A bit of frustration in the wind here in New Zealand for us travellers. The past few days have been a comedy of errors it seems. After leaving the Dunedin area, we headed down to the Catlins which is the southernmost part of New Zealand. We had planned on staying 3 nights at a backpacker hostel that was situated just off a wide crescent beach. After driving past all the major viewpoints and hikes along the way due to the blustery, rainy weather, we arrived at our...

Dunedin is a curious city, described in our travel guide as 'exuding artsy, boozy ambiance' (i.e. our first sightings were numerous interestingly dressed college girls, carrying their own bottle of wine walking down the main street preparing for a Friday night on the town). We showed up at Hogwartz Hostel, high up on a hill with quite a climb up a staircase shrouded by bushes and vines, lugging all our groceries and bags into an old Bishop's home and up another m...

New Zealand is expensive! We realized that the travel life of no cooking had to come to an abrupt stop. We cannot possibly afford to eat in restaurants. Each day here we have adjusted our practices…we’ve even eliminated our daily purchased cup of coffee; we’ve bought coffee mugs and are making our own now. Wine and beer are no longer a daily given. Private bathrooms are just too dear for this budget. Thankfully, we have stopped here with the cut...

We are working our adaptability muscles. Every time we drop into a new city or country with new surroundings, climate, currency, perhaps language and if not language an accent or habits that are unfamiliar it requires us to let go of what we are comfortable with and embrace the new. Each time I can feel my mind, body and soul aching for the more familiar then settling into the excitement and challenge of another place. It's all good. In fact I really dislike it w...

I think Jim and I are pretty good travelers but man, oh man, our own bed sure felt good that first night we climbed into it! Well, and every night since then, too. Am I getting old? Resistant to change? Is the draw of comfort, family, friends, home, vegetables/good coffee/chocolate so powerful that it will create inertia? Possibly, but not likely. As we prepare to leave for New Zealand, I sit here watching and listening to Tropical Storm Sandy. It was a full moo...