“The beauty of travel, as of love or terror, is that it regularly turns all your ideas on your head and reminds you that you really know nothing at all.” Pico Iyer I’m used to a land crunched up on itself. The force of two tectonic plates grinding together […]
I saw my first real hand gun in Chicago. It was 1975 and I was on my way to Minnesota. I was edgy. Back home, I’d seen Starsky and Hutch on the Tele – if there was a gun someone always used it and someone always got hurt. The […]
An hour’s drive south of Napier, past the tiny settlement of Otane, the small town of Waipawa (Misty River, in English) nestles between the hills and the Waipawa river. It’s purportedly one of the oldest inland towns in New Zealand. And it is small, even by […]
Outside it’s dreary. We’re not seeing much of the sun. There’s no growth in the garden. It’s only seventy-one days until spring a friend of mine said on Facebook. Well, I thought, that’s a relief. Tonight I’ll be celebrating the solstice by going to a beach […]
My Dear Dream Reader, You may remember a post from our road trip, all about Mount Taranaki. After days of waiting he finally revealed his true glory. And I showed my appreciation by clicking hundreds of photos on my phone. From each new vantage point I snapped […]
Begin at the beginning they say but for this post I’m beginning at the end. We were home, the first load of washing in the machine, our dog still running about the place with excitement and a dash of relief at our return, and I had a cup […]
Completing our Loop the Loop of the Central North Island It was a cracker day for the last of our holiday. A slight frost, steam rising from the hillsides as the sun warmed the paddocks, not a breath of wind – Joni Mitchell on the playlist, the road […]
Opunaki to Te Kuiti: The story of a remarkable sales pitch and how there is always room for one more custard square. The small town of Piopio is about twenty-seven kilometres from Te Kuiti. What Piopio lacks in population (Wikipedia says 468 people lived there in 2001) it […]
All Good Things Come to Those Who Wait! Today has been all about the volcano. Taranaki finally revealed himself and I am enchanted. These are the best four of the 100+ photos I took with my iPhone today.
Stratford to Opunaki: A History Lesson and a Little Bit of Lit to Boot! We travelled a long way today: thirty-six kilometres. At this rate we’ll have to extend our holiday by another week.The good news is that the weather on this side of Mt Taranaki is warmer […]
Jill's Scene 
The korero