More books by local author
AN ACCIDENTAL BUSHMAN.
The Making of a Forest Ranger.
More great yarns from the author of "Cannibals, Crocodiles and Cassowaries".
Growing up in small town Taranaki, Ross wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life. He just knew that he enjoyed hunting, hiking, trapping, fishing, and exploring the wilds of New Zealand. The outdoors was Ross’ element.
During his first year out of secondary school, a chance newspaper advertisement launched Ross upon a career that would take him through many adventures over four decades, through 42 countries, and innumerable close shaves.
In An Accidental Bushman (the prequel to Cannibals, Crocodiles and Cassowaries, published in 2019), Ross tells about how it all came to be—and about some of the incorrigible larrikins, precarious predicaments, and hair-raising exploits that shaped his training and early career as a Forest Ranger in New Zealand.
Ross has a way of telling a story that draws you into the moment and sweeps you along with the action. There are plenty of laughs (some at Ross’s expense) and enough scrapes and shenanigans to make you wonder how Ross ever survived to write the book!
An Accidental Bushman sometimes reads like a hilarious instruction book of what not to do, with many of Ross’s ill-fated adventures stemming from what simply seems like a good idea at the time—like his disastrous introduction to boating with no experience, no safety gear, and ultimately no working engine! Ross makes a habit of crashing vehicles, manufactures cyanide possum bait (and lives to tell the tale), gets seriously lost in the bush, spends a night in a haunted hut, gets marooned on an island amidst swirling floodwaters, contracts hypothermia, and survives some memorable culinary disasters. It’s clear that without his uncanny knack of always falling on his feet, Ross wouldn’t be with us to tell these stories today.
Ross also shares yarns of the colourful bunch of larrikins with whom he trained, worked, and socialised, regaling us with tales of interrupted trysts, foul revenge, forest fires, thieving wildlife, crippling hangovers, poaching, parties, and motorised mayhem.
The book includes some 60 photographs from Ross’s vast collection which richly illustrate his writing.
Settle in for another book of rip-roaring adventures that’s as hard to put down as the last one!
Text Ross on 021662424
Price includes NZ postage.
Price: $25
Poll: When should the tree go up? 🎄
From what we've heard, some Christmas trees are already being assembled and decorated.
What are your thoughts on the best time to get your Christmas tree up?
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4.7% Second half of November
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43.6% 1st December
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17.7% A week before Christmas
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33% Whenever you wish
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1.1% Other - I'll share below
Poll: Should all neighbours have to contribute to improvements?
An Auckland court has ruled a woman doesn’t have to contribute towards the cost of fixing a driveway she shares with 10 neighbours.
When thinking about fences, driveways or tree felling, for example, do you think all neighbours should have to pay if the improvements directly benefit them?
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82.8% Yes
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14.4% No
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2.8% Other - I'll share below
What's your favourite tomato recipe?
Kia ora neighbours. We know your tomato plants are still growing, but we're looking ahead to the harvest already! If you've got a family recipe for tomatoes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine to share with our readers. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our February 2025 issue.
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