Day 24 Steampunk HQ, unusual rocks, I thought I'd get at least one shag here, town of the jocks

Wednesday 24 Jan.

The Steampunk HQ opened at 10:00, but our Airbnb didn't need us to be out until 11:00. So we weren't the first people through the door that morning. The $4 we spent in the outside attractions last night had whet our appetite though, and we were very keen to have a look at the rest of it.

It's a bit of a haphazard collection of exhibits and sculptures. It's very atmospheric, but you're never sure what you can and can't get to do things. There was a stack of old black and white TV's, of course you can't get a picture on them, no matter how hard you try to tune them in, except every now and again you find there was a burst of static obscured voices you could barely hear. Totally weird!

Karen playing the organ.

The organ was a church organ, the keyboard was connected to a synth which played an eclectic mixture of tunes, sound bites and noises. It was fun to try and get a tune out of it.

There was no way I was going to kiss the gorilla

There are 2 main rooms, and an outside yard. The sculptures are all pretty much scrap of one sort or another that have been welded or recycled into Steampunk art.
Just before the portal there's a bit about the main artist behind the exhibit and a small screen featuring some of his other work. Chris Medder died of cancer 2010, having just discovered his work, it's sad to know that there won't be any more :(

The portal is billed as the star attraction

On the way in, the very helpful girl manning the whole show (womanning surely?) said don't miss the portal, it's very special.

Inside the portal

The photo does not do it justice. There is a sound and light spectacle created in a small-ish room by hanging computer controlled colour changing LED's from the ceiling. The floor, ceiling and all the walls are mirrored, and the sound and lights all sync up nicely. There's one bit in the light show where it goes all green running from top to bottom, very Matrixy.

Motorbiking

Out in the yard were more works that have featured in various events, the motor bike is apparently a locally famous piece (rider sold separately).

Steampunks

mmmh!

There was just time for a bit of dress up and photo shoot before we had to get on the road to Dunedin.

On the way to Dunedin we'd picked two spots to look at, the first were the Moeraki Boulders. These are concretions that formed in the mud of rivers and sea beds, they are totally natural and are not formed by erosion or the sea, although the sea breaks up the mud stone that they are in releasing them onto the beach.

Moeraki Boulders

Moeraki boulders

Boulder split open, although the interior is a different colour it's all the same material

Remind you of a movie?

After a brief stop for lunch at a quiet lay bay (with beach view), we pottered on to Shag point.

The Main attraction of the point is not the chance of a shag (that's a common bird here in case you didn't know), but the seals basking on the flat rocks at the end of the point. There's a very convenient car park and there was only one couple here when we arrived, quietly watching the seals.

 Link to panorama

Back in the car then and off to Dunedin. We checked into our Airbnb and then opted for a quick drive into town to eat out. We ended up in the Asian Restaurant at the recommendation of the Rough Guide (it really is just called the Asian Restaurant, although it's pretty much a Chinese restaurant). Very reasonable meal, and the had the beer I've grown to like (Speights Mid Ale).

Then to round off the evening we had a walking street art tour. There are some pretty fantastic pictures tucked away in various places in Dunedin, and it was a nice bit of exercise trying to find them all, Karen thinks we saw all but 5 of them (we didn't photograph them all BTW). There is a map that shows the locations of all the pieces which is very helpful.

The public toilets in Dunedin are in the middle of the Octagon, don't go on a walking art tour without knowing this, especially if you had a beer before you started.

Then it was back to our pad to plan a few more days ahead and to  sort out what we were doing next!