Mis-guide first written draft
This mis-guide aims to lead you through a beautiful piece of natural landscape, inviting you to consciously open your body and mind to world surrounding you.
Before we get started, I have a couple of requests in order for you to get the most of this experience as possible and to keep you and others safe.
Firstly, come with an open-mind. This mis-guide may prompt you to do out-of-the-ordinary things. You might feel a bit silly, a bit shy but let me assure you that this is all part of the fun. Of course, you are not obliged to do everything but please give it a go! Bring a friend if you need to moral support.
Go slow! This is key. Time moves in different ways for different beings. Our world is ever increasing in speed while the trees, the plants, insects and birds continue with the same rhythms of the ecosystem. Try and slow down to their pace.
Please be respectful of others! The interactive are designed for one or two people. I encourage you to break the mis-guide rhythm, flip to a few pages ahead until an interactive becomes free.
If you wish, bring some objects to make this mis-guide more interesting! Some suggested items could be: pillow, blanket, picnic, water, rain jacket (if it’s raining), scarf. Bring whatever objects you want and see if you can break or expand on the mis-guide prompts by incorporating your own spin on things!
Most importantly, have fun! Try the mis-guide a few different ways! Break the rhythm, do it backwards! Be conscious of time and your bodies presence in it.
Let the mis-guide begin …
Firstly, notice which end of the track you are. If you are at Oku Street, turn to the next page. If you have started from Servern Street, flip to page _.
Lookout 1 (looking over island bay)
Stop when you reach a marker that looks like this _
You are looking at Island Bay. This sweet little town leads a classic New Zealand coastal lifestyle, complete with suntanning summers and wild winters, despite it’s proximity to the city!
Our eyes are often referred to as the most prominent of senses, the ‘window to soul’. Hold this little window up towards the horizon line and you might see a ‘window into the past’. Can you line up the graphics with what already exists?
Island Bay was once a prominent fishing community. Many Italian migrants settled here from places such as Sorrento, Massa Lubrense, Stromboli and Capri. Equipped with the skills of fishermen, they set up a profitable fishing industry out the lush Cook Strait waters, shelters in the bay by the island in which the bay was named. The graphics in the ‘window to the past’ shows the boats and cottages owned by the Italian migrants.
Lookout point one gives you a magnificent view of the entire Island Bay suburb and beyond. See if you can spot the Marine Education Centre, formerly a bait shed as part of the fishing business.
The net is a symbol being caught, being trapped, the breaking of a net also symbolises being free. This commercial fishing trade existed from around 1900 until the early 2000s when the coastline was deemed at risk of being overfished. It is now starting to thrive as a marine reserve. Have a go at lying in the net. How does it feel knowing you can get out whenever you choose?
Lookout 2 (Tapu-te-ranga)
Some way of telling the story of Tapu-te-Ranga and the siege. An oral history written down only by Pakeha men - somewhat of telling the story orating with digital being involved?
Sit down. Cloak yourself in the materiality of the structure while you listen to the story.
Lookout 3 (Trig point/owhiro bay)
A point of notice in Oku Reserve is the trig station. As a strange post in the ground it actually provides a key point in New Zealand geographic data. Trig points are stationed between points in the land, always within sight of at least two other trig points. This forms a triangular system which can accurately measure angles between two trig points using trigonometry which then can be used to measure the distance around a country. A theodolite measures these angles. Twist the compass on the top of the trig station. See if you can line it up with the other trigs stations on the adjacent hillsides.
We don’t often think about what’s under our feet. How many layers of earth is there until you reach the centre? Find an interesting geological rock that makes you wonder which layer of the earth it came from.
Non-specific place (anywhere on track)
Stairs take us upwards. They take us downwards. Could they ever take us sidewards? Walk steps in as many different directions as you can! Sideways, left, right, diagonal? Where does it lead you?
As we are heading up the hill, notice what you can peep through the trees. Houses in the distance? Birds overhead?
Lie down somewhere. Take a pillow or a blanket and wrap yourself up. Get comfy and stay there a little longer than you really want. Let your mind drift while you watch the grass grow up around you. The clouds dance past, backdropped by a the bluest of blues as if in a theatre so unique every move is different.
Take notice of when man-made transitions with artificial. Material against material. Do they contradict, conflict with each other? Or do they meld, blend, interact together?
Find an object to listen to. Hold it to your ear. What does it sound like?
Notice the non-human. Watch it for a while, if you can. What is it doing? Is it going anywhere? What sounds does it make? Does it know you're there?
What time of day is it? Before you check your watch, answer by drawing where the sun is in the sky in comparison to the horizon.
Cross roads are often symbol of decision. Which way will you go? See where it takes. Then walk it again.
