Our caravan club rambles took us out into the country to Gladstone, for afternoon tea. Sadly, afternoon tea was over by the time our group arrived, and only coffee was available, if we really wanted to order some. We suspect that the staff were trying hard to close up shop, and were not too impressed when we all arrived. Never mind, we drank our luke-warm coffees, and had a look around the grounds on the way out.
Who wouldn’t be impressed by this fine family of piggies standing in the garden, Dad, Mum, and baby. These were made from corrugated iron, it seems.
Corrugated iron pig family
Then just around the corner I found another fine pig, this one was a black kune kune pig with a ring through his nose. He snuffled and snorted as he dug around in the mud, looking for tasty titbits. (Pigs would have to be one of my favourite animals. Doesn’t everyone love them too?).
This one is real
We just had to stop and investigate this old Vauxhall, covered in bugs. This is another piece of “garden art” on the property. Named “Qualis Vita, finis ita”, which translates to “as you live your life, your end will be”, it was made by Nico Thomsen in 2010. Those bugs look so life life, you can almost hear them rustle and click as they appear to walk over the old car.
Qualis vita, finis ita
There were more iron bugs climbing in the windows, and ranging all over the car seats and steering wheel. Scary!
Even more bugs
On the road back to camp was a half scale replica model of the Fisher Monoplane. Nearly 100 years ago, on June 1913, the Fisher Monoplane made 12 short flights, the first made in the Wairarapa, and among the first flights recorded in New Zealand. The Fisher Monoplane was designed and constructed by David Percival Fisher and flown by Reginald Harry White, both of Wellington. Further flights were made in Carterton. What a sense of excitement the local people must have felt all those years ago watching history taking place with these first flights.
Replica model of the Fisher Monoplane
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