White Island, Whakatane

On 9 December 2019 White Island / Whakaari erupted and tragically took the lives of 21 people and seriously injured many others. (Consequently there are currently no tours to White Island).

This post was written a year before the eruption and is now dedicated to the helicopter pilots who made their own decisions to fly to Whakaari to look for survivors. The actions of the pilots saved lives while putting their own at risk. 

White Island / Whakaari is an active marine volcano, 48km north of Whakatane. Get there two ways – by helicopter as we did with Kahu NZRead the rest

OD leaves his mark in Mount Maunganui

Artist Owen Dippie (OD)* is packing up his spray cans and relocating to Auckland. He has left his mark on many walls in the Bay of Plenty, but especially down Ashworth Lane in Mount Maunganui, the location of his soon to close studio, shop and gallery.

The painting of The Notorious B.I.G. glowers down and I swear I can almost hear him asking ‘What you want?’. Although given I initially thought he was just some staunch guy, and not a famous rapper shot down in his prime, he may have said something else entirely, or rapped even.

Someone who … Read the rest

Ohope Beach TOP 10 Holiday Park

Plenty of signs point to ‘Ohope: NZ’s Most Loved Beach’. We spent a week on a powered site at Ohope Beach TOP 10 Holiday Park, a short walk over the dunes to Ohope Beach. While Ohope didn’t take the title of our most loved beach from Waikanae Beach in Gisborne, we did find one of the most family friendly holiday parks we’ve ever stayed in.

Father Christmas and his helper arrived at 11am on Christmas Day with a sack full of presents for all the children under 8. One lovely little girl sang Father Christmas a Christmas carol in … Read the rest

Climbing & Camping in Mount Maunganui

When we read that around 900,000 people walk or run around the base of Mauao (the dormant volcanic cone) in Mount Maunganui every year, I have to admit we were sceptical. It just seemed unlikely, but a few days camping at the base of Mauao at Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park showed us just how popular the walk around (and up) the mountain is.

We chose a camp site closest to the beach, just in front of the caravan was a path to one of the walking tracks, the people flow was constant. There was no way we could have … Read the rest

Camping & Kaimoana in Maketu

Camping – Maketu Beach Holiday Park, 2 Town Point Road
Two tickets for Maketu Kaimoana Festival and a booking at the Maketu Beach Holiday Park and we were set for the night. We chose the holiday park closest to the festival and what a choice it was – if our caravan Rosie was any closer to the water she’d be floating (granted the few rocks below would have turned her into a leaky boat first).

It’s not just campers who get the superb location, there’s some cute little log cabins beachfront too. The cabins reminded me of beach huts in … Read the rest

Take a walk with words

Take a walk with words to celebrate National Poetry Day …..

Haiku Pathway, Katikati
Sandwiched between Robert Harris Cafe and Hammer Hardware in Katikati you’ll find the main entrance to the Haiku Pathway.The haiku are engraved on boulders along the path that follows Uretara Stream ….

Words on Walls in Napier
Many of Napier’s streets are named after poets, it seems a natural progression to write Words on Walls….

Janet Frame’s words (above) are on the wall in Theatre Lane near The Kitchen Table Cafe and Community Art Space.

Words on Walls is an ongoing project, visit the i-SITE … Read the rest