A KIWI JOURNEY by Dick Morton September 2003, spring is just around the corner; flowering bulbs are at their best; many trees like the yellow flowered Kawhai Sophora Tetraptera are in bloom; there is a warmth in the air and Bonsai are showing signs of growth. But not here in Canada eh? June and I are in New Zealand once again, as a result of an invitation to join our friends at a Bonsai Convention in Christchurch. This all started about 2 years ago when I was asked to recommend a Canadian Bonsai expert to headline the convention. With the wealth of talent in the TBS this was a difficult choice so I sent off a list of names of our members whom I knew could be relied on to give a knowledgeable and entertaining presentation. These names were literally placed in a hat and Reiner's name was drawn. This was the opportunity for June and I to revisit what has to be one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Certainly the people are the friendliest we have ever met and we have visited many countries. We decided that, as we spent most of our time on the South Island on our previous visit, on this trip we would concentrate on the North Island. We flew via Air New Zealand business class, courtesy of several thousand "Air miles" to "The City of Sails", Auckland, and landed on Thursday morning at 5.00 am. Two of our friends Bob Langholme and Simon Misdale met us and escorted us in our rental car back to their home. Bob has a very extensive Bonsai collection having had access to many discarded trees through his employment with the City Domain (parks department). That evening we attended the Auckland Bonsai Society meeting and helped with the "bring your own " workshop. Bob has studied Bonsai in Japan and California and was recently awarded the title of "Bonsai Master" by the Japanese Ambassador to New Zealand. He is very busy giving classes in his home and at the local college to local horticultural societies. His most recent endeavor has been to make his own Bonsai pots; he is developing his own style of decoration. Before leaving for our trip he presented us with his latest creation. Friday morning saw us on the road, first south for an hour or so for a business meeting and then north to the Bay of Islands. We stayed for several days in a small seaside town, Paihia, in the Bay of Islands. From there we took a bus tour to Cape Rienga which is the most northern part of New Zealand; this is where the Maori's believe that when they die their souls take off for their ancestral home land. The problem is that no living Maori know exactly where their people originated!! Returning from Cape Rienga we drove down a river, yes that's correct, we were on the riverbed where, fortunately, the water was only few inches deep. Close to the coast we stopped on the riverbank so that we could take advantage of the sand dunes. The luggage compartment was opened up, out came the surfboards and within minutes the more hardy souls were surfing down the dunes. Some of the dunes (not ours) were several hundred feet high and covered in teenaged surfers. Back in the bus we continued down stream to the sea and "90 Mile Beach" - actually it's only about 64 miles long. Off down the beach at 100 kph with a photo stop along the way. We only saw about 6 people on the beach during the whole trip. We made a stop at the Ancient Kauri Kingdom furniture and craft store. Kauri Agathis Australisis is a species of tree that at one time covered 75% of the North Island. After extensive logging in the 19th century only some 142,000 acres of Kauri forest remain. It is now illegal to cut down Kauri even on private land. All of the Kauri being used today are retrieved from swampland and have been carbon dated depending on location at between 35,000 and 50,000 years old. We visited Waipoua Forest where we saw Te Matua Ngahare (Father of the Forest) which is 98 ft high and has a diameter of 17' 2" and Tane Mahuta (God of the Forest) 169 ft high and 14' 4" in diameter. The largest tree retrieved from the swamp was 28 ft thick. The colour of the wood depends on the mineral content of the swamp and varies from red to almost black. Another day was spent on board a sight seeing boat. The company that runs the trips has also delivered supplies and mail to the outlying islands since early in the 1900's, all at no charge. We were unable to go all the way through the famous "hole in the rock", as the sea was too rough. The skipper also took us within 10 feet of a group of seals, which did not seem to mind us at all. After 10 days in the Northland we flew to Christchurch for the Bonsai Convention. Reiner and Craig Cousins were the headliners with Reiner kicking off the demos on Friday evening working on a Pinus Radiata which was close to his own height. Craig worked on a large Juniper on Saturday. There were 2 workshops with a variety of conifer species and then both Reiner and Craig combined to work on 2-multi trunk Blaawi Junipers that eventually were to end up as one planting on a large slab. This material proved to be quite a challenge. Time however ran out and the second group was not finalized until Monday at a special workshop held for club members only. This whole planting was raffled off and was purchased by one of the members to become part of the Bonsai collection at the botanical gardens. That Bonsai collection has suffered from years of neglect and is situated in an unsuitable location. The young lady has quite a challenge to restore the collection to a meaningful state. There were just over 100 attendees at the convention, which made it the largest to date in New Zealand. The convention rotates between the North and South Island each year. There are several people producing Bonsai Pots in N.Z. and at least one person is making very nice stands. I, of course, had to purchase a stand and some pots. Reiner also picked up one or two slabs, which were very attractive. The convention was held in a college that has quite extensive facilities - an auditorium, meeting rooms, display area in the foyer and dining hall were all in one building. Those of us who stayed at the college had double rooms in one building with breakfast being served in another. On the Monday following the convention, Reiner and Craig gave a workshop for club members who were not permitted to take the workshops at the convention. After the convention June and I took a trip on the Alpine Express Train to Arthur's Pass in the Southern Alps. There 4 of us were met by our guide who took us way out in the back country. We were on the Flock Hill sheep station, which is quite small by NZ standards being only 35,000 acres in size. It took 2 hours by 4-wheel drive to reach our destination only to discover that the river was so high that we had to retrace our journey in the vehicle. When we reached the sheep station buildings, the shearers were just starting to work. On this station they shear by hand as it is too cold to shear the sheep right down to the skin. 2 days later they had a metre of snow. As we drove through the sheep station we realized that there were hundreds of Scots Pines scattered over the hills. These are considered a noxious weed, as they will grow so rapidly they force out the native grasses. Groups of students will visit the stations and hack the trees off at the base. As the trees are only a metre high and subject to very windy snowy conditions they appeared to be ideal Bonsai material. I was surprised the Bonsai Clubs did not take advantage of the situation. Especially as no vegetation of any kind is permitted to be imported into the country. This visit to New Zealand had 4 main objectives. First to conduct some business, second attend the Bonsai Convention, third sight seeing and visiting friends and fourth to once again try to locate a park bench that I made 50 years ago. The bench was carved with the town coat of arms and had a plaque attached commemorating the occasion. This was presented from my hometown, Christchurch in England to Christchurch New Zealand on the occasion of their centenary. I had been told that the bench was outside the Cathedral but no one there knew of it. From the Cathedral I was directed to the local council chambers, after 4 telephone calls the receptionist took me around a partition and there it was. It is still in pristine condition. The next day I returned to take some photos only to be met by the International "Twin Cities" co-ordinator and had to have my photo taken with the mayor and some of the councilors. They presented me with a beautiful book about Christchurch and published an article in the council newsletter. Altogether a rewarding and enjoyable working vacation, with an invitation to attend the convention in Auckland in 2006