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 […]
Koia Mārika
November 19, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Tāmati Kruger, chair of Tūhoe’s tribal body Tūhoe Te Uru Taumatua, gave the 2017 Bruce Jesson Lecture, Koia Mārika (So It Will Be), on 31 October at the University of Auckland. No summary can do justice to this very profound speech. Every word of Tāmati Kruger’s speech is measured, and to be treasured. We […]
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 […]
Kahurangi Nganeko Kaihau Minhinnick
July 18, 2017 by 2 Comments
On Thursday 15 June 2017 Aotearoa lost one of its greatest environmental advocates, Kahurangi Nganeko Kaihau Minhinnick, of Ngaati Te Ata – Waiohua. From the age of eleven, Nganeko Kaihau was expected to undertake legal and environmental issues for her iwi, Ngaati Te Ata, because she was the most fluent English-speaker in her whanau. With […]
Matariki…Nga Mihi o te Tau Hou
July 17, 2017 by Leave a Comment
… a time for mourning and letting go of those who have died in the past year, for gathering with friends and enjoying the foods harvested and preserved in the autumn, and for reflecting on possible futures…. … and for saying ” nga mihi o te tau hou” – “happy new year”…to you.
Coromandel Peninsula
May 17, 2017 by 2 Comments
We’ve just returned from a five-day visit to the Coromandel Peninsula and Mercury Bay. We had two reasons for going at this time: to go to the one-off Moana Maniapoto Concert in Coromandel Township, and to link up there with our friend and former gardener Sue and her partner Susie for a late summer holiday […]
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 […]
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