One of seventeen species of macaws, the Scarlet Macaw is becoming increasingly rare. In Costa Rica, Central America, we visited the Natuwa Macaw Sanctuary where they rescue, breed, and release the Scarlet Macaw. I was very excited at the thought of seeing macaws. When...
Before our visit to Costa Rica, my knowledge of sloths was limited to the Ice Age cartoons. I thought of sloths as adorable and a little clumsy but with a great deal of charm. The Natuwa Macaw Sanctuary is a refuge for other animals as well as the Red Macaw, and this...
These days, many families live in rental accommodation or high-rise apartments are unable to keep pets. Enter – a business opportunity. Barista Cats in Queen Street Auckland is one of the new cafes where animal lovers can go to have a coffee and get their pet-fix...
This is a continuation of my post about my visit to Hobbiton in Matamata. Part one is here. I was busy taking photos of Hobbit holes and my surroundings and saw something moving. It took me a moment to realize the pheasant was real and it was busy feasting on the...
I'm still on an adventure kick and trying as many new things--big and small--as much as I can this year. This week, I tried a new recipe for vegetarian chili, which I discovered on The English Kitchen blog. It was a complete success, and I'll be adding it to my recipe...
Whenever we have friends visiting from overseas, we take them to the Waitakere Regional Park. A short drive from the inner city and you're in the middle of nature. The views from the visitor center are gorgeous, and it's an interesting place for kids of all ages! This...
This week, I decided to do my writing session in a different place. I ended up in Ponsonby. Ponsonby is an inner-city suburb, around 2 kilometers from the city center of Auckland. The origins of the name Ponsonby are a bit murky, and my search didn’t produce a...
Although I’ve visited Panama before via land (around thirty years ago) and peered at the canal from the shore, I was looking forward to actually sailing through. A small part of me wondered if I might get bored—I mean, an entire day of canals then lake then more...
The city of Auckland is built on and around a field of volcanoes, which I think accounts for my fascination with volcanoes. One day, I will use volcanoes in a romance. Somehow. I’ve been lucky enough to see most of our New Zealand volcanoes, including the more active...
