As we travelled throughout the country in pursuit of aspects of our vernacular landscapes, we also encountered many cultural phenomena that are separate to the subject of the book. These included significant works of architecture, rare native plants and landscapes, and objects that are best classed in the category of ‘Miscellanea’.

A particularly fine example of the latter grouping greeted us as we looked around the shores of Lake Alexandrina, during our first research trip (to inland Canterbury - notably the impressive landscapes of the Mackenzie Basin). Evidently, some inventive types while away periods of their holidays by playing ‘Holeball’; a simple game that appears to involve throwing a ball at one of three holes in what looks like an old picnic table. Apparently confined to one site in the centre of the South Island at present, Holeball could well be making its way elsewhere this summer.