Category Archives: Art

Food, Wine & Art – Take the Road Worth Travelling.

Posted by Brent

Partake on a delicious journey through New Zealand’s finest wine and food country, experience the 380 kilometer (240 mile) trail as it serves up a delectable array of food and wine experiences. Encompassing Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa and Marlborough the ‘Classic New Zealand Wine Trail’ links three of New Zealand’s leading wine regions that accounts for more than 80 percent of the country’s production.

Seemingly inseparable from good food and wine, artisans from all disciplines have set up camp along the way, complementing your experience perfectly.

Lets get on the road…

Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Culture, New Zealand, Wine and Food | Leave a comment

‘Pimp Your Ride’ with the ‘Masters of the Self-drive Holiday.’

Posted by Brent

It isn’t easy planning the perfect holiday, especially to a place you have never been. Sure there is an overwhelming number of resources available to help you gather information, but what is the difference between good and great? – anyone can write a review, the question is “did they have the same expectations as you?”

Here’s how you can have a vacation, that not only surpasses your expectations, but eliminates all the guessing and hard work. Better still, this service is absolutely free.

Ten Great Reasons to use First Light Travel to “Customize” Your Self-drive Holiday.

Continue reading →

Posted in ABOUT US, Art, Australia, Before Leaving Home, Caving, Culture, Diving, Fiji, Hiking, History, Humour, LOTR, Nature, New Zealand, South Pacific Islands, Surfing, The Hobbit, Wintersports | Leave a comment

Prehistoric Maori Rock Art – A Window into Early New Zealand Occupation

Posted by Brent

In the prehistoric age of early human occupation, nomadic Maori hunters created New Zealand’s earliest surviving artworks in caves and shelters as long ago as the fifteenth century or earlier.

Admired by archaeologists and historians alike, these windows on the past show a strength and elegance of design but the question of origin and significance are still a mystery.

Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Caving, Culture, History, New Zealand | Leave a comment

Hobbit Mania Grips New Zealand (Middle Earth)

Posted by Brent

The worldwide premiere for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is just minutes away and New Zealand’s capital city Wellington has been rushing to complete it’s transformation to make it feel homely for folk with hairy feet and pointy ears.

Yesterday stars jetted in for the long-awaited first movie of the Hobbit trilogy. Wellington, where much of the post production has been done, has renamed itself “the Middle of Middle Earth”. Fans have had costume parties and Wellington city workers have laid a 500 m (550 yards) red carpet. A Hobbit-themed Air New Zealand jet has landed bringing in cast, crew and studio officials for the event.

We have also been busy getting ready to roll out a series of awesome self-guided and small group tours that will take in the best of The Hobbit filming locations.

Continue reading →

Posted in Art, LOTR, New Zealand, The Hobbit | Leave a comment

WOW! ‘World of Wearable Art’ Awards, Wellington – A Must!

Posted by Brent

Once described as “Mardi Gras meets Haute Couture at a Peter Gabriel concert directed by Salvador Dali,” This show twists conventional perceptions of art and fashion.

Individual works of art are designed and animated by the body then choreographed into a two-hour theatrical show. Each year’s performance is original and contains elements of dance, music, drama and comedy.

Attracting both local and international artists it is now considered one of the most prestigious art and fashion competitions in the world.

Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Culture, History, New Zealand | Leave a comment

Aboriginal Mythology – Some Truths Revealed

Posted by Brent

The Aboriginal people believe they have lived in Australia since the beginning of all things. Archaeologists have dated their occupancy to many tens of thousands of years and much of the mythology harks back to these earliest of times.

Stories and legends were expressed in everyday life through art, song and dance – verbally handed down by word of mouth from these ancient times.

Here is a selection of fascinating mythology including some that have startling explanations.

The Bunyip

Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Australia, Culture, History | Leave a comment

Aboriginal 20,000 years earlier – Kimberley Rock Art Suggests

Posted by Brent

It has been commonly thought that Aborigines most likely populated the Australian continent around 50,000 years ago, by people from the areas we now know as Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Recent evidence has emerged that suggests that this may have been more like 70,000 years…

Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Australia, Culture, History | Leave a comment

Tamaki Māori Village Experience – ‘Tiki Tacky Plastic Māori’?

Posted by Brent

Last week we took our 2 and 4-year-old girls to see the Tamaki Maori village experience in Rotorua. The experience from our perspective was a good one.

Once home, like a good little tourist, I logged onto Trip Advisor to air my thoughts and contribute to the so called “reviews you can trust” I came across a review that at first glance looked deliberately malicious (a false review) but on further inspection it became apparent that the reviewer had little or no understanding of contemporary Maori or held a totally unrealistic expectation to what he was letting himself in for.

To guide your decision to whether this popular cultural experience is right for you or not, it is important to know what exactly Tamaki is, and what it is not.

First some facts ….

Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Culture, New Zealand | Leave a comment

The Seaside town of Oamaru is letting off a little Steam.

Posted by Brent

For many years the good folk of Oamaru have celebrated their towns traditional Victorian heritage, with its wonderful white stone architecture, beautiful English gardens, alongside a resident rookery of little blue penguins. More recently Oamaru has become the home to an avant-garde artistic expression called Steampunk.