6. Hokitika - Page 3 - andrewg's Photos

NZ Part 6. On the road to Hokitika, New Zealand, in town, and moving on. December 2005.

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andrewg > The hand drill with a fresh bit is at the top of the image. Just below the bit are the two pieces of the bit I just broke. The drill bits are not terribly strong and not terribly sharp, so it takes a long time to make a hole. If you bend or twist the drill a couple of degrees while you're going, ZING the bit will just snap in two. At least it didn't shatter the bone! Below the drill is my pendant, and the result of the next series of smaller holes. Following Steve's advice, I placed them right up on the curves of the design to give me a head start on those shapes.

andrewg > The pendant with holes and the original paper template for reference. Hey, maybe this is going to work!

andrewg > Happy Andrew in his carving gear. I also had a face mask to prevent dust from going in my nose and mouth, and I wore a big smock to keep my shirt clean. The smock only kind-of worked; when you're creating clouds of white dust you're going to get some on you. But I was wearing one of my synthetic, quick-drying hiking shirts, so that night I just dunked it in water, smushed it up for a while, and hung it up to dry. In the morning it was good as new. The headphones weren't as good as earplugs, but they were a big help when other people started grinding their jade, which creates a lot of high-pitched noise.

andrewg > Andrew at work. Drill, drill, drill. Now spit.

andrewg > The finished pendant!

andrewg > A gorgeous stone texture on Bruce Beach.

andrewg > A gorgeous stone texture on Bruce Beach.

andrewg > Stones washed up on Bruce Beach. This is a gorgeous beach covered with these richly-textured stones. It's also sandfly heaven: tiny little stinging insects that make you itch and scratch like mad. While taking pictures of the stones a wave got my feet wet (I was wearing sneakers), so when I got back to the car I opened the rear hatch to switch into my sandals. When I was done, I closed the hatch, and then realized what I'd done: I'd inadvertantly compromised the sandfly-free interior of my car for a sandfly-dense interior. They were everywhere inside the car, for the simple reason that they were everywhere at Bruce Beach, and the inside of my car was just as interesting to them as anywhere else. When I finally climbed into the car, I was in the midst of a sandfly swarm. Opening the doors would do no good, and might only make it worse. So I spent the next 10 or 15 minutes sitting there, squishing sandflies one by one. I squished them against the windshield with my thumb, I squished them against the seat with the palm of my hand, I squished them against windows and headrests and my own skin. When I was done, the car (a rental, I'm happy to say) was decorated with a plethora of little yellow streaks of sandfly innards goo, punctuated with a little dot of black from what was left of its wings and body. I know that the Buddha would not have approved. But even the Buddha would have squished these things. They're just... well, they're sandflies and deserve no mercy. Finally I was able to start the car and drive. Over the next 15 minutes or so I managed to get the last few stragglers, and then I was free of them again. I did get bit, of course, about a half-dozen times, mostly on my legs, but it could have been much worse. I swore I would keep the inside of my car a sandfly-free zone if I possibly could, and generally I was able to do that for the rest of my time in New Zealand. But before all that happened, I got a bunch of pictures of beautiful rocks!

andrewg > Stones washed up on Bruce Beach.

The hand drill with a fresh bit is at the top of the image. Just below the bit are the two pieces of the bit I just broke. The drill bits are not terribly strong and not terribly sharp, so it takes a long time to make a hole. If you bend or twist the drill a couple of degrees while you're going, ZING the bit will just snap in two. At least it didn't shatter the bone! Below the drill is my pendant, and the result of the next series of smaller holes. Following Steve's advice, I placed them right up on the curves of the design to give me a head start on those shapes.

> The hand drill with a fresh bit is at the top of the image. Just below the bit are the two pieces of the bit I just broke. The drill bits are not terribly strong and not terribly sharp, so it takes a long time to make a hole. If you bend or twist the drill a couple of degrees while you're going, ZING the bit will just snap in two. At least it didn't shatter the bone! Below the drill is my pendant, and the result of the next series of smaller holes. Following Steve's advice, I placed them right up on the curves of the design to give me a head start on those shapes.

The hand drill with a fresh bit is at the top of the image. Just below the bit are the two pieces of the bit I just broke. The drill bits are not terribly strong and not terribly sharp, so it takes a long time to make a hole. If you bend or twist the drill a couple of degrees while you're going, ZING the bit will just snap in two. At least it didn't shatter the bone! Below the drill is my pendant, and the result of the next series of smaller holes. Following Steve's advice, I placed them right up on the curves of the design to give me a head start on those shapes.

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Keywords: set holes second hokitika new zealand

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