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The Kindness of Strangers II, Turkey
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The Skipper had told us that the Turkish people readily go out of their way to help visitors to their country. A local bloke definitely made our visit to Ayvalik memorable, making sure three strangers and a dog felt welcome in his town.
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Swallows and Amazons
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A chance discovery in New Zealand’s Bay of Islands Urupukapuka is the largest island in New Zealand’s aptly named Bay of Islands. During a recent kayak trip (see Paddling the Bay) I had the opportunity to explore Urupukapuka, and climbed the grassy walking track to the Island’s highest point. I was rewarded with an amazing…
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Spencer P. Jones
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The other sound of Te Awamutu, New Zealand A google search for ‘famous musicians from Te Awamutu’ comes up with predictable results: it’s all about a couple of brothers that had a successful vaudeville pop band in the late 70s/early 80s. And about the younger brother’s subsequent band that sold zillions of albums of nice…
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Gumboots
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Form and function, New Zealand The intensity and volume of rainfall in New Zealand is biblical, and calls for serious waterproof gear. That’s why the slap slap of summer jandals turns to the plod plod of gumboots as winter closes in. In New Zealand, gumboots are not just for the farm or worksite. Kiwis are…
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Interislander Ferry, New Zealand
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‘North, south, east and west.’ Last week I caught the Interislander Ferry from Wellington to Picton. Although Wellington is in the south of the north island, and Picton is in the north of the south island (stay with me), both towns are on the same latitude. However, when travelling to Picton it is still colloquially…
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Doin’ an Aussie, New Zealand
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What is more Kiwi than the Swandri bush shirt bro? They’ve been keeping rural New Zealanders warm and dry for nearly 100 years. At the Puke Ariki (te reo Maori for ‘hill of chiefs’) Museum in New Plymouth there is a little exhibit tracing the history of Swanndri clothing. Clearing up the heritage of the…
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Minties
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‘It’s moments like these…’ I’m a bit partial to a look through a local museum. Sure, after a while they all get a bit samey: a butter churn, a clothes wringer, and one of those irons you have to put in the fire before ironing your slacks. Maybe an assortment of horrific olden days pharmaceuticals,…
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The kindness of strangers
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City living can be a lonely experience at the best of times, let alone during the Corona lockdowns. Despite this, an anonymous person still managed to bring some cheer to a grimy apartment block in Auckland.
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Reuse, reuse, reuse (reuse, reuse), New Zealand
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In a throwaway world of single-use packaging, I discovered that re-using resources is still alive and well in rural New Zealand.
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Reducing and reusing in Raglan, New Zealand
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Driving home from a morning surf, I heard an ad on the radio in Raglan for home delivery of milk in glass bottles. Now we Aussies might be prone to poking fun at our Kiwi cousins for being a bit behind the times, but in this case I reckon we ought to follow their lead…