Exclusive Tours

Hello and greetings from New Zealand!
It's hard to believe that about 6 years ago I sent a message, to members of this page, asking what New Zealand things you would like to see (me to photograph) as the Covid situation began. I still remember the two most popular requests, from my American friends, were waterfalls and sheep....... I remember researching and finding that there were 6 waterfalls within about 20 minutes of where I live. And that there were, easily accessible, sheep in Cornwall Park in downtown Auckland. Walking in local forests and Cornwall Park photographing waterfalls and sheep became my sanity saving adventures. Experiencing forests and waterfalls rejuvenated my soul, connected me to nature and fired up a sense of adventure during the Covid pandemic. So I thank you to those of you who suggested waterfalls and sheep. :) And as you can see I made a commitment to share (once a week), with all of you, facets of New Zealand life, history along with some of my photographs.
Because of my forest and waterfall walks and talking to people about how relaxing these walks were someone told me about Shinrin-yoku Japanese forest bathing. It is a practice or process of therapeutic relaxation where one spends time in a forest or natural atmosphere, focusing on sensory engagement to connect with nature. https://www.fo-society.jp/en
Kind regards
Sharron - Your tour guide friend in New Zealand.

Forest Therapy Society - Official Website From the moment you step into a lush forest covered with dense vegetation and fragrant fresh soil, you can feel the surrounding life with your senses. We experience the therapeutic and relaxing power of the forest. The act of immersing in the forest to enjoy this effect is called "shinrin-yoku(fores...

Hello and greetings from New Zealand!
I trust you have all had a relaxing Easter weekend.
I have found this quirky write up with an "American", sort of, connection to New Zealand..... :)
1st April 1773.
In an attempt to concoct a preventative against scurvy, Captain James Cook brewed a batch of beer on Resolution Island in Dusky Sound, using rimu branches and leaves. " We began to brew beer from the branches or leaves of a tree, which much resembles the American black-spruce. From the knowledge I had of this tree, and the similarity it bore to the spruce, I judged that, with the addition of inspissated [thickened] juice of wort and molasses, it would make a very wholesome beer, and supply the want of vegetables, which this place did not afford; and the event proved that I was not mistaken."
When the beverage was sampled four days later, Lieutenant Charles Clerke thought it ‘very palatable’ and observed that most of the crew ‘seem[ed] to drink pretty plentifully of it’.
The naturalist Anders Sparrman noted that with the addition of a little rum and some brown sugar, ‘this really pleasant, refreshing, and healthy drink … bubbled and tasted rather like champagne’. Despite these favourable reviews, an attempt by Lion Breweries to recreate Cook’s beer in the 1980s resulted in a brew that some called ‘awful’ and others ‘revolting’.
In 2020, Christchurch-based Wigram Brewing produces a spruce beer flavoured with rimu and manuka – ‘a nice malty drop with a slightly smoky character’ that pays homage to Cook without following his recipe exactly.Joel Po**ck founded New Zealand’s first commercial brewery at Kororāreka in 1835.
Check out Wigram Brewing beers!
www.wigrambrewing.co.nz/our-beers
Have a great week everyone.
Kind regards
Sharron - your tour guide friend in New Zealand.