Cool garden sculpture, Oamaru

 As my family and I wandered towards the historic precinct of Oamaru, 

we passed the most amazing garden.....

The first thing I saw was the cross and I wondered if it was a pet grave, 

.....

as we walked past I saw the gravestone and the skulls and bones...

photo by Lucy Gray

....if you look at the house carefully, on right there is a huge insect and another just under the eaves on the left....what weird land were we passing through???

and then I spotted it.  It was huge and primitive.  Guardian of the graveyard....

photo by Lucy Gray

...a giant weta!

photo by Lucy Gray

When I popped back to the car after lunch to off load some purchases I could not resist the opportunity to take some photos.  I love seeing art and sculpture in gardens and in unusual places.  In New Zealand you can see giant butterflies on houses - usually Monarch butterflies.  Compared to the quaint English village where I grew up, it seemed kitsch and a bit odd.  When I bought my own house I thought about getting a giant butterfly installed but as my house faces the harbour and is battered by coastal winds I thought a butterfly would look a bit out of place.  Instead, I have a few unusual objects in my garden - one of my favourite is 

photo by Lucy Gray

my very own sphinx!