Floss on the beach

Floss the drama dog

For an exciting few minutes I thought my dog Floss had medicated herself, although ripping off her loose toenail was never going to be in the same league as, say, repairing her smashed bone, regurgitating chocolate cake, fast tracking staples through her gut or preventing a gaping wound from becoming infected. But even though it …

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Kawakawa Plant

Magical Maori bush remedies

When the farmer was afflicted with a cold, instead of dosing up on vitamin C and its ilk he decided to take a Maori bush remedy, having recently caught up with a visiting member of the local iwi who was collecting leaves on the roadside. “Steep a handful in water and drink the brew,” the …

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Hippos double as rocks on a Chobe River sandbank.

Stalked . . . by a plastic bag

The hippos lolling on a sandbank in Chobe River could have been mistaken for boulders – until our boat got stuck beside them. After tolerating our vessel’s roaring outboards for several minutes, they headed into the water. Some emerged nearby, only their eyes and ears to be seen. When Moffat, our boat captain, said he’d …

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Shags in a feeding frenzy

Thanks to our hapless guests

The farmer and I thank visiting family and friends for coping with cold showers, collapsing chairs and curious possums. About a year ago we bought eight new deck chairs which, as three hapless guests have taught us, have a design fault. So far three chairs have cracked in the same place taking three different guests …

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Sheep on a quad with the farmer

Quick as you can

When the farmer pops his head in the door and yells “As quick as you can,” I know he needs help – and fast. The expression was coined by his old friend and stock agent Goldie Rossiter. It’s best used when you want the other person to do something A) you don’t want to do, …

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Floss the drama dogMagical Maori bush remediesStalked . . . by a plastic bagThanks to our hapless guestsQuick as you can

Welcome

Rae Roadley's memoir - cover

NEWS: We’ll be on Country Calendar: Saturday,  August 11, 7.30pm, TV1.

Soon after being charged by a bull on our dusty road in the New Zealand backblocks, I thought: “I could write about this.”  Then, when readers of my newspaper columns wanted a book, Penguin Books suggested a memoir – I’d moved from the city to a sheep and beef farm – intertwined with stories about people from the area’s fascinating past and the present.  

Love at the End of the Road drew on skills I’d acquired as a journalist and an apprentice novelist, plus the generosity of countless people who shared time, wisdom, memories, books and kindness – most especially my gorgeous husband Rex who agreed to share our personal story.

While you’re here you can:

You can also buy my book online – and through New Zealand retailers.
Thanks for visiting.

Rae Roadley

Floss on the beach

Floss the drama dog

For an exciting few minutes I thought my dog Floss had medicated herself, although ripping off her loose toenail was never going to be in the same league as, say, repairing her smashed bone, regurgitating chocolate cake, fast tracking staples through her gut or preventing a gaping wound from becoming infected. But even though it …

Read more

Kawakawa Plant

Magical Maori bush remedies

When the farmer was afflicted with a cold, instead of dosing up on vitamin C and its ilk he decided to take a Maori bush remedy, having recently caught up with a visiting member of the local iwi who was collecting leaves on the roadside. “Steep a handful in water and drink the brew,” the …

Read more