Nothing quite beats waking up on a grey, rainy Saturday morning with four hours of sleep under your belt and plans to go walk around an animal park all day. A huge part of me was wanting to beg my friend Ellen to cancel the trip to Orana Wildlife Park we’d planned. But alas, a … Read More
36 hours of turning 23.
Despite how loathe I normally am to celebrate my own birthday, I was surprised to find myself actually looking forward to this year’s. For one, I am in New Zealand after all, so how can I not be excited? And then I would be having my first winter birthday – from laying out by the … Read More
My kiwi guarantee.
Before arriving in New Zealand, I knew generally three things about the sort of animal life to be found in the country: 1. There are no squirrels. 2. There are, however, enough sheep to make up for the squirrels’ absence…and then some. 3. They have kiwis – not kiwifruit, but a little bird that lends … Read More
Gearing up for goodbyes.
Despite a week or two of serious debating, in three weeks’ time I will officially be en route to Queenstown, via a southern tour of Dunedin, Invercargill, and Stewart Island. Like most things in life, the decision was a fast one. Newspaper articles, advice from friends, general hear-say – none of it spoke positively about … Read More
Sussing out the story.
An island—‘tis of climate mild, Uncultivated once and wild, But peopled now and doated o’er With cottage homes from shore to shore, Whose owners till the fertile fields, And live on what their labour yields… — Francis Knowles, “A Dream,” written in 1851 upon arrival in New Zealand Easter weekend, I visited the Canterbury Museum … Read More
Happiness, and all that.
“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” – Joseph Campbell I’ve held onto that quote for years now, bringing it out every time life doesn’t go my way, when the plan I’ve devised goes askew and leaves me feeling … Read More
The city that always sleeps.
As the train pulled into the station at Greymouth, to my left was a Wal-Mart-sized Warehouse and Fresh Choice, two giants in the New Zealand circle of chain stores, and to my right a main street lined with buildings sporting Wild West-style facades. But the sun was shining and that was all that mattered. I … Read More
An alpine adventure, NZ-style.
There’s nothing like having to get up on a Saturday morning earlier than you would during the week to propel you out of bed. Especially when it’s still dark outside, raining for the sixth day straight, and you have a ten-minute walk in front of you to the nearest bus stop. But thankfully it was … Read More