Leek & Cauliflower Cheese

“Cauliflower cheese is a classic family favourite, made even tastier with chunks of sweet and tender leeks and crunchy breadcrumbs. This is fab served with a roast or sausages, or it could easily be served as a vegetarian main dish with fresh crusty bread and a green salad.”

This is the third comforting recipe Olivia Galletly shared with us from her first cookbook, The Hungry Cook.

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Rustic Fruit Tart

“In my eyes, a seasonal fruit tart is hard to beat. This tart is the perfect way to use up any of the final sun-ripened autumn fruit.”

This is the first of three recipes Jaz Mathisen shared with us from her cookbook, A Year at Awakino Station.

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Turning up for Each Other

Kath Menpes, 48, a born and bred Southlander, grew up inland in Heddon Bush and now lives in Orepuki, a small coastal settlement, with her husband, Paul, and their two children, Jamie, 15, and Lizzy, 13, on Paul’s family’s third-generation sheep farm. Three years ago, she joined PGG Wrightson as the store manager at Tuatapere. Five times a week, she channels her commitment to staying active into community fitness sessions for local women, where it’s not just muscles that get strengthened.

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Hearts Racing

A shared passion for horse racing brought Jessica Murphy, known as Jess, and Marc Hamilton together, so when the couple exchanged vows on a bluebird autumn day in Central Otago, it made sense for Jess’s Appaloosa gelding, Micah, to take a starring role.

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Generations of Care

Robyn Stephens, a Te Rohe Pōtae King Country farmer and grandmother of nine, took up dog trials at the age of fifty-nine, following in her father’s footsteps, and at seventy-six is still working as a casual musterer. Here, she reflects on her connection to the past and how her whānau Māori has influenced her.

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Still Here

Her father’s influence and a deep love for animals inspired her to become a shepherd, but it’s not been an easy road for Wairarapa-based Lara Smith, 29. Here, she shares how her persistence has paid off.

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A Dream & Hard Graft

A way of life with a love of horses at its core, encompassed by a strong belief that horses can heal.

Woman sits in the cockpit of a small plane as she takes notes

Harriet Bremner

Harriet is out to raise her voice and live every day to the fullest – always accompanied by her number-one companion, Pops the sausage dog.

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An acrylic painting of Pohaturoa, an ancient volcanic dome.

The Gallery, Kōanga Spring 2023

I see this beautiful dome every time I drive to our gallery in Taupō. Pohaturoa is an ancient volcanic dome that holds a unique part of New Zealand’s pre-colonial past.

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A Treasured Family Memory

I grew up in St Leonards in Dunedin. We have a close-knit family, and all lived within the same block at the time.

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Woman walks down a dirt road holding a watering can and a woven basket of foliage cuttings

Room to Bloom

Flora has nurtured her passion for planting from a young age. Today, she works to nurture that same passion in others through her gardening business.

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A bride and groom standing in a grassy field with umbrellas

The Best-Laid Plaids

Lizzy and Hamish Salvesen’s romance stretches from Aotearoa to Scotland and back again.

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Orange-red flowers growing

Time to Create

From a full-time career in the arts, Thelma Emslie has stepped back into a quieter life on the banks of the Ōwaka River in the Catlins.

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Takurua Winter 2026 Edition

Twenty-Sixth Edition

Our beautiful Takurua Winter 2026 Edition is out now.

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