The Te Araroa Experience

Over the last two years I have been walking and cycling the Te Araroa Trail through the length of the North Island. I wanted to experience New Zealand in a different way by travelling at a slower pace and observing more around me. At times I tramped through forests and stayed in huts, but more often I found places to stay in inhabited areas. Here I could meet people and find out about the area I was in. 

I loved the parts where I went through unaltered natural landscapes, especially when it was extreme and challenging. I remember vividly being up amongst the clouds on the highest peaks of the Tararuas, viewing a large part of the southern North Island as if I was in an aeroplane. Clambering up the steep sides of Mount Pirongia to the hut at the top of the volcanic cone was another highlight.  

But I was equally rewarded when walking or cycling along roads and passing through towns where I could stop and talk to locals. They gave me a sense of where New Zealand is at. What I remember most from my wanderings are my encounters with people, be they locals or Te Araroa walkers. I covered the 1700 kilometres in sections, each taking about two or three weeks, but it still felt like a single journey through the island from Cape Reinga to Island Bay.  … Continue Reading

Featherston Booktown vouchers help South Wairarapa kids to read

This year, for the first time, Featherston Booktown will make available $15 book vouchers to 2,500 school students in the South Wairarapa, including the years nine at ten at Kuranui College.

The book vouchers will be able to be redeemed at booksellers in the South Wairarapa towns and the visiting booksellers over the Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival weekend on 7/8 May.

The book voucher scheme began in 2015 at the first Featherston Booktown Festival and was designed to give each child from the three Featherston schools an opportunity to choose a book and purchase it with their own “money”.

“We wanted to encourage our children to not just read but to love to read books of their choice,” says Peter Biggs, Chair of Featherston Booktown Board of Trustees.

“Ask any child who comes to Featherston Booktown what their favourite thing is and they will say ‘buying a book for me with my own money.’ … Continue Reading

Astrotourism Academy to host a course in Martinborough

Astrotourism has been flourishing at Lake Tekapo for 25 years. Here a group of stargazers is viewing the night sky with the Milky Way at Mt John Observatory, Tekapo. Photo: Fraser Gunn.

The Aotearoa Astrotourism Academy will host its next course in Martinborough March 25-27, 2022.

The Academy, AAA, was launched last year by Professor John Hearnshaw, Emeritus Professor of Astronomy at the University of Canterbury, with Nalayini Davies from the Auckland Astronomical Society to satisfy an unmet need in the astronomical community.

The primary goal of AAA is to offer educational courses for current or aspiring astro-tourism night-sky guides, or for anyone interested in navigating the dark night sky and learning more about astronomy.

AAA has assembled a small team of dedicated and expert instructors, and the courses offered cover all aspects of night-sky guiding, star-gazing, how to use a small telescope, astrophotography and the best objects to view in the night sky. AAA hopes to impart some of the basic skills and knowledge considered essential for those working in the fast growing astro-tourism industry. A talk on Matariki and Maori astronomy is also included.

This intensive course comprises lectures, practical sessions (weather permitting for evening observing), workshops and plenty of interactions between instructors and participants. The venue for the Martinborough course will be the Wellington Room at the Martinborough Hotel. … Continue Reading

How Well Do We Know People in Our Community?

Derek Stephens         RD 2 The White Rock Run

From one hemisphere to another, Derek Stephens, moved from Scotland, to England, then to Australia with his wife Karen, and finally to Martinborough.

On arrival and looking for a job he worked in the newly opened Mitre 10. Assembling BBQs was one of his first responsibilities. The day came when Mike Cutfield, the Manager, apprehended David Kershaw to ask when the new driver for timber deliveries, was to be appointed. David pointed to Derek and said he was already on board. “Oh,” replied Mike Cutfield “I thought he was the BBQ rep.” 

Derek worked for 7 years with Mitre 10. This was a time before Google, with limited maps and obscure local directions. Trying to find some of the addresses was problematic but it was a wonderful way of getting to know the district well.

When the downturn in the building industry impacted on deliveries, a lucky friendship with a golfing friend opened up another opportunity, the franchise for the Rural Mail Delivery out to White Rock. 

“I just love it,” says Derek. “It is a loop run of 200kms and every day is different. The weather changes can be dramatic, and the landscape is stunning. You never know what wildlife you are going to see. I remember once seeing a magnificent 20-point stag on the road during the roaring season. And then in heavy rain and high winds the road becomes a different challenge. … Continue Reading