There is something powerful in the saying, “There are dreamers and there are doers”, especially when it comes to our slice of paradise – Hauraki Coromandel...

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What a journey it is, with so much to learn. I’ve always loved painting and drawing; in high school, it was my main focus. About six years ago, I found my way back to painting when my daughter placed a canvas in front of me and told me it was time to give it another go.

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I made the decision to move to New Zealand sometime in the late 80s, which would have put me in the 9 to 11-year-old range. I wasn’t looking to escape home because I was unhappy; I had a truly wonderful childhood growing up on Cape Cod, Massachusetts …

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The major pest eradication on Ahuahu / Great Mercury Island in 2014 was a public/private project. I was then employed directly by the Island; the island paid my salary (funded privately) to ensure that the multi-million-dollar investment that had been pumped into the restoration project over a period of a few years was protected by someone dedicated to just that job. There is still to this day a full-time ranger employed to maintain the pest-free status.

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Proud to be Local is our inspirational feature, highlighting homegrown Coromandel Peninsula folks doing wonderful things out in the world. In this edition, Catherine (Black) Doyle. Supported by Ron Morgan.

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Art continues to educate us centuries and millennia later – from prehistoric cave drawings to the use of glass beads for jewellery and terracotta clay figurines, and for everyday functions such as storing grain or water.

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Jiwa in the Indonesian language means ‘soul, spirit or vital force’. It is also the name given to a 28-foot trimaran yacht by its builder Wayne and his wife Jill who were practitioners of an ancient Indonesian meditation at the time.

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When you picture New Zealand’s natural wonders, wetlands might not be the first thing that springs to mind. Yet these quiet, waterlogged landscapes are ecological powerhouses – filtering water, storing carbon, and providing sanctuary for our taonga species.

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Driving Creek was the net that caught me after a long period overseas; a nest for getting in touch with my creative voice. When I arrived at the residency, it’d been over a year since I’d used a pottery wheel. I’d been thinking about art a lot, but I hadn’t had the chance to make much.

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Here in Mercury Bay, we’re incredibly lucky to have Te Whanganui-o-Hei Marine Reserve – one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most amazing marine environments – right on our doorstep. It is a place full of life and biodiversity, and more importantly, a place rich with opportunity to learn. At Glass Bottom Boat Whitianga, we believe that protecting this taonga for the future begins with education today.

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