Ever since we saw the film Ever the Land in the 2015 film festival we have been wanting to visit Tuhoe’s new tribal development centre, Te Kura Whare. The only “Living Building” in Aotearoa, and one of only a handful in the world, it is made wherever possible from local resources by local people, uses non-toxic materials […]
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 […]
On the move..
November 19, 2017 by 4 Comments
Outside our house we’ve been delighting in summer weather and shades of purple in the garden. Inside, we’re surrounded by bags and boxes and more boxes, and bits and pieces still to be shed, as we enter the last ten days of our preparations for moving. One of the good features of this process […]
A Big Decision…
July 18, 2017 by 12 Comments
After considerable reflection and discussion, we have made the big decision to leave Earthsong Eco-Neighbourhood and move to a smaller environmentally-friendly city apartment. We have enjoyed our four years here and learnt a lot. It’s been a great transition for us from the 28 acres of earthtalk@awhitu, and we appreciate the friendships we’ve established […]
about us…
May 17, 2017 by 1 Comment
Kia ora koutou, We’ve had a break from writing newsletters since November 2016, and feel it’s time to start again. Not necessarily every month, though! From Tanya… Kia ora koutou…It’s now two months since my left hip joint was successfully replaced, so I’m back to swimming, and biking to strengthen muscles. I made good use of […]
Moana Maniapoto
May 17, 2017 by 2 Comments
Nga mihi nui ki a Moana Maniapoto, wahine toa, te manutioriori ataahua… Moana Maniapoto’s evening at the tiny Coromandel Club was an absolute delight. She described her show, My Name is Moana, as being about our waterways- and indeed, we were drawn into a passion for protecting our waterways – and our land, and our […]
Earthsong Eco Neighbourhood
Public Good