Lava Plains

It is a dying land but not yet dead, with vegetation clinging to life, low scrubby trees, coarse grey grass-tussocks, withered mosses, greatwrithing, tangled brambles, and thickets of briars. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash and dust, the very air you breathe is a poisonous fumes……
And so it was into this [...]

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42

Not being able to find any new and interesting ways to hurtle downwards at great speeds in Tongiriro, I decided to try an old favourite instead, I went for a little cycle!
The little trip that I had in mind was the 42 Traverse, a 46km mountain bike ride though Tongariro Forest (formerly known as Forest [...]

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Life’s a Beach

“Four Seasons in One Day” used to be a nice little Crowded House song until I came to New Zealand and it’s amazing how often you hear the phrase being used here. With so many Kiwis from Irish and English stock, talking about the weather is a national sport and with such changeable weather hereabouts [...]

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All creatures great and small

It’s hard to believe but there are plenty of things to do that don’t risk life and limb in New Zealand, you can go to areas known for their earthquakes and volcanos instead!
We had the opportunity to go to the Agrodome to see sheep-shearing but unfortunately we got lost and ended-up Zorbing, terrible shame really. [...]

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To love and obey

When we arrived we were taken out back to meet the goanna, and it was a lovely goanna who comes wandering out of the bush each morning to eat on the family’s scraps, nearly 3 foot long and still just a baby. Standing there watching the lizard ambling along I knew for sure that it [...]

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