Nine go mad on the Breaksea

Some wise person once said to me, who has time to read blogs..let alone write them. Indeed, I have to concur. Blogging of late has been pretty difficult with all the small film making projects I have loaded myself up with. The latest act of self-prostitution involved getting invited to document a 6 day trip aboard the Breaksea Girl around Dusky, Breaksea and Doubtful Sounds.

Too good an opportunity to pass up so I talked nicely to the NHNZ production team I am working with and skipped out of the office with a camera and lost of wet weather gear. The trip was organised by the Caselberg Trust who assembled a group of well known local artists who will deliver a piece of work inspired by the voyage at a function in October next year. Not only was the trip completely spontaneous for me, I was also underdone in my knowledge of the area. From the captivating scenery which never let up, to the weather that was, WET, I engaged in a crash course of knowledge via the well stocked library on board. With captain Lance Shaw at the helm, we visited historic locations such as Astronomers Point, the Endeavour Wreck Site, the site of the first European house in New Zealand, Richard Henry's island and most importantly the site of the first beer brewed in New Zealand.

The artists themsleves were a diverse group with such interesting work. From the manic painting of Wayne Seyb who proved that painting in rain can be a liberating experience to the fascinating line drawings and words of Gregory O'Brien I was both in awe and slightly frustrated at how media shy these people were. Gradually they warmed to my ever present camera and if I ever got bored documenting the never ending waterfalls, storm sequences, seals, dolphins and rainbows I could always turn to Nigel Brown for a good soundbite. With any luck, the images will be an impressive as those etched on my memory.

Simply put, that area of Fiordland is awe-inspiring and I am incredibly fortunate to have seen it.

Well, its now many months later and I have finally loaded the video produced on the trip into YouTube.