THE TOP BIT - part 2

Nelson has the accolade of being the sunniest place in New Zealand, so naturally the heavens opened just as we arrived. But hey, what's a little rain when you're back in the city you loved the most on your last visit. Fruit growing, wineries, breweries and an energetic arts & crafts scene, it's all here - and can be sampled, admired, tried on and purchased at the buzzing weekend market.

On a hilltop overlooking the city, there is a structure that marks the centre point of NZ. A 3 foot spike is held aloft on a big arm and points down to pinpoint the exact spot. Except that this is not actually the true centre, which lies somewhere at the bottom of the sea in the Cook Straight, between the two islands. It is a convenient and picturesque location that someone on the council probably put in the staff suggestion box as an idea for a new tourist attraction in the 80's. Still, it's a lovely walk with panoramic views of the city and harbour and if you choose, you can carry on walking across the hills behind the city and down to the exquisite Miyake Japanese Gardens where you can wander in no particular direction on paths that meander through bamboo and acers dressed in autumn colours, over narrow zig-zag wooden walkways on ponds floating with waterlilies, then sit for a while in the tea-house watching the fish making ripples in the pink sunset reflections.

Bone carving is a traditional Maori art form and just about everyone here wears a pendant of either bone, jade or paua shell. The most popular shapes are hei-matau - the fish hook that symbolises good luck and protection on journeys as well as prosperity and strength. Pikoura - two intertwined fernshoots symbolises infinity, eternity and the bonds of friendship while the koru - the unfurling fernshoot represents new beginnings and harmony. Not content with buying a ready-made carving, we signed up on a workshop to see what we could come up with. The class was small - just the two of us and Kasu from Tokyo. We spent what seemed like ages trying to decide what we'd like to make. Did we want to base it on one of the samples, did we want to combine elements from more than one piece or do something completely different. Eventually we all managed to commit an idea to paper and Stefan, our instructor, matched our designs with suitable pieces of bone - thicker pieces for the designs that incorporated twists. Beef shin is today's replacement for the whalebone that would traditionally have been used.

It took more than a few attempts to sketch our designs onto the bone but after we were happy we moved on to the workbenches and vices where we cut roughly around the outlines with a fretsaw. Then we moved to a disc sander, slowly working in towards the lines followed by some detailed and painstaking cutting, shaping and smoothing with an array of drills and sanders dangling from above, tongue poking out for extra concentration. After sanding my carving by hand for half an hour I was ready to cut out the pieces that still held the fernshoots together then back to the vice with narrow strips of sanding tape to smooth the insides of the twists. Yet another thirty minutes with even finer sandpaper and I was ready for the disc polisher - wow! It was beautiful, and I'd made it! The finishing touch was an engraving of a silver fern which was done by Stefan as it would have been so easy to ruin four hours work with a runaway drill and there would have been a quivering lower lip for sure!

Traditionally, Maori carvings are not bought for oneself, but are be given as a gift from another. Ideally, it will have been worn beforehand by the giver and will contain an essence of their spirit. And so with much ado, we presented each other in Olympic fashion with our unique creations with a huge sense of achievement.