Bone Idle

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Was glad I left the party early as we were up & out to try our hand at bone carving on Saturday morning. Originally myself & Debby were signed up to try Jade carving but the guy who ran that was away so we had to change. The hardest part was choosing which design to make. I chose a Maori Koru - a spiral taken from the new leaves of ferns that symbolises new life, growth, strength and peace. Mostly I chose it because I liked the simple spiral pattern that looks partway between the spiral and the fish hook designs! I was given my piece of bone (shin bone from cattle obtained from a friendly butcher) & traced my pattern onto it. The lady at the workshop then cut out the inner part of the pattern on a small band saw. I then used a mini belt & disc sander to take the bone back to the outline & then used a Dremel tool to round off the edges before taking the sand paper to it! After four grades of sandpaper (& a little help from the staff in smoothing the inner edges of the spiral) it as ready to be polished. So several of us from the bus now have our own unique souveniers to take home to remind of us our time out here. Although I think I may have to buy a greenstone (jade) pendant somewhere too before I go!

After this we left Barrytown waving goodbye to Cora & Sandra who had opted to stay - much to everyones amazement, not least the owners of the pub! A long drive later & we arrived in Franz Josef village & booked in for the walk/helihike tomorrow. Only myself, Jane, Elaine & Trouble are on the helihike, it should be a laugh. We are booked on the midday trip so we get a lie in too!

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Comments

[Dawn]

sounds like you're having fun
Hey mrs, just read your blog, am very jealous as it sounds like you're having a fab time and the photos look amazing. I can't believe I've been back at work for three weeks! I can't believe you did teh sky dive...not sure if I would have been brave enough! Stay safe and I look forward to catching up with you when you get back xxx