Charmaine’s cousin Audrey had her 90th birthday at the end of January , and we took a trip to Wellington/Whanganui-a-Tara for her party. We have quite a few lesbian friends in Wellington whom we hadn’t seen for some time, so we stayed four nights, and caught up with several of them. Our AirBnB purpose-built cottage […]
Tai Haruru
February 19, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Soon after our return from Wellington we went for a few days to North Piha to stay in the lovely Forest and Bird house, Tai Haruru, again. It’s a very restful place in the bush, old-fashioned and well-furnished for five in the house and another four in a separate self-contained flat. Tanya had her 40th […]
…and finally, a good place to stay…
December 19, 2018 by Leave a Comment
…a small town whose population increases from 3000 to 10,000 for a couple of weeks over Christmas and New Year, every year, but outside this peak Christmas period offers a lively, diverse community, every outdoor activity you can think of , and outstanding places to stay, to eat, and to explore: Whaingaroa-Raglan As part of […]
Creativity in the City…
November 18, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Architects… Taiga, our 9-year-old friend from Earthsong, joined us for a day exploring the work of some of Aotearoa’s leading architects. Fifteen central Auckland architecture firms held open days, and we managed to spend time at four, talking with staff and looking at current project models, past work images and futuristic designs. Taiga had two […]
Whakaalofa lahi atu…on The Rock…
August 19, 2018 by 3 Comments
Niue is a tiny emerald island set in the deep blue and grey of the vast Pacific Ocean. “The Rock”, as it’s called by Niueans in Aotearoa, is a coral atoll twice raised by underwater volcanic action, and now encircled by a 64km coastal road. The coast is indented with coves and chasms, and just […]
A local journey..
August 19, 2018 by 3 Comments
For Tanya’s birthday on 16 August, we went on a voyage of discovery to Onekiritea/Hobsonville . We caught an early morning Richmond Road bus to the city, walked to Pier 4 near the downtown Ferry Buildings and caught the 9.00am commuter launch on its return to Hobsonville in the upper Waitemata Harbour (plenty of […]
Ngā Maunga o Tāmaki Mākaurau
May 18, 2018 by 2 Comments
After two months in our apartment we feel settled, and are increasingly appreciating the environment around us. Tāmaki Mākaurau is a city of fifty volcanoes, nestled between two harbours. The rooftop deck of our apartment building offers amazing 36o degree views of volcanoes, harbours and islands. Tanya has captured views of some of the […]
Closer to home…
May 18, 2018 by 2 Comments
Closer to home… The rooftop provides other interesting views… …and then there are the birds, of course, announcing themselves from steeples and other high perches To our surprise, the most obtrusive birds on our rooftop are not the expected urban pigeons and mynahs, but our loud friends from the paddocks at Awhitu- the gurgling magpies and screeching spur-winged […]
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