Day 373: The Bush

Lichens and foliage

I stayed in my room all morning, working and drinking cups of coffee.  It had suddenly got so quiet I couldn't tear myself away.  Eventually, I decided I had better go and do some drawing in the Tongariro forest, so I have something ready for my printmaking workshop in a week.  I got there and found that the forest as I had seen it on two other occasions was more special than I realised .  Now all the lichens, mosses and ferns are dry and thin.  It's a good job I have some photographs.  I set about doing some composition drawings anyway.  I am starting to worry about whether I will be able to get everything I need for this workshop together in time.  I have to buy lino cutting tools - and if you know New Zealand, you will know that you don't just suddenly decide you need something like that and go out and buy it in some random small town.  I decided I would have to cruise the art shops of Wellington and if that failed, those of Christchurch.  I wondered what would happen if I couldn't get any.  Later I wandered off to see another forest the hostel manager had told me about, but I really felt drawn to the lake and mostly hung out there till evening.  Even though our hostel is full of people who do proper cooking, I'm not feeling interested at the moment.  In New Zealand, there is a brand of ready-made Indian food you buy in pots, which doesn't need refrigerating.  To my delight, Turangi's New World had the full range, so I now have enough meals to keep me going for quite a long time.