Pictures of New Zealand

This past weekend we traveled to Henderson which is South of Auckland. The purpose was to visit a woodcarver's business we had heard about. The craftsman is Jiries Giacaman who had moved to New Zealand from Bethlehem 22 years ago with his wife and five children. Mr. Giacaman uses all New Zealand wood and is a true artist. We bought several pieces, one of which is the Holy Family. Mr. Giacaman's sweet wife asked us if we would like to see the workshop. This was a real treat. They gave us the grand tour and showed us how he does his carvings. Mr. Giacaman carved a Kiwi bird and then gave it to us as gift as well as a handcrafted tree ornament. We so enjoyed this delightful couple.

Mrs. Giacaman in their store

Rain with Mrs. Giacaman

Mr. Giacaman describing how he finds his wood.

This is a vault that he lets the wood dry for two to three years before he carves it.

Mr. Giacaman does a rough cut at the jigsaw

Shaping the wood

the Kiwi bird

These pictures are from a couple of weekend trips.

Near Orewa

Downtown Auckland

Auckland

Rain near Coramandel

Overlook of Coramandel

Everywhere you go it's green. The whole country looks like a golf course!

Near Cathedral Cove