Day 2: Whakatū (Nelson)
Nau mai
Inanahi, i whakatangi mātou ki Whakatū, Aotearoa
For once our flight was at a reasonable hour so I had the pleasure of enjoying a parakuihi that wasn’t procured at the airport. I enjoyed parāoa sourdough with pata and tomato, alongside a serving of huarākau huamata.
We headed to Wellington Airport and checked in before settling down to wait underneath the huge manu that are hung by airport management to terrorise visiting travellers.
Our waka rererangi was a De Havilland Q300, a short-range commuter aircraft with a pair of pleasantly loud Pratt & Whittney PW123 turboprop engines. It was a glorious day to be up in the air and it was a shame that the flight lasted a mere thirty minutes. We arrived to a crisp coastal breeze baked by a warm sun and garnished by the tang of jet fuel which hung in the air as we crossed the tarmac.
Nelson Airport is equipped with a small fleet of Astrolift TAZ-CIT-002s, a three wheel extruded aluminium design with a carrying capacity of 200kg and three advertising plates for a total of 0.46m2 display space – none of which was being utilised on the trolleys we used. They performed admirably on the short trip out to the pick-up area, the electromagnetic brake proving its worth on the small dip as we entered the pedestrian crossing.
Anthony Metcalf drove us to the hotel in another mid 2010s Toyota Hiace. The lobby spoke of attempted grandeur with wood panelling, chandeliers, a curved staircase, a fountain, and even a beautifully carved wooden relief of the hotel’s namesake Ernest Rutherford. The rooms were very standard but did feature a pull-out washing line in the bathroom.
Anthony let us have some free time before soundcheck so Jon and Tristan hustled off to the Nelson Classic Car Museum while I found a nice pub to do some writing. I ended up seated looking out onto a vibrant Trafalgar Street which had been commandeered by a pair of very animated buskers. They had displayed a sign that said ‘genre fluid’ which at first I thought was an ingratiating attempt at listener engagement but upon further reflection is probably their band name. The passers-by loved them and weren’t afraid to stop for a boogie.
A few of the immaculate 150 cars from 100 years of motoring you will find at the Nelson Classic Car Museum.
We were playing at the fabulous Nelson Theatre Royal, built more than a century ago but recently renovated to bring it up to modern safety and comfort standards. The front of house is original and the Victorian era décor has been lovingly restored but the back end has been completely rebuilt with a new stage, fly tower, orchestra pit, and dressing and rehearsal rooms.
📷 Liz Stokes
The show was opened up by Parallel Park, an up and coming five-piece from Whakatū that you wouldn’t realise still have a couple of years of high school left to finish. I was particularly impressed that their bassist Zach Irving had built his own instrument, a beautiful fretless bass made from native timber.
📷 Anthony Metcalf
After pack out we headed to the town cocktail bar for a small celebration, the mood of which is quite brilliantly captured in the below photograph.
Ka kite āno!