Kiwis and Fairy Bread

24 December 2023 It has been a hot and sunny day here in Akaroa. The town was bustling with shoppers. The butcher and the baker were running out of stock. The cranky owner of the Fish and Chip Shop begrudgingly told me they would be closing at 3pm and if I showed up at 3:30 I wouldn’t get anything. (“I wouldn’t dream of it” I replied as I made a hasty retreat). Jean, employee at The Crater Coffee Cafe, lost her lucky American dollar bill, which we had found, and happily returned to her. And word was spreading around town… Read more

22 and 23 December 2023 The words of this Jackson Brown tune (the theme of my 1987 tour of Europe with childhood friend Sue) came to me often as we took two days to make our way to our Christmas destination, Akaroa. An hours drive out of Marahua and the scenery changed again. Suddenly it looked like we were in the American Old West. A wide, shallow, rambling river with occasional homesteads and cattle ranches in a valley between blonde hills. We stopped in a one horse town called Muriston, had a coffee, and explored the four shops. We loved… Read more