All posts tagged: New Zealand

Friday Review: Edoras/Mt Sunday

Published by The Dreamstress

Mt Sunday, Mt. Potts Station, near Lake Clearwater, South Island, NZ What it is: In case you were living under a rock for all of the first 5 years of this millennium, the Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed in NZ.  Consequently, the NZ landscape is littered with picturesque filming locations, and the picturesque filming locations are littered with tourists clutching film stills and comparing them to the scenery. One of the more popular of these locations is Mt Sunday, where the Rohanian city of Edoras was filmed. The Good: Mt Sunday actually looks like the film set, unlike most other locations.  It’s relatively accessible, and the scenery is stunning enough to be worth seeing, even if you aren’t a LotR fan.  Oh, and it’s a lovely little hike. The Bad: The roads aren’t the best.  We watched a tour group in a 4 wheel drive get stuck in a mudhole.  We had (wisely) parked much further back and decided to hike the rest of the way.  I’m afraid we were rather smug and …

Friday Review: Beloved at the DPAG

Published by The Dreamstress

Beloved: Works from the Dunedin Public Art Gallery 12 Dec 2009-30 Oct 2011 What it is: An exhibition on favourite works from the DPAG’s collections, ranging from Medieval madonnas, through NZ classics such as Goldie, right up to contemporary mixed-media sculpture. As a bit of background, you should know that DPAG has an amazing art collection which includes a fantastic selection (probably the best in a NZ museum) of European art, including such costuming favourites as Gainsborough, Tissot, and a selection of Pre-Raphaelite  artists. The DPAG is also a beautiful museum: easy to navigate, elegantly designed, well situated, and eminently suitable for displaying art. Not surprisingly, I was extremely excited about having the opportunity to visit and to see the Beloved exhibition. The Good: All my favourite artworks were on display: the Tissot, the Gainsborough,  the Reynolds, the Monet, the Forbes  (if the direct links don’t work, search by artist last name), as well as some less well known charmers, and some more challenging modern art (do check out the Don Driver). The Bad: The …