Stroll.....

After the conference had concluded I met Timmy and we strolled around town, working our way up to the beach. Tim wanted to see the ocean - he was surprised to find the water incredibly warm. That's Nelson for you! We sat down and watched the water for a half an hour before heading back to the hotel to pick up our bag. Then we were jet-setting, just 25 minutes, to Wellington.

Agapanthus.....

I knew I wasn't crazy. On the way into Nelson from the airport I could've sworn that I saw some pink agapanthus. I was sure. But as the week wore on I saw agapanthus everywhere in Nelson but only in purple or white. These are by far the most common colors and I figured they might be the only ones. Then, as I was trekking back into town from the WoW Muesum, I saw them. Pink agapanthus growing by the road. What beauties!

WoW 3......

With cars dancing in my head I backtracked and took a breath before stepping into the WoW gallery. I expected it to be overwhelming - the costumes are known for being beyond over the top- and it was! In the anteroom I found just five costumes but could've spent an hour marvelling at their construction, attention to detail and eery mystique. One featured what could only be described as an infinity scarf made from leaves, berries and twigs. Simply exquisite. Another was all zip ties, a full dress and headpiece. It was then I realized that I was gaping as I examined each costume.

I then stepped into the gallery proper where I was greeted by several stationary costumes set up off the ground. One was made of balloons. None were inflated but rather layered to give a patchwork effect with elaborate bodice and neckline decoration.

From there I turned around and saw a stage stretching across one long wall. On it there was one stationary costume made entirely of metal plating.

Next to her stood five costumes spinning on the biggest lazy susan I've ever seen. They rotated not only around the circle but each around its own center axis giving you an incredible view of the costumes from every angle.

In addition, there was a conveyor belt system mounted on the ceiling that suspended costumes and fed them around in a huge continuous loop at the front of the stage giving the observer an in depth look at the costumes that would be lost if they were displayed in a stationary position. I spent near an hour just watching the costumes rotate around the stage and attempted to take photos. With my phone and the low light of the gallery I captured very few decent snaps. With that said I'm still including these because I want to try and give you an idea of what it was like.

Laslty, there was a separate room illuminated by black light, featuring beautiful glowing costumes. I had to laugh that I was able to take better photos in this very dim room compared to the larger gallery!

Simply stunning! The photos completely FAIL to capture how incredible these costumes are!!

WoW 2.....

Then there was a decision to make: what to do first? Classic cars or WoW costumes? I decided to go with the cars first and save the WoW for last. So stepping through the right fork in the hallway I was immersed in not just classic cars but cars of all kinds. Beyond this showroom I found another warehouse sized room filled with even more cars! I was thinking, "They must have every classic car in all of NZ!".

WoW 1.....

After several days of total bliss we arrived at the conclusion of the conference. That morning I saw Timmy off and then packed up our stuff and checked out of our room at 10am. He had conference activities until the middle of the afternoon so I decided to take myself to the World of Wearable Art Museum (WoW). On a whim I splurged and took a taxi out, over three miles from town, and would then walk back. The ladies at the front desk were kind enough to call for me and soon I was whisked away to WoW.

I paid my "student" admission and turned to survey the lobby and adjacent cafe. The lobby, with windows on all sides, was filled with artwork from local artists. I was tempted to purchase more than one thing there. :)

Part way through the lobby I decided to pop into the restroom where I was greeted by the loudest mirror I've ever seen. Only at WoW.

From there I worked my way towards to proper exhibit halls taking in more local artwork.