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The forgotten people of Motukorure island

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 Motukorure Island Located around 3hours from Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city sits what appears to be an uninhabited island full of lush fauna and vegetation. Deliberately kept off international topographic maps and sitting in the deep and often treacherous waters of mercury bay, you can find Motukorure Island. Home of the forgotten people of the Kakīānau tribe. With access to the island forbidden to only a few local people in the Coromandel the tribe relies on for supplies not available naturally I have managed to get exclusive access to learn more about these unique people. Anonymity guaranteed  Due to the nature of this article and to protect all involved I have agreed to keep the names of all parties supporting the tribe from the mainland anonymous. Friendly Face ‘To be honest, I ever really see them’ says George Anderson. For thirty eight years George has been making the a two hour return boat trip to the island to drop off supplies from canned goods, batteries and torches to

Rangitoto Island and the Auckland Central Masters

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Rangitoto Island Rangitoto, Tamaki Makaurau’s most recent and least altered Volcano. Formed between 600 to 700 years ago by two eruptions it makes up a collection of some 53 volcanos in the region.  Rangitoto lays claim to featuring  the world's largest pōhutukawa forest and has been pest free since 2011 allowing for some of New Zealand’s wonderful wildlife a haven to regenerate. St Heliers Te Whanganui-o-Toi or as it has been known since the late 1800s as St Heliers sits on the main land of Tamaki Makaurau 10kms east of the cities CBD and some 4.3km directly across from Rangitoto separated by the body of water making up the Waitamata harbour. On a hot summers day, the views of the volcano while enjoying an ice cream on the golden sands of St Heliers is highly recommended. Auckland central masters, a club formed in 1984 after a breakaway from the older (circa 1900s) Ponsonby swimming club, host the yearly swim from Rangitoto to St Heliers. Only the strongest and fittest may apply.

A long lost adventurer and pioneer - Robert Gordon McArthur

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Kelvingrove art gallery Glasgow. A wonderful city. A city rich with history and culture. Full of inventors, adventurers and pioneers. On a recent trip to Scotland with the family I thought it best to take them to a visit to one of the cities great buildings, the Kelvingrove art gallery in the west end. Inside the museum entrance sitting on the first floor is a grand organ, huge pipes run up into the ceiling, I believe at 1pm most days you can hear them being played which would be a rare treat as the acoustics of the room would make for some incredible sounds for the ears. As we were in a rush trying to fit a city visit into two days we broke off into teams to go and explore at our own leisure. We had one hour, which, considering you could spend the day in the museum was not a lot of time at all. It was at this point I decided to walk into the natural history section of the museum full of all the exotic animals of the world from penguins to elephants to the meerkats of the Kalahari dese