Nelson 2002 visit Day 1 and Day 2

Day 1 Saturday 25/5/02

I arrived in Nelson early on a beautiful Saturday morning, once I got off the plane I could taste the fresh air and sense the peacefulness of this lovely town.

For some strange reason, coming to Nelson gives me a sense of coming home; it must have been the lovely people and the landscape of this place? The hills are green, gentle and the sea sparkling like a sea of diamonds.

We drove for about 15 minutes to aunt Su-Hui’s (the dance teacher) lovely home, situated on a hill near the centre of New Zealand pole. From the house you can see the harbour in the distance, the centre of New Zealand pole is visible from the bay window, and at the foot of the hills there is the mighty Maitai River, gracefully flowing, bringing good fortune to this home. I took a deep breath and told myself how wonderful that this is the first day of my holiday and I am going to make the most of it!

Day 2 26/5/02

One of the attraction that caught my attention in Nelson was the flea market! I would have to say that this flea market is far more interesting than the one in Christchurch. Under the colourful tents there are displays of varieties of food, arts and crafts, as well as wines made from local wineries. Whilst browsing around, there was a lovely sound of  harp music playing in the background.

I met a Taiwanese couple at the market, they are selling beautiful origami cards and have been doing it for a while now. Professor Cheng is how I call him, he and his wife both used to be scientists in Taiwan, but now made Nelson their home. Professor Cheng has great skills making 3-D cards, that he sells every weekend, this is how they make a living now. I was fascinated to learn why and what made them change their occupation from a scientist to a paper craftsman? “Peaceful living” Professor Cheng told me.

Later that day, they invited me to have lunch at their house, the trip was about an hour away from central Nelson. If you can imagine a little wooden hut on an 1 acre land, out of nowhere deep in the mountain, you can get a picture to what their hut is like. Professor Cheng had built this place from scratch, he even had to purchase some power poles so they have electricity. Water was pumped from a stream nearby.  I was impressed to see his dedication and craftsmanship!

They don’t have any kids, but they are not lonely,  geese, ducklings and hens running around the property making it a very picturesque sight!

We had instant noodles for lunch, despite the cold weather outside, the fireplace has made the room warm and cosy. It was a wonderful experience meeting the both of them. They live very simple lives, yet extremely happy, it made me think twice about living in the city.

Being a graphic designer, I find his paper crafts to be very interesting, and making them into greeting cards really didn’t do justice to his works, some should be inside an art gallery for display…

Original hand-made 3D pop-up cards. Made by J&S Paper Crafts Riwaka Valley, Motueka New Zealand

To be continued…