A Kiwi Kind Of Christmas For a number of years I have wanted to do a different kind of Christmas- a couple of them actually. One somewhere with snow so I can see in a true ' White Christmas' and another somewhere warm and sunny. The latter is the one I'm getting to experience this year. Well the warm part anyway, the weather is due to be much more UK like what with the current rain continuing. I guess someone forgot to tell me that early summer in New Zealand is...

24th September 2018 When I came out to New Zealand almost 8 months ago, I had no idea what would happen. Would I do okay on my own? Would I make friends, find work, challenge myself and maybe even feel at home here? I discovered my love of travel over a decade ago now but it’s still only in recent years that I’ve travelled alone. And while I have pushed myself in various ways over the last half a dozen years, I still struggle with any kind of change and my...

Kerikeri- Maungaturoto Monday 7th- Monday 21st May 2018 On leaving Seven hills, I had ten days to make my way the 240 odd km to Auckland and no plans past catching a bus to Paihia on Tuesday. When I had had the girls drop me in town to make plans in case my phone didn’t come back to life, I had booked the bus and a motel room in Kerikeri for the night in between. Not my usual as it costs twice as much but the only hostel in Kerikeri never seems to have vaca...

(For those of you that have been following my somewhat erratically documented journey, you will remember that at the beginning of March I left you all in Tauranga, having just enjoyed a day out on a boat exploring the area. Well what I might have kept from you is that I had arranged to do some wwoofing (willing workers on organic farms) and was all set to get a lift to my new adventure the following day. This is my story of the past month. And actually proves the...

( Rotorua- As you'll know, despite now having time to write I'm still struggling to find my passion for it. So for now my 10days in Rotorua are not recorded though I do hope to fill in the highlights at least at some point. For now we move on to my next stop) Tauranga Friday 2nd to Saturday 10th March So you might be wondering why I’ve chosen to hop on an intercity bus and head back northwards. To be honest, I’m not sure. I guess I wasn’t ready to conti...