It was skipper Brandon Stone’s tip to a passenger enjoying a trip out with him on his boat ‘Bay Explorer’ that resulted in the overjoyed shout “There’s a crocodile!” The passenger had burst in through the wheelhouse...... Read More

Kourtney Troon’s children’s book has arrived. Full of fun illustrations ‘The Adventures of Benjamin Boogie’ tells the interesting story of an adorable booger named Benjamin who gets evicted out of Putrid Pete’s nose. Benjamin...... Read More

The Incubator has launched a new year of art with Marilyn Muirhead’s first  solo exhibition. Meeting the award-winning artist in the gallery is a pleasure; her smile and the colours she wears permeates the background art - the limes and...... Read More

It was the early hours of New Year’s Day. On the last day of the year I’d been working until well after midnight so was planning a sleep in, but I knew that Porina Whetu McLeod and her East Coast Paddler team were paddling out before dawn...... Read More

Stepping on to the village green at Tauranga’s Historic Village last week, I turned to find Wentao Zhang swirling past me, holding aloft a large golden ball spinning on top of a pole he was carrying.  Following him and well above my head,...... Read More

The dynamic team at the Jam Factory set a high bar in 2019 with over 100 musical events to dive into. There was everything from funk to classical music, Australian blues to French Gypsy Swing, Rockabilly Brawls to Sounds of India. Pop, soul, electronic...... Read More

Ingredients 1 Tbsp powdered gelatine 350ml water 175g sugar 6 fresh peaches, blanched, peeled and sliced 3Tbsp lemon juice   Method Put the gelatine in a small bowl with four-five tablespoons of the water. Meanwhile, boil the rest of the...... Read More

It’s that Christmas time of year when  we need to find ‘just the right present’ to give. My sister Andrea knows that I love second-hand books, so I thought I’d  hunt for some myself. I started browsing NZ authors on...... Read More

  The avocado capital of New Zealand  is one of Saint Nick’s main stopovers this year. The word is out that Santa is into upcycling and a green avocado  Christmas. I had to go see. I found Barry, the bloke who sits outside Katikati’s...... Read More

On opening a copy of Aquinas College PTA’s newly published cook book, ‘From Our Kitchen’, I’m struck first by the images. Photos of people stand alongside stunning images of food. There’s immediately a sense of timelessness...... Read More