From Turanganui-a-kiwa to Te Wairoa: on the inland road… From Gisborne, the inland road leads across plentiful plains, up into rugged hill country , and then descends into Tiniroto, Frasertown and Wairoa. A side road took us to Tiniroto village – pub, school, community garden and a couple of houses clustered above the lake. A hospitable publican […]
Te Wairoa…(Wairoa)
October 19, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Te Wairoa itself has all the charm to be a thriving town. The shops and cafes stretch along the edge of the river, colourful and cared-for. Houses are plentiful – and unbelievably cheap, around $100,000 for a modest bungalow . But there aren’t enough paying jobs. The Wairoa Freezing Works, once a major thriving employer […]
Kotare Village and Koanga Institute
October 19, 2016 by Leave a Comment
We’ve known Kay Baxter and Bob Corker for more than 25 years. They did design plans for our land at Awhitu, and our orchards were planted with Kay’s recommended varieties of heritage deciduous and subtropical plants. We have a huge respect for their work over the years. So we decided to go to an Open […]
Spring Equinox greetings from Earthsong…
September 19, 2016 by 1 Comment
A rhythmic chorus of frogs and a coloratura tui wake us at 5 am each day here at Earthsong. As Tanya’s photo above shows, the frogs are afrogging in our pond. And the tuis are acrobatting in the tallest trees. Auckland in spring is tempestuous – sudden gusts and showers, days of rain followed by frosty nights […]
Inside Out
September 19, 2016 by Leave a Comment
We’ve had four very different experiences in the last week which could all be called “Inside Out”- very fitting for spring weather, this time of challenge, change and new growth: • Gurmon Sup (“Dark Forest”, an installation at Te Uru Gallery by an Auckland-based Korean artist and tomato grower) • New Voices (readings […]
Inside and Outside the “Dark Forest”
September 19, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Gurmon Sup (translated into English as “Dark Forest“) was an extraordinary installation at Te Uru Gallery in Titrangi by Jae Kang, an Auckland-based Korean artist and passionate tomato grower. She used recycled irrigation materials to create sinuous snakes and coils, piles of black polyethylene tubes, pipes and fixings invading rooms, hanging down the handsome golden spiral staircase […]
Secrets make you sick…Shot Bro!
September 19, 2016 by Leave a Comment
In 2009, Rob Mokaraka, well-known actor and TV personality, became suicidal, and threatened police with a meat cleaver, apparently wanting to be killed. He was shot, outside his home in Point Chevalier, and spent a long time healing, both physically and emotionally, after being diagnosed as having suffered for many years from depression. Now, in 2016, […]
Walking for Peace
June 19, 2016 by 4 Comments
We’ve just been to Taranaki to join the Pakeha Hikoi for Peace– a walk from New Plymouth to Parihaka in support of Mayor Andrew Judd’s campaign for Maori representation on New Plymouth District Council. The council’s proposal to include one Maori ward for the next Council election was defeated last year by a Citizen’s Referendum. […]
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