Street St. Bathans  (pop. 10)  is around 10 km off the main Dunedin - Queenstown Highway The traffic picks a bit when I hit the Dunedin to Queenstown Road near Ranfurly.   Up to now the most I’d encountered was the odd minivan pulling a trailer to take cyclists to a trailhead. Now there were fast moving trucks and slow moving campervans competing for limited road space. Beyond it the surreal landscape continues - rocky tors interspersed with dry gulches and fringed by snow covered peaks which look like rows of well -formed teeth. Expansive and seemingly timeless, it induces some kind of time shift wherein mere mortal concerns such as being late for a rental drop off, seem rather irrelevant.      The Vulcan Hotel  built of mudbrick in 1882, is still operating and said to be haunted   Though I am officially still in a hurry,  I can’t resist the small detour into St. Bathans. My thanks   to   Jon, ...

Alexander Calder's  Albion Mill on the Rivulet  opened in1841 (photo c.a. 1860 Tasmanian Archive Collection, PH40- 1- 186 -(originating agency unknown)* Apparently that wasn’t the real New Town Rivulet that I followed on the first day, only a tributary. The main branch flows under New Town Road, almost a kilometre north of the Maypole Hotel, though the continuation is difficult to spot from the road. I got there by following it down from the dairy through the John Turnbull Reserve. This Linear Park has fitness equipment near the top, ball practice areas and a very well patronised dog exercise yard. After a bit of no -man’s -land with high voltage power lines, a few dwellings and a community garden, I found myself on Creek Road.   St. John's Church New Town was built in 1835 but couldn't be consecrated until three years later There are some interesting buildings in this area. Beyond some Aged Care and Community Care facilities stood th...

Is it a seat? Art? Implement of Torture? Something weird is happening in our fair city. There has been a whole rash of new seating. At least I think it’s meant to be seating. The Play School Model - it's a shame that you can't tell how small these are from the pictures. Maybe the Council had the same problem The first group is clustered mainly around Liverpool Street and I call it the Play School Model. The individual pieces are a bit small and low for seating, are mostly made of metal and are brightly coloured – fire engine red, sky blue, lime green. The only trouble is that they don’t look very comfortable. They are hard and unforgiving and on these cold and frosty mornings I avoid them because I have the feeling that there would be a tearing of flesh should you attempt to get up after sitting on them.  Some remind me of preschool desks. Our Mayor is young.    On the other hand, I wonder if the purchasing officer ordered them from a catalogue witho...