Te Ara Atea

Late this afternoon I visited the newly opened Te Ara Atea. It's a mix of library, museum, and gallery. It's just extraordinary and I can't wait to return there.

It's a jewel for the Selwyn District and it's great to see Maori and European history on display.

Other than the stunning architecture and design, there's some very cool features - not all of them represented here.

The famous Rita Angus 'Cass' painting is depicted inside a counter. A model steam train goes past a small red Cass railway shed. It's very cool.

I played with the wooden block shapes and correctly posted them through the right holes to trigger each bird's call. I loved the native Kea (mountain parrot).

The woolen cave depicts the Selwyn district's natural landscape - cultivated plains, rivers, coast, and mountains. I need to find an excuse to do a puzzle on/in it.

Upstairs I was engrossed in loaned treasures from the Canterbury museum, both in cases and digitised to such a high resolution you can zoom into the detail on pounamu (greenstone or jade), and intricately woven shawls and flax capes.

Yes, there's books too, wonderful art work, and a very sharp cafe and lounge area.

I was a frequent flier at the old, small library. Te Ara Atea is going to be my go to local for much more than just picking up books.

It's been a tough few weeks with 3 friends passing away and a few other things. My time exploring it made me smile and filled my sad heart with joy.

Today's gratitude: For persevering with some tricky stuff at work this week. It needed sorting before my colleague leaves, and I've done it.