I have reasons to suspect that Mat and I are either turning into bumpkins, have shifted our mindsets to that of retired folk or have been in New Zealand a few weeks too many, the evidence: 1. If you were to look at out 30 before 30 lists you would find that one of us wants to have our own herb garden while the other would ideally acquire a new "best" dress, yes, the exact wording used! 2. We frequently lament our lack of practical waterproof layers. 3. Yesterd...

Going away with one person, in this case your husband, and spending everyday with them makes you aware of your differences. Point in hand, I am sat in the A J Hackett shop writing this blog, while Mat is actually probably free-falling a whopping 134m from the Nevis Bungy as I type. It's like a tiger marrying a mouse, and then looking after said mouse rather than chewing it up! Totally unimpressed by the fact they tried to charge us $50 just for me to watch and ge...

Chow South America, Kia Ora New Zealand! The change of time zone, by a mahooosive sixteen hours, also rang in a change of temperature: Santiago 37 degrees, Auckland 16. Santiago blazing sun, Auckland, heavy rain. Goodbye Spanish. Hello English. Must admit, this was a relief to me! For the first time ever in my life, I experienced culture shock. In New Zealand, yes! I felt completely off kilter being back in such a Western place. No, I'm no hippy now (though my...