The Adlington Post

On my Far North road trip: just out of Waipapakauri on 90 Mile Beach I found a recently killed pheasant by the side of the road. Back at camp Te Araroa tramper Tyler shared some preparation techniques, then a couple of days later at Ahirapa camp Grahame helped me eat my find. See the video at: https://youtu.be/R7h72JOTnEo

My Far North Road Trip - in a Kaikohe junk shop I came across a box of old colour slides from the 1970’s. I find discarded social history of this sort fascinating - here are highlights of someone’s life, carefully, and probably proudly, recorded and annotated....then under different circumstances simply junked. Thanks to www.freesfx.co.nz for the soundtrack.... See the video:   https://youtu.be/Ip44pln-Q3g

Visiting old, abandoned industrial sites is a rare pleasure. On my Far North road- On Sunday of Labour Day with no-one around I was able to explore the site quite thoroughly.... See the video:   https://youtu.be/hY-rdxZjzaA   trip I came across a burnt-out wood-mill in Kaitaia opposite the cemetery.

Currently I an on a road trip in the Far North of New Zealand. http://cannibals-and-colonials.blogspot.co.nz/ Although I have seen several instances of road-kill on this trip, they have so far been either too mangled, too old, or too large (a turkey and a goose) to salvage. However, just outside of Tauranga Bay I came across a fresh, manageable rabbit. As you can see the eye is still clear. I wrapped the body in newspaper, and later skinned and gutted it at Whangaroa, then hung it in the van for 2 days - it was so fresh it attracted no flies! At Taipa I met some locals who invited me to stay the night on their property, in return I shared my find with them - cooked in a can of tomatoes, with diced pumpkin and carrot, some ginger, and the Promite and beef stock I carry for making gravy. See the video:    https://youtu.be/H_ZHxwygeeU

Tomorrow I leave for points north in my camper van: Matakohe, Keri Keri (to the Men's Shed), Coopers Beach, Kaitaia (another Men's Shed), Hokianga Harbour, Rawene, Kauri forest, Waipu. Follow my blog on this trip: http://cannibals-and-colonials.blogspot.co.nz/ This blog will cover my beachcombing activities as well as look at issues relating to social history, local flora and fauna, and geology. the musket wars

Last week I spent the day with the boys at the Whangarei Community Mens Shed. They have just bought the old railway goods station for one dollar from the local council, & are in the process of moving their equipment over from their old shared premises at the steam engine heritage centre. The station has been derelict for 15 years and has been knocked around by kids with nothing better to do. The shed members have some serious working bees ahead of them, & I will go up whenever I can to give a hand - so stay tuned for progress reports.... The chairman is Mike Mansell: mikeandrosie@clear.net.nz

On my way up to Waipu last week I spotted a dead male pheasant at the side of the road. I stopped and went back to check him out - altho he was stiff, he had not been dead long, as he smelled fresh. The body was intact, tho his neck was broken. In the kitchen I gutted the bird, removed the tail feathers to give away, then poured boiling water over the bird as I plucked it - this way the feathers come out easily. My experience with pheasant is that the flesh can be a bit tough, so I mashed up 6 kiwi fruit & squeezed the juice out of a large grapefruit to make a marinade. I filled the body cavity with the mixture, placed the bird into a plastic bag & poured the rest of the mix in on top. This I placed in the refridgerator & left for four days. To roast the bird I placed it into a baking dish with some oil (still filled with fruit), covered the dish, & cooked it slowly for 80 minutes at 160-170 F. The juices and the rest of the marinade made a delicious gravy. The mea...

I took a brief roadtrip to Hamilton with my friend Laurie Santell. We took a walk around the botanical gardens. There three loungers were in the American Garden...