initially i thought this might be a set of random images. yes, look you see, further ones off of my sojourn, or if you like odyssey, to New Zealand. however, after having had a look at the pictures what i curated if not selected, it does seem a good many of them feature statues. not ones what have (thus far) been relocated to (or in) bodies of water, but left mostly where they were intended to be. hence the title.
so, right, well, further images (pictures), then. grouped together in a way that kind of makes sense, but in no particular chronological order. random has been the way of life thus far so why would i take any different way here.
first off, then (above) one of them statues what i mentioned. this one was one i saw, i believe, in the area of Lake Taupo (here) during a quite rare wandering around alone moment. whereas i cannot 100% confirm such i would imagine it's reasonably safe to suggest that this, other than magnificent, a Maori statue. or carving. there were a few, but this one caught my eye. or eyes.
no, i didn't really have much "alone" time whilst there, bar sleep, bathroom and various interactions with customs officials about cigarette lighters. this was very much by design, for i went off to be with family and not make it a solo voyage.
chainsaws have always been a "thing" for me, so the above statue was quite the find. well, i suppose it was more in my youth that chainsaws were more of a thing. mostly due to key scenes in Scarface and, probably in particular, Evil Dead II. sure, Texas Chainsaw Massacre too, but it took quite a while to see that film. i am not sure if they still make many smart films with chainsaw stuff in, but it would seem as i got older (rather than younger) i don't actively look for them.
very many things in New Zealand were an absolute delight to see, discover and behold. actually just about everything there, except the price of cigarettes. small (well, large, but still) price to pay, that. in the top percentage of excellent NZ things is where L&P resides. and here's one of two (2) massive statues of bottles of L&P i found.
yes, indeed, that is me (moi) in the picture with it. apologies, or sorry, for the abstract lack of warning in regards of having to see me. should it help you out in deciding if you read more of this (or not) indeed it is so that i feature in a couple more pictures below.
more importantly, then, L&P. or Lemon and Paeroa, to give a full title. whilst in Aotearoa i did of course wish to sample local wares as and when such was possible. with me not being all that much of an alcohol drinker it was so that i wished to try a local non-alcoholic drink, so gave this L&P a go. and just as well that i did, for i discovered a truly brilliant drink. quite the favourite now.
readers in the UK (and possibly elsewhere) are in for something of a surprise here, if not shock. yes, it is so that L&P is a lemon drink, but it's one that is sweet. my experience of UK sold lemon drinks is that they are made to be as sour as possible. that would be, i suppose, quintessentially the English way of doing things in full effect. if they can't make it or serve it to you bland then sour it is.
as is the case with various other statues i have done this with i am not exactly sure what value, if any, there is in doing a video of one (a statue), but yes, here you go. or we are. video of the one L&P statue below, for your brief viewing pleasure.
it is so that New Zealand is celebrated (or known) for many things. with respect to this century we are presently residing in, one that i tend not to understand as much as the previous, certainly the nation is know for providing both the set for and the director of the Lord Of The Rings films. also them other ones, from what i remember, Hobbit, but i don't believe i watched (or endured) those.
from what i recall my review of Lord Of The Rings was "nine hours of midgets wandering somewhat aimlessly across a field". when asked for a further review i think i embellished it to reference the occasional moaning about breakfast, as well as mentioning how they could have just flown on one of them massive birds and thrown the ring into the volcano instead of walking there. yes, they were extremely well made films, impressively so, but the whole story or "mythology" did little for me.
bit of a slightly awkward scenario, then, when Mum & Dad offered to take me to Hobbiton, the set or what have you where they made at least three, possibly all six (if there are that many) of the films. oh. i said thank you, but such a trip would be more appropriate should James, William or my (former) (considerably) better half were to visit. Dad was slightly disappointed as he had heard that breakfast was something special there (go figure), but did mention that it was apparently very expensive, so perhaps for the best not to go if i was not that fussed.
yet still we kind of stopped off in the area, or vicinity, as the picture above and below show. indeed there is an image of me below, so you have been warned. Matamata was close enough to the set for me, allowing chance to get some pictures and postcards.
certainly i am aware that there is every chance some of you reading this disagree, perhaps quite strongly, with my review of Lord Of The Rings and associated films. well, the important thing is you probably enjoyed them, don't worry so much about me. if it helps i seem to recall an adventure game based on it on the Commodore 64. one could instruct one of the midgets to hit another, and then the game went on an infinite loop of them all hitting each other. that was quite class.
right now you are potentially longing for some more statue based images, since that is what was mostly suggested as being here. well, ok, another one from Matamata.
this truly was a magnificent statue of a racehorse. indeed i did tale a few pictures which showed off just how magnificent it looked, but instead i have elected to showcase a picture of me stood next to it. you could always make a visit there yourself to see it in full.
now, then, a case of me "falling" for one of Dad's jokes. but, some scene setting. as readers of my other posts about New Zealand may recall (probably not, but still) i was rather surprised by the lack of sheep around. it was explained to me that cattle (mostly cows) was now the biggest export. i asked Dad about this as we drove around. he commented that i should watch out for a special breed of really big cows.
perhaps one or two of you would like a slightly closer look at this, the last statue picture in this post. whilst it was tempting to get Dad to pull over so i could get a better picture, and undoubtedly have a cigarette too (sorry), instead here's one as we drove closer to it.
enough with the cows, then, or at least for now. if not right now. to clarify, or for those interested, yes, the cows (cattle) wandering around New Zealand which were not statues seemed to be pretty much regular size. by no means did i see the whole country, so who knows, perhaps they really do have some ones as big as this wandering around somewhere.
did i do any shopping in New Zealand? goodness me yes. mostly for cigarettes and L&P, but also for other stuff. there seemed (or appeared) to be no real need for me to take images of much of what shopping i did, except for this instance.
unless i am somewhat mistaken (possibly am) Kmart is (or was) a fairly large chain in that America place. so far as i am aware it's mostly Australian and New Zealand now, but on the off chance that it remains a thing in the states a picture seemed appropriate.
indeed i did make a purchase at Kmart, a rather smart t-shirt which looks like it shall fit. on the t-shirt is a celebration of the Kick album off of INXS. it is one i am looking forward to wearing. however, i have to choose the right moment. it's a predominantly white shirt, which translates into being a "wear once" shirt with my proclivity for being a bit clumsy and messy.
right, well, that's that for another look at the odyssey. yes, i do have a fair few more pictures to post. at the least two (2) sets. these are things i shall do likely sooner than later.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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