Steve Lowndes has had a checkered career since arriving in Aotearoa New Zealand in the winter of 1979. Making the transition from hippie traveller to being the father of two children was the first challenge. Five years as a builder’s labourer were followed by fourteen years as the director of Akaroa Museum and during that time he wrote three short histories of Akaroa, Banks Peninsula and the Hurunui. He then went into local government serving on various boards and councils. He retired in 2019 as the Chairman of Environment Canterbury. Writing and painting have been twin drawcards that have engaged him throughout his life when work hasn’t got in the way. Steve and Lisa parted company twenty years ago, but have stayed in close contact and this book, designed by their daughter Alicia, has been a collaborative family effort. He now lives at Birdlings Flat in Canterbury with his partner Susan Morrow. In the early 1980s, Lisa Potts and Steve Lowndes found an idyllic rundown 1860s cottage in the hills behind Akaroa. Lisa focused on rearing two children and adapting to an alternative lifestyle. She milked cows, chased sheep, looked after too many chooks and cats and lived the life of a homesteader. She developed and printed photographs in a small darkroom in one of the sheds on the property and at the same time worked for the inspirational herbalist, Gillian Polson, at The Herb Farm Grehan Valley. Lisa organized and managed the first Akaroa Music Festival in the sesquicentennial year of 1990 and for several years coordinated the Akaroa Spring School sponsored by the Arts Council of New Zealand. She worked as an assistant librarian at the Akaroa School and Community Library for many years. In the latter years, Lisa travelled extensively in Europe & Canada with her late partner, Willie Rutherford. She is now retired, still living on the same property, guarded by her faithful canine friend and surrounded by a perennial garden and the melodic song of bellbirds and tuis.