Kiwi Bird

I was born and raised in the same suburb as Rusty (Mt Roskill), and I teach at his old grammar school. I remember when he was known as 'Russ le Roq' and was in a local production of "The Rocky Horror Show". But that is about the extent of our commonality. However I still remember the thrill when, as "The Gladiator", he urged his troops to "give them hill!" as his good old Kiwi vowels leaked through the Brit accent he used in that film.

Rangitoto (Fire in the Sky in Maori) is an Auckland icon - like Big Ben is to London or the Golden Gate to San Francisco. I love painting it because it is a perfect conical shape and it is the same no matter which direction you view it. It is visible from most parts of Auckland and it stands guard just outside the harbour. I painted this about 10 years ago.

These crater lakes are right in the middle of the North Is. The one in the foreground (called appropriately 'Crater Lake') is boiling water and still erupts from time to time. The last time was a few years ago. The one in the distance is Lake Taupo which is a very large cold water lake full of trout. When it erupted thousands of years ago the ash spread to the Northern Hemisphere - it was a very big bang!

There are hundreds of little islands dotted around NZ's coastline. You can buy one - they're not that expensive. As islands go.