WANAKA - Earth to Heaven at Whare Kea - A celebration of Wanaka's artisans, adventurers and magnificent landscape

Author: Michal McKay
Photographs: Kieran Scott
Godwit - NZ$75.00
Publication date - 16 September


Titles like this beauty make book reviewing so rewarding! Gosh from the glorious map endpapers and French fold covers to the glorious photography, the boundless enthusiasm of Martyn & Louise Myer who commissioned the book, so well captured by author Michal McKay, the mouth-watering recipes by chef James Stapley, and the stunning design throughout all combine splendidly to make this is a coffee table book par excellence.It will be a long time I suspect before I see another book quite as beautiful as this one.
It’s the book for anyone who wants to have a little bit of alpine magic at home with them  —  whether they live in Wanaka, Wellington, Australia, London or the US.

It was more than twenty five years ago that Wanaka cast its spell over philanthropists, art patrons and great outdoor enthusiasts Martyn and Louise Myer, who hail from the Australian department store family.

Not only did they continue to return year after year with their kids to ski, run, kayak, mountain bike, climb and hike, such was their spiritual connection with this delightful alpine community that they then went on to build their beloved and elegant Whare Kea Lodge, and later their mountain Chalet high in the Southern Alps.

Being two of life’s great enthusiasts, the couple felt that the Wanaka region deserved a book that really celebrated the community, their stories and, of course, its spectacular surroundings —  which would also provide another platform to promote Wanaka to the high-end holiday market and attract more tourism dollars to the region.

Martyn and Louise engaged Michal McKay, former magazine editor and publisher, to write the Wanaka story; and Kieran Scott, one of the country’s top photographers, is responsible for the absolutely breathtaking pictures  —  on occasion capturing dramatic shots while hanging out of the helicopter on a harness.

The stunning result, ‘Wanaka: Earth to Heaven at Whare Kea’, is to  be launched at Whare Kea on Sunday, 25 September  —  when the Myers are over for the French vs All Blacks game  —  is the couple’s gift back to the community. It’s a celebration not only of the magical part of this world, but also a celebration of what makes Wanaka so unique.

Below are a handful of photographs which I have been allowed to reproduce here on the blog. Of course they do not do justice at all to the images in the book but they will give you an idea of why I am so excited about the book, and so proud and delighted to have a copy on my shelf. Don't miss it.

The bottom three shots show Maurice Watson, a master of saffron production with two shots of his saffron.


Footnote:
You have to hand it to GODWIT, an imprint of Random House NZ, they just keep producing these gorgeous books. They set the standard in NZ book publishing in this regard.


Here are some of the other titles they have published this year:

Bromeliads for the Contemporary Garden – Andrew Steen

The Art of Peter Siddell – Peter Siddell

Inside Stories: A History of the New Zealand Housewife 1890-1975 – Frances Walsh

Small Holes in the Silence: Collected Poems – Hone Tuwhare

New Zealand By Design: A History of New Zealand Product Design – Michael Smythe

And still to come is an exciting new title from Dick Frizzell (It's All About The Image) which I can't wait to get my hands on!