I will never fail to be amazed by the colours, the shapes, the sizes, and the diversity of the Orchidaceae family ... the absolute beauty of them. My Relationship with Orchids ... My parent's have grown, sold and competed in shows with their orchids for most of my life, hence I have had a long and loving relationship with these beautiful plants. Last weekend the North Shore Orchid Society held their spring show, so I went along with mum to help set up, and ended up recording

An ode is a lyric poem that addresses and often celebrates a person, place, thing, or idea. Originating in Ancient Greece where they were originally sung, odes are typically serious, dignified, and formal, though their style, subject, and form can vary ... this is Maureen's ' Ode To WOW 2025. ' Behind the scenes with my blog I have my amazing daughter Jess guiding me with any help that I may need along the way, especially of the moral support kind, and today I want to welcome

Part three of our WOW Experience brings the show to life and the fun we had around the whole event. WOW is all about " taking art off the wall and adorning the body " and we jumped onboard ourselves with our own bit of creativity. Creating our own ideas of taking Art off the Wall and Adorning the Body... Planning our trip, I put out the challenge to our group, for whoever felt inspired, to take our experience further by dressing up as per one of the six WOW section themes; Ao

Some highlights of a bit of fun to be had in Wellington ... WOW Show 2025 and some highlights of Wellington, NZ ... After our day of train travel down to Wellington on the WOW VIP Train Experience , (also known as the Northern Explorer Train), for the WOW 2025 show, we had plenty of spare time in Wellington to take in the waterfront area, Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of NZ, and Wētā Workshops. All thoroughly recommended and if you add on the Crocodile Bikes and scooters you'll be

Join us for some highlights of our WOW Train VIP Experience with Great Journeys NZ , 02 October, 2025. On Thursday 02 October 2025, we set out on a unique three-day journey as mum, (aka Maureen), took fourteen of her "girls" to Wellington to attend the WOW (World of Wearable Arts) Show; this reel is some of the highlights from the first part of our trip, on the WOW Train VIP Experience from Auckland... To learn more about the experience: "WOW" The World of Wearable Arts Show

Riding the WOW Train, Great Journeys NZ We started planning for this trip over a year ago, and it grew into an experience that far exceeded the actual show, and instead extended itself into a few days of creativity, fun, laughter, talking and, most importantly, love... and not just for our group, as our frivolities seemed to touch many others along the way! I hope that you also find some pleasure in this account. ... and, a few more laughs! WOW VIP Train Experience with Grea

On a blustery day at Big Manly Beach, New Zealand's young sailors head out to sea to compete for the right to be crowned Champ! New Zealand has a proud history of sailing success and it is when you see young sailors heading out in wild conditions to compete for the New Zealand Youth Championship, on days like today, you fully appreciate the tenacity and determination that success takes. You have to have passion to be a success and today showed that. Good luck to them all ...

Bringing life back to my grandparent's garden ... You never know who you will influence when you follow your passions, and the many gardeners that our family have is a testament to the beautiful garden that my grandparents had. Flowers, trees, lawn to run on, a little forest to explore out back, apple trees to pick from, and plants of all kinds; and yet, it was much more than that. It was an area for family and friends to gather and eat and drink and talk and grow up together

"The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies." Gertrude Jekyll, British Horticulturist and Garden Designer. At 89 years of age, my mum has sown a lot of seeds and reaped a lot of harvests, in her garden and her life, and one of the greatest gifts that she has given her family is the love of a garden, and being outside in nature. A gift that, personally, I can't thank her enough for. As well as selling plants and flowers, Mum's won many awards with her floral ar

From Cape Reinga, at the tip of the North Island, to Stewart Island, at the bottom of the South Island, I have hiked, biked, played,...

Zip-lining, Takal National Park, Guatemala. Get involved, have some fun, the better you feel then the better your journey will be, the...

There is always someone who offers to take your photo, so you will always have a great collection of memories to look back upon and...

Don't be afraid to follow your own guidance, at times enjoy your own company and also, mix with others .. there are plenty who want to...

For me, there is not a lot that is more fun than getting on a bike and taking in the sights, sounds and atmosphere of places around the...

Now, let's race into Blo-Karts, ride some Surf and Jump Off Even Higher Things ... Blo-Karting with Bonaire Land Sailing Adventures ,...

First, let's explore some Whitewater Rafting, Snow Sports and Bike (Cycle) Trails, so grab your GoPro and your sense of adventure......

Seeing the best that the world has to offer ... Hiking in Inca country, Peru. I left New Zealand with a single backpack, my camera, an...

My little caravan, nicknamed " Nomad Alice," Queenstown, NZ. You don't need to own a bloke, to own a caravan! I know they do come in handy, (blokes, that is), but when it comes to travelling in a caravan, you can do it as a solo-female with fun, skill and pizzazz! And even get complimented on how well you can back into a parking spot. Thanks dad for teaching me! What is a caravan? You may be familiar with RV, Camper Trailer or Travel Trailer; a non-motorised, solid-walled rec

Surf in the morning and ski in the afternoon, west to east coasts of Auckland Give It A Go! An extension to my blog on "5 Adventure...

Solo traveller or with a group ... have a go in Tāmaki Makaurau: Blo-karting along the black-sand beach of Muriwai, on the rugged West...