Windy Day on the Muddy River

The first omen was the fresh wind blowing headlong up the river. The second was the shabby looking boats, and the third was Alan breaking the rudder on the double kayak. ‘No worries’, said Alan, I’ve done that before. The boat’s a bit tippy but you’ll be fine.’ We are on the winding historic Waihou [...]

Te Aroha – kayaks, hot pools, tapas and the mountain of love

Te Aroha is a rural town in the Waikato region of New Zealand with a population of 3,768 (2006 census).[1] It is 53 km northeast of Hamilton and 50 km south of Thames. It sits at the foot of 952-metre Mount Te Aroha, the highest point in the Kaimai Range. (from Wikipedia) GOOGLE MAPS Te Aroha is [...]

A Fishwife Tale – Bay of Plenty

Dianne Sharma-Winter writes: The setting sun cloaked the evening sky in shades of pinky pastel, highlighting the active volcano of White Island that dominates the coastline around here. A woman wandering by grabs a knife and in swift strokes, beheads the three struggling Kahawai on the beach.   “No taste like it,” she sighs in satisfaction. [...]

A Road Trip – Auckland to Tauranga

Late summer, a meeting in Tauranga – why not make the most of it, and turn it into a road trip to show my girlfriend Liz a bit more this amazing country. I checked the map – there are two main routes to Tauranga (though there are probably hundreds more diversions if you want them!). [...]

A short trip to Rotorua and Whakatane – The Bay of Plenty

It was time for a break – I decided to go and visit friends Kate and Lyn from Driftwood Dreamers who live at Opotiki. Driftwood Dreamers offer women’s tours in New Zealand – see their tours here. The Luge in Rotorua On the way I picked up a friend Linda in Rotorua where I have [...]