Paua (abalone) shells are beautifully iridescent on the inside. The shellfish itself is a popular food, often consumed as paua fritters and the gathering of paua is a much enjoyed recreational activity. Just saying, as I don’t gather or like to eat paua but I do love the beautiful shells and paua jewellery. When we were driving back roads on 01 November, Nigel spotted this unusual fence decorated with paua shells and stopped to photograph it. Very iconic New Zealand fence! This was in a small rural community between Balclutha and Clinton called Waiwera.
*Click on the photo to enlarge* (1st photo only)
Text by Liz, Photos by Nigel; Exploring Colour (2018)
Exploring Colour 
I love the pastel colors of the shells, Liz. I can imagine that the sun can really make them shimmer.
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Wow! That’s a great idea! I like that!
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Remarkable isn’t it? I like it too! 🙂
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Interesting – and I remember those shells so well. I bought one for my mother, who loves it. I have never seen anything like that fence or that house!
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Its a treat to come across surprises like this!
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What an interesting sight! If I’d driven by, I might have glanced over, and thought they were shiny oldtime hubcaps or something. Very neat!
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Hahaha! Yes they are very neatly arranged and also very shiny!
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Great, and thanks. Something I would never have seen.
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Wow. What an unusual material to use to decorate a fence. It seems like a lot of work went into the construction. I can imagine that they had to be really careful not to crack the shells as they affixed them to the fence.
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They’ve done a great job! Just had a thought.. you might be interested that a couple in Bluff decorated their whole lounge in paua shells and they were really famous. We visited many years ago and it was amazing! They’ve passed away but the room has been re-created by Canterbury Museum in Christchurch and you can get an idea from the photo at the musuem website: https://www.canterburymuseum.com/whats-on/fred-and-myrtle-paua-shell-house/
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