Auckland, New Zealand - Thursday, 11am Twenty four hours ago I was wading through cold water in a pitch black cave, gawping upwards like a star struck fool at greenish constellations scattered in their thousands. Glow worms. Today is my last day in New Zealand and my long journey home begins here; Auckland airport. Having bid farewell to my rented Granny Mazda half an hour ago I am perusing the first of many duty free lounges I'll be visiting over the next f...

The journey of true enlightenment comes in many forms. For me, it's usually on the toilet. (In keeping with the circular nature of life and the universe I have decided to finish these blogs where I started them!) This particular toilet was an unusual one. Due to the limited water supply in remote areas of New Zealand (and the strong emphasis on environmental respect) all of the toilets at this retreat are 'compost toilets'. In other words, a hole in the ground wi...

I've made it back to civilisation (surprisingly in one piece) after tramping the spectacular (32km!!) Routeburn Track in driving rain and gale force winds, through waterfalls, moss forests, along mountain edges, lugging 10kg of camping supplies with a chest infection and not enough waterproof clothes. However none of this quite compares to the challenge of eating dehydrated spaghetti bolognaise with nothing but a disposable teaspoon. Character building?!

Final Aussie drinks night on the harbour (not IN the harbour, mind) with my Bondi Bessie (LLMS - otherwise known as 'Bridge w***er') and my new found Bondi posse. Suddenly the prospect of moving on doesn't seem all that tempting... Huh. They were right all along.

My New Year's resolution is to take more risks, think less and 'just do it'. No I'm not endorsing Nike (if I was I'd be a hell of a lot richer travelling around Australia, where a six pack of beer costs the equivalent of a week's accommodation in SE Asia!) Basically, I've caught myself too many times standing furrow-browed over the pros and cons of various trivial conundrums, riddled with maddening indecision. In most cases my brain becomes a battle ground b...