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Here follows the account of Hurlock Pseudonym Bonde, in…..THE GROUP OF EIGHT I was sitting in my lovely office, smoking a burgundy pipe from Melbourne, when I got a call from “N”. “Hurlock, I need you in Rotorua, A.S.A.P.! A plane is booked for 3:45 today, your tickets and boarding pass will be waiting for […]

     Our friend Gordon told us that while we were in New Zealand, we better take a moment to enjoy the stars.  Not only does New Zealand have clear air and low light pollution, but it is so far south that you get a fabulous view of the southern celestial sky. Our eyes were drawn […]

Every evening a group of New Zealand’s Native tribesmen and woman called the Maori come together to perform. It seemed like a great way to better understand the culture, so we went there Saturday night. It began with a traditional Maori welcome, with Nick from Australia representing our tribe’s chief. He picked up the fern […]

This is the true story of an Englishman who made a New Zealander dig forty-one holes in a hill, sixty years in the future. The Englishman J.R.R. Tolkien was born in Africa and came back to live in England at the age of three.  His father and later his mother died of illnesses and he […]

Chop- chop- chop- chop- chop- chop- chop- chop- chop!  Our Helicopter lifted off and we were headed to White Island, home of a volcano that acted up every 10-15 years.  The last incident was in 2000.  We were in the zone. When we landed our pilot gave us each helmets and gas masks!  Then we […]

The folks at Treetops are fond of saying “Anything is possible here.”  That is a statement that begs to be tested.  Can you arrange for local Maori elders to greet us on arrival with a ritual welcoming ceremony?  Yes!  Can you schedule a helicopter to fly us to an offshore volcano?  Yes!  Could you make […]

     Piggy visited a set from the Lord of the Rings movies.  Can you guess where she is on Middle Earth?  Email your answer to me at katherine@365saturdays.org!

54New Zealand is a Mecca for outdoor lovers and, while I would never classify myself as a Nature gal, even I couldn’t help but be transported by the lushness and variety of the Great Outdoors quite literally outside my door. Russ, Giles, and I left the lodge at 11:00 am with the stated intention of […]

When we arrived at the hotel on South Island, the first thing we thought was: “is this the right place?” It was a beautiful stretch of land covering 2400 acres, and the only man made thing we could see (besides cars and roads) was a big yellow house. We rang the doorbell and were greeted […]

There are lots of volcanoes in New Zealand.  This is the largest active volcano.  It is a cone volcano.  Can you guess which small island it is on?  (Not North Island or South Island those are the two major islands of New Zealand). P.S. I am so sorry!  I am really behind on the Piggy […]