Sandi Walsh

This is a delightful story about life in New Zealand for those who braved the journey for the gold rush. Extremely well written, I could easily picture every step of the journeys made - especially having spent four months in the South Island from January to May 2022. Well worth a read if you're interested in the history of European settlement in Aotearoa

This is a brilliantly written and researched book. The photography is superb. The story is heartbreaking and truly shocking. Well done, Mary and Charlie, for persevering even when the NOBs were doing everything in their power to thwart you. Your cafe and ethos is a credit to your hard work and ethical natures, and I do not doubt that Mount Cook Village is a better place with you both there ;-)

Thank you, Reg, for publishing the letters to Charlie. I found your book at a bookstall near Nelson, in New Zealand, at the end of January 2021. I read the back cover and was hooked. I thought it would be morbid to read it, so I put it down reluctantly and walked away. The next day I returned to the bookstall, and it was still there. I was compelled to buy it. I've been reading it slowly ever since. I can't begin to know how you feel. I have two grown-up daughters and two grandsons. The thought of anything similar happening to any of them is terrifying. Yet, I also know, as you do all too well, we can't possibly be there for our loved ones to keep them 'safe' 100% of the time. I hope that now, 15 years later, you, Hilary, Robbie and Horsey have found some way to laugh, love and live again. Your writing enthralled me; I loved the analogies and descriptiveness of your feelings. Maybe you've written more books? Maybe you've become a teacher? Whatever, Charlie was blessed to have such a wonderful caring family for the short time she was here on earth. Arohanui from Dunedin.