Midwinter approaching. Cabin fever creeping up on me in the apartment. Yearning to smell the sweet fragrance of the damp forest…so I contacted my old tramping friend, Steph, and we decided to take off to Maungatautari, near Arapuni, 3 hours drive south of Auckland. www.sanctuarymountain.org.nz Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari is a remarkable mainland ecological island protected […]
Friday 15 March 2019: a day to remember with pain
March 19, 2019 by Leave a Comment
You will all have heard about the terrorist attack on Muslim people praying in two Christchurch mosques last Friday, 15 March. Our hearts go out to the families who have lost dear ones, and to all Muslim people in Aotearoa, whose hopes for a safe country to live in have been so cruelly shattered. E […]
Friday 8 February
February 19, 2019 by 1 Comment
34 years ago today Tanya came to dinner for the first time at Charmaine’s little cottage in Clarence Street, Ponsonby. And that, as many of you know, was the beginning of our relationship. We still share strong political beliefs and values in common, and mostly enjoy each other’s very different strengths. So we happily weave […]
Our neighbourhood…
May 18, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The Grey Lynn neighbourhood is diverse, colourful and fascinating. We go to the Farmers’ Market at the Community Centre every Sunday morning for our weekly fresh produce, and every Thursday for a Tai Chi session; and relish a coffee at one of the many cafes now and then. Charmaine walks, reacquainting herself with plane-tree-lined avenues, […]
Rēkohu
December 18, 2017 by 2 Comments
In the midst of our house sorting and packing process, Tanya woke up one morning with a dream of escaping to the Chatham Islands for Christmas. After a little research, she found that although there were no touism activities over Christmas, there were two places left on a small group “Forget-Me-Not” tour for a week […]
Orua Bay
December 18, 2017 by Leave a Comment
After venturing onto the eastern-most island of Aotearoa – Rekohu – with its unfamiliar landscapes and communities, it’s very comforting to drop back into our favourite seaside cottage- Lupin Lodge, at Orua Bay on the northern tip of the Awhitu Peninsula. We’ve been coming here together for short breaks for thirty years, beginning when we […]
Happy Solstice Greetings…
December 18, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Whether you are experiencing summer, as here, or your winter, in the North…wherever you are, we hope you enjoy a festive season with family and friends, and a fine new year to come. And we rejoice in the belief that at last we have a government in Aotearoa which, in the words of our Treaty […]
Nganeko – a personal tribute
July 18, 2017 by 1 Comment
On June 15 this year we lost a dear friend, Nganeko Minhinnick. We first met Nganeko in 1987, at a Forest and Bird Society meeting where she spoke about the mining by New Zealand Steel of the Maioro iron sand dunes, her people’s ancient burial area at the mouth of the Waikato River, and the […]
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