#2225 ... Flax

New Zealand Flax is a plant that has played an important part in the cultural and economic history of New Zealand for both the Māori people and the later European settlers. The two native species and their cultivars are also used as garden plants. New Zealand Flax describes the common New Zealand perennial plants Phormium tenax and Phormium colensoi, known by the Māori names harakeke and wharariki respectively. They are quite distinct from the Northern Hemisphere plant known as flax (Linum usitatissimum), but the genus was given the common name 'flax' by Anglophone Europeans as it too could be used for its fibres. Phormium produces long leaf fibres that have played an important role in the culture, history, and economy of New Zealand. P. tenax occurs naturally in New Zealand and Norfolk Island, while P. colensoi is endemic to New Zealand. Both species have been widely distributed to temperate regions of the world as economic fibre and ornamental plants. When the Māori came to New Zealand, they brought with them the paper mulberry plant from which they made bark cloth for clothing. The paper mulberry did not flourish and a substitute material was found in the native flax. As Captain Cook wrote: “Of the leaves of these plants, with very little preparation, they (the Māori) make all their common apparel; and of these they make also their strings, lines and cordage …”. They also made baskets, mats, and fishing nets from the undressed flax. The Māori practised advanced weft twining in phormium fibre cloaks. Plaiting and weaving (raranga) the flax fibres into baskets were but only two of the great variety of uses made of flax by Māori who recognised nearly 60 varieties, and who carefully propagated their own flax nurseries and plantations throughout the land. Leaves were cut near the base of the plant using a sharp mussel shell or specially shaped rocks, more often than not greenstone (jade, or pounamu). The green fleshy substance of the leaf was stripped off, again using a mussel shell, right through to the fibre which went through several processes of washing, bleaching, fixing, softening, dyeing and drying. The flax fibre, called muka, is laboriously washed, pounded and hand wrung to make soft for the skin. The cords (muka whenu) form the base cloth for intricate cloaks or garments (kākahu) such as the highly prized traditional feather cloak (kahu huruhuru). Different type of cloaks, such as Kahu Kiwi and Kahu Kākā, were produced by adorning them with colourful feathers from different native birds, such as kiwi, kākā (parrot), tui, huia and kererū (woodpigeon). Fibres of various strengths were used to fashion eel traps (hinaki), surprisingly large fishing nets (kupenga) and lines, bird snares, cordage for ropes, baskets (kete), bags, mats, clothing, sandals (paraerae), buckets, food baskets (rourou), and cooking utensils etc. The handmade flax cording and ropes had such great tensile strength that they were used to successfully bind together sections of hollowed out logs to create huge ocean-going canoes (waka). With the help of wakas, pre-European Māori deployed seine nets which could be over one thousand metres long. The nets were woven from green flax, with stone weights and light wood or gourd floats, and could require hundreds of men to haul.[5] It was also used to make rigging, sails and lengthy anchor warps, and roofs for housing. Frayed ends of flax leaves were fashioned into torches and lights for use at night. The dried flower stalks, which are extremely light, were bound together with flax twine to make river rafts called mokihi.

#2224 ... Great local taste

A great local taste from Kereru Brewing, Upper Hutt

#2223 ... Young & Old

The brash young bike and the old classic ... Featherston Street

#2222 ... RGBYGRL

Sara, who is passionate about our National sport, catching up on the latest rugby news while waiting for the flight to Wellington ... loved the corporate blonde look mixed with the rugged game. THANKS Sara

#2221 ... Zen Tattoo

Zen, with tattoo, taking in the fresh air and sunshine in the grounds of Parliament ... THANKS for the chat and the photo

#2220 ... Sculptured Egg

Investigating the egg ... Courtenay Place. One hundred of these eggs have been placed around New Zealand as part of the Whittaker’s Big Egg Hunt – the first event of its kind Down Under which showcases giant eggs designed by top New Zealand artists all in support of Starship. New Zealand’s leading artists and designers have turned giant eggs into unique masterpieces. 100 eggs are hidden throughout Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in historic, landmark and public spaces where you will be able to join the hunt and go into the draw to win the ultimate prize – a unique 340g 18ct Gold Whittaker’s Slab, which has been made by Partridge Jewellers. The Whittaker’s Big Egg Hunt aims to raise funds for the Starship Foundation, a charity which supports the national children’s hospital to provide world-leading care for almost 120,000 patient visits each year. As part of the partnership with Starship, Whittaker’s is donating at least $150,000 to Starship through specially marked products in participating stores by donating 10 cents from every iconic 50g Peanut Slab, 20 cents from every pack of its top selling Fairtrade Creamy Milk block and 20 cents from its Creamy Milk Easter Mini Slabs sold throughout the hunt. Starship will also raise funds by auctioning off all 100 giant eggs – with 80 to be auctioned on Trade Me and the other 20 to be sold at a gala event in April.

#2219 ... HOTY 2014

Preparing for the Horse of the Year event i nhastings ... WDP on Tour

#2218 ... Walkie Talkie

Walking and talking in Cuba Mall

#2217 ... Tractored

Reinventing the wheel ... well maybe the use of it ... Hue and Hanh on a Takapau farm ... and enjoying the experience.

#2216 ... Natural Faces

Hue and Hanh .. two delightful young ladies from Ho Chi Minh ... who did the Hawkes Bay farm tiji tour with me. Han was our homestay student for two years.

#2215 ... Blonde

shapes, textures, and blond hair .. Dragon Boat Festival, Wellington Harbour

#2214 ... The face of farming

Will Foley ... the face of farming ... Takapau. A neat young guy who is also the Federated Farmers President for the region ... we spent an amazing afternoon on Will's farm while on the way to Napier. THANKS WILL.... WDP on Tour

#2213 ... Bouys by the numbers

Numbered lane marker bouys for the Dragon Boat Festival.

#2212 ... Lone Scooter

A lonely scooter parked on Queens Wharf.

#2211 ... Rest on Cuba

Taking a seat and rsting the feet ... Cuba Street

#2210 ... Team Tactics

The Pulse netball team getting tactical instruction at half time ... TSB Arena, Queens Wharf

#2209 ... Yellow Dragon

A uniform for the man who steers the dragon boat ... very appropriate theming!! The Lagoon, Waterfront

#2208 ... Morning Glow

The mornig glow on Porirua Harbour ... illegally stopped on the motorway to get the photo.

#2207 ... Sitting Pretty

Sitting, eating ... Queen's Wharf.

#2206 ... Sitting on the ...

Sitting on the dock of the bay ... Wellington Harbour

#2205 ... Coffee

a sunny coffee at the Dragon Boat Festival... The Lagoon, Frank Kitts Park

#2204 ... Birds of a feather

Birds of a feather flock together ... seagull and choppers, Queens Wharf

#2203 ... Live On Air

Localised live radio during the Festival of the Arts .. every day at Midland Park.

#2202 ... Pink Boxing?

I met Klakidan with her Dad in Harvey Normans ... awesome boots young lady!!

#2201 ... Rugby Face

the face for the Hurricanes ... and sadly it didn't help us ... we lost !!

#2200 ... Meet at Mojos

Morning coffee meeting place ... Mojos Lambton Quay

#2199 ... Another Day ... Another Dollar

On the way to work in the morning ... northern end of the CBD ... bus station in the background

#2198 ... Kumoto Morning

On the way to Mojos on the Waterfront for a morning coffee ... and this is the view across the harbour ... awesome city. THANK YOU.

#2197 ... Educated Backpacks

These students from St Mary's College were very obliging and posed for this image ... educated backpacks in the morning ... Thorndon. "THANK YOU young ladies and have a successful year at college"

#2196 ... Two out of Three

Two of the amazing Sole Mio (stylised as SOL3 MIO) performing in Rotorua ... WDP on Tour
SOL3 MIO is a New Zealand musical trio consisting of brothers Pene Pati and Amitai Pati and their cousin Moses Mackay. Of Samoan descent and classically trained, the Pati brothers are operatic tenors and Mackay is a baritone.The group's self-titled debut album, featuring an operatic take on a range of traditional and popular songs, was the biggest selling album in New Zealand in 2013.

#2195 ... John Rowles

John Rowles at the Lakeside Concert, Rotorua ... WDP on Tour 
John Edward Rowles OBE (born 26 March 1947) is a New Zealand singer. He was most popular in the 1970s and early 1980s, and best known in New Zealand for his song Cheryl Moana Marie, which he had written about his younger sister. Rowles was born in Whakatane, New Zealand, and is part Māori. His father, Eddie Hohapata Rowles, played for the 1938 Māori All Blacks. His mother was Pākehā. He was brought up in Kawerau, in the North Island of New Zealand. Rowles' birth name was simply John Rowles; he added the middle name "Edward" after his brother of that name died at a young age.[1] Rowles is best known in New Zealand and Australia, though he has also performed in the United States, particularly Las Vegas, Nevada and Hawaii, where he was managed by Kimo Wilder McVay. In the United Kingdom he was best known for the hit "If I Only Had Time", which reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart in spring 1968, and stayed in the chart for eighteen weeks.[2] This was a cover version of the French song "Je n'aurai pas le temps" with which the French singer Michel Fugain, had a hit in 1967. Rowles had another Top 20 hit in the UK with "Hush... Not a Word to Mary", also in 1968