We have always loved some of the incredible places in our backyard here in Canterbury. This month we rediscover the charms of Kaikoura.
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Cantabrian Matthew Dickie went from scrubbing pots in an Akaroa restaurant to cruising the Mediterranean and working on a super yacht.
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Bonjour de la France! By special request of the Essence team I am writing about the circumstances Covid-19 has inflicted upon us as residents of Europe and the experience here in France.
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Lockdown was proof, if we needed it, that technology can be amazing when it comes to keeping in touch with family and friends. And it’s just as useful to senior citizens – increasingly we’re finding that grandma has an i-pad and our great aunt is playing poker on her tablet.
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If you are thinking of adding some fruit trees to the garden, now is the perfect time to do it.
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The winter weather is certainly here and there’s nothing better that a pot of hot soup simmering away on a wet cold day.
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We all love our smartphones and nearly 95% of adults in New Zealand own one. But they’re very personal. We load them up with our favourite apps and use them in different ways. In this new series we ask North Canterbury people to share how they use their phones with us.
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Growing up in a small town in Hungary, Viktoria Doocey never imagined she would be bringing up her own children on the other side of the world.
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When Canterbury resident Jane Morris set off to guide a trek following in Shackleton's footsteps, she didn't expect to end up quarantined on a ship and swept up in a global pandemic.
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We caught up with three local business owners to see how they are adapting to operating in the shadow of Covid-19.
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With more of us frequently working from home, we hit up a makeup artist and stylist for tips on putting on our best Zoom face.
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Rangiora couple, Russell and Katherine Forward, were already well-versed in the design and build process when they started work on their 500-square metre home. Having built several times they knew what to expect.
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Brightly coloured stalls jostle for space selling everything from local olive oil to crisply glistening fruit and veg, luscious purple bulbs of fresh garlic to oozingly creamy artisan cheeses. Some shoppers browse and chat and meander along, others dart in and out of the crowds with purpose and a shopping list. On a sunny Friday in late spring Ohoka market is buzzing.
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“There are so many misconceptions about this country”, this attractive blonde 24 year old told me when she was recently home in New Zealand, getting her visa for her next adventure.
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The interesting thing about rural blocks is that nobody really knows what others get up to behind those macrocarpa hedges. Step through the little gate into the Rusty Acre at Mandeville and you’re taken into another world – with a touch of the Alice in Wonderland about it.
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The Gloriavale Christian community is an isolated religious group based on the West Coast, about 80 km from Greymouth. There are currently over 600 people living there, and many of whom were born there and have never known life on the outside.
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Drive through the gates of Dorothy and Clive Washington’s home and you’re greeted by a line of cherry blossom trees; several outbuildings and a church bell mounted on its own bespoke wooden bell-tower. It’s a hint of what is to come in this eclectic setting.
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Bonjour à nos anciens amis de North Canterbury. Hello to our old friends in North Canterbury. It has now been over four years since I sold my Woodend accountancy practice and we moved to our new home in France.
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Sitting at his laptop in t-shirt, jeans and jandals at Christchurch’s Bizdojo workspace, Glen Herud looks focused. He’s on his third coffee of the day and was at the gym at 7am.
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With winter in full swing we’re looking at ways to enhance our homes ....
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