I've wanted to visit Hobbiton in Matamata for ages, and yesterday, I finally got to explore the home of the Hobbits. In order to visit it's necessary to plan and book ahead. My tour was for 10:30 and Hobbiton central was very busy with tours going out every half an...
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...
Nestled in the heart of the commercial center of Wellington, not far from New Zealand’s parliament buildings, is an old church with a lot of history. Old St Paul’s is plain from the outside, a white building and dark spire, set in a large section and surrounded by...
The weta - it's a large and primitive insect, native to New Zealand. The reason I chose to write about wetas today is so more people know what they are. When I used a weta reference in my book Janaya, my editor didn't know what I was talking about and I had to rewrite...
Tirau is a small New Zealand town. It's pronounced Tee-rau 1. Tirau, originally referred to a hill three miles southwest of the village, is covered with cabbage trees where Maori trapped the keruru (wood pigeon). It was first settled by the Ngati Raukawa, although...
Several of the books in my Middlemarch Shifters series mention Sutton Salt Lake. In My Feline Protector, a villain terrorizes the heroine during a visit to the lake. Our visit was a peaceful one. Sutton Salt Lake is an inland lake. It is an unusual lake because, as...
Some more photos from the Giant’s house, a photographers’ dream. Hubby playing the piano out in the garden. It was French cafe music! Vegetables and flowers combine with sculpture to create a fun vista. If you’re ever in this part of the world, I highly recommend a...
The Giant’s House was build in 1880 and is made of native totara and kauri timber. The house was originally owned by a bank manager. Artist and sculptor Josie Martin purchased the house and has used the gardens as her artist canvas and created a wonderland—a fun place...
