Spring Art Safari to Tokaanu, a small village in at the south end of Lake Taupo. 20 members enjoyed four days of shared painting, exploring and laughs.

Tokaanu is situated in a pleasant quiet spot. There is plenty to paint: steaming mineral pools and sputtering mud pools dotted along a native bush walk, a jetty, moored boats, historic church and more – all waiting to be captured in watercolour.

Twenty members gathered recently in the village of Tokaanu for a happy weekend of painting and laughter. People came from all across the North Island to rekindle old friendships and make new ones. The weather obliged. The Tokaanu area offers a good variety of painting subjects from spectacular views to close nature encounters. There were artists on mountain sides, in river beds, along jetties and under bridges. The challenging subject of the safari was painting the beautiful golds and viridians of thermal pools and the chocolate brown of bubbling mud while sulphur-flavoured steam wafted over you.

Many a brush, and even a camera, was mislaid amid the keen focus. Albie McCabe received the WNZ
Wally Award for worst brush loss ... and retrieval. We impressed ourselves with a display of wonderful paintings and share some here. The safari was completed with a delicious meal en plein air cooked by Jan Jeffery.