Celebrating a 60th with a Rockin’ House Party in Coromandel Town
I drove and drove, up and around, past stunning vistas, past thousands of cows and hundreds of grazing white tailed deer, past mirrors that showed the other side, and around hairpin curves and long sweeping straight-aways…. I had set out from Matakana and drove right past the big metropolis of […]
A Bone Carver Living His Dream in Omapere
On my last morning in Omapere, I visited a man who I had heard about on the motorboat over to the Dunes. His name is Jim Taranaki and he’s happy to be doing what he loves, every day, and sharing his art with visitors who come see him in his […]
The Father of the Forest Deserves a Moment of Silence
We sat in silence, in awe, of what might be the world’s biggest tree, standing before us in the moonlight in a deep dark forest called Waipoua. This was Te Manua Ngahere, the Father of the Forest, the oldest known Kauri tree which started as a tiny seed 4000 years […]
Jumping Out of a Motorboat, Into a Dune Buggy
Some of my favorite moments in travel are when I feel like Bond. James Bond. The movies are always set in exotic locations, and he always checks into swank hotels, with his tuxedo ready for a night at the casino, that inevitably will turn into an exciting chase and battle […]
A Drive in the Country to find the Perfect Soak at Ngawha Hot Springs
Yesterday was a gray day down here by the sea, and when I woke up, a big cruise ship was moored off the coast of Paihia. I had an afternoon free after our rowing trip on the Waka so I dialed in an address to the GPS and drove my […]
“They Never Taught Us This,” She Said, With Tears in her Eyes
“This isn’t part of the tour. You paid to take a trip on the boat and listen to me talk, but you didn’t pay for this part,” Hone told us this as he stood in the back of the long Waka, the traditional boats used in the South Pacific. I […]
Looking up at Kauri Trees, Sailing the Glittering Coast
The day was on the water for the most part, but earlier, I drove the winding roads, past grazing sheep and logging trucks to an amazing spot some people from Sydney told me about on the dinner cruise…the Manginangina Kauri Walk, a forest preserve full of ancient trees. The Kauri […]