Shaken, not stirred!

by Sue Wild

If you are woken from deep sleep by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake centred less than 100 kms from your bed, the Old Nurses Home Guesthouse in Reefton is the perfect place to be. Opened in 1949 by Mabel Howard MP, it is a solid timber building that survived the nearby Inangahua earthquake and knows how to stand strong. We sixteen soft watercolour artists were shepherded outside by a fellow occupant, Mitch, trained by the New Zealand Army. He and his troop kindly made copious cups of tea for blanket-wrapped, wide-eyed folk, calmed us and saw us back to bed.

This unusual experience added to three days of memorable outdoor painting, most of it in sunshine. The area is an artist’s paradise. At every ten metres, there’s a subject begging to be painted: wafting misty clouds casting challenging shadows on the purple hills; dozens of picturesque buildings in various states of repair dating from as far back as the 1870’s when the town mushroomed on discoveries of gold and coal; the river and side creeks, native bush and rhododendron - colourful gardens; rusting machinery of all descriptions and even bearded locals willing to be portrayed. We could have painted for a month and still had a rich fund of new material.


We were delighted to have the company of new member Heather Plowman from Nelson and her daughter, Shannon, visiting from Cambodia, Leonie Avery who joined us from Westport, and Adrienne Pavelka and her friend from Lyttleton. Thanks to Jan Jeffery for creating delicious food for our expanding group. Thanks to everyone for delightful company and a wonderful trip.

If you are wishing you had come, consider joining the next Safari to Flock Hill in the Canterbury alpine hills.

Reefton by Robyn Eastgate-Manning

Spring Safari to Reefton 2016

Friday 11 to Tuesday 15 November 2016.

Spend a long weekend with fellow artists, painting outdoors and socialising in the lovely old town of Reefton. Make new friends. Reefton is a small town about 80 km northeast of Greymouth, in the valley of the Inangahua River, with a population of about 1000 and an array of historic buildings and local characters.

As we have a ferry crossing and four hour drive to Reefton, we will want to stay three days. We’ll share rental van/s, or take your own car. Those who work may wish to fly to Nelson and hire a car.

We’ll stay in “The Old Nurses Home”, a pleasant guesthouse. For this safari we’ll eat out one night and cook our own shared dinners on others. On Monday afternoon, we’ll hold a small exhibition of our watercolours, before heading home on Tuesday. Partners and friends are welcome.

For further information on the Safari, email bookings@watercolournewzealand.nz