Before I visited, Dallas had never found its way to the top of the long list of my travel priorities. Did I know where it was? Of course, but I’d never had a particular desire to travel there. As is…
Guest Who
When it comes to accommodation, we as travelers, have a number of options for consideration. The obvious starting points are the traditional options; hotels, backpacking, and camping. More recently we’ve been offered accommodation share choices like Air BnB and couch…
Head in the Land of the Long White Clouds
I’ve explained my love of the Mackenzie Country in the Canterbury area of New Zealand’s South Island, but in so doing I glossed over a rather important landmark that sits in the northern corner of the region. Don’t worry though…
Extra Cut! Park City Roundup
Utah is known for many things; Mormon churches, salt lake racing, bison and much more, but we went there for the snow. This is some of the powder we found at Park City.
A Picture of Halong Bay
I have seen thousands of pictures of Halong Bay. It is one of the places I think almost every traveler considers at some point. Of all the ‘have you been’ conversations I’ve been a part, it has not only cropped…
Pies and Lodges in the Mackenzie Country
VISTA: There are miles of roads like this all across the South Island There is a lot to love about New Zealand, and anyone who has spent any amount of time in The Land of the Long White Cloud (a…
New York is just a city?
New York City. It’s long been a holy grail for travelers. One might say it is the default capital of the world, but I’ve always harboured a suspicion that New York City is nothing more than – a city. Sure,…
Extra Cut! Fox Glacier Ice Climbing
Some things are hard to put in to words. So when words fail, pictures prevail! This is what a day of ice climbing looks like in New Zealand’s South Island at Fox Glacier.
Inappropriate Units of Measurement – Penguin in a Polar Bear Rodeo
It’s not every day that I get to travel somewhere new, and the longer I’m stuck at home the more I tend to fall into a restlessness that makes it hard to be around me. One of the many ways…
Jealousy and Longing in the Middle East
I miss Egypt. Not just Egypt actually, but the Middle East in general. Forget the modern monoliths of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates, what I yearn for is the excitement of exploration and the thrill of being set adrift…
Salt, Speed, and Utah – Bonneville Salt Flats
Every couple of days, I walk out my back door; forsaking anything that normally catches my attention, and I sit in my tiny shed. I survey the table of parts that will one day become the bike that I have,…
Mirissa – Southern Sri Lankan Stopover
“Can’t we just take a tuk-tuk?” I asked. “But the bus is cheaper.” It was the same discussion every time we travelled. I wanted comfort speed and a just a little legroom. Linh, on the other hand – at 5’1”…
Extra Cut! Snow Boarding in New Zealand
It has been some time since my last post and during my hiatus, there have been plenty of adventures. They’ll be heading your way shortly, along with a few new stories from our past trips! To ease back into the…
Western Australia: Kununurra, Lake Argyle & Emma Gorge
Over the course of the year, I’ve written a lot about my recent trips, but when I offered some young people the opportunity to contribute their experiences, a number jumped at the opportunity and I felt it only just to…
Blowing through windy Wellington
New Zealand is a unique place, and when it comes to the nation’s capital – Wellington – that is true in fantastic style! One of the wettest, windiest places on the planet, New Zealand’s capital city lies nestled in the…
New Zealand: Rushing through the North Island
Three weeks is nowhere near long enough to spend touring New Zealand. This was a concept that was abundantly clear to us, long before we picked up our van in Auckland for the 20-day tour of the North and South…
In search of Lorien: Finding Middle Earth in Glenorchy
Snowboarding in Queenstown on New Zealand’s South Island was a far different experience to the comfortable, resort-style treat you might be used to in Europe or America. Each morning was an early start for a 45-minute or more drive up…
Underground in a land without litigation.
The central region of New Zealand’s North Island is fertile, green, and lush. The hills are used for farming, lovely towns like Cambridge, Hamilton, Mata Mata and Hobbiton make driving distances manageable and pleasant, and one of the country’s principal…
Picnic at White Island
Anyone who has attended middle school should have learned that volcanos – in addition to being fascinating – can be pretty hot, and an altogether inadvisable place for a picnic. With this wisdom in mind, it may come as a…
New Zealand, Middle Earth and The Shire
About two and a half hours driving south of Auckland will take you to another world. Much has been said before about the hidden world spread across New Zealand, but until you actually find yourself in Middle Earth, it’s hard…
Einstein’s Barber Shop Itinerary – New Zealand: Ice, snow, and Middle Earth
Itinerary 4 – New Zealand
Thailand – Floating Markets
I’ve heard of Thailand’s floating markets many times, and my mind had conjured images of a sprawling flotilla of water-borne stalls, loosely connected to create a labyrinth of alleyways where long tail boats jostle for space, rocking to the ebb…
Musings from a Bangkok Mall
Eight days in one city is not something I would usually relish. Even at home in Perth, I rarely spend that amount of time in the city in a month. So when I found myself booked to supervise a tour…
Einstein’s Barber Shop Itinerary – Sri Lanka: Exploring Mountains, Temples, and Coastlines
Itinerary 3 Sri Lanka In Sri Lanka, we made effective use of trains and busses to see a large percentage of the island in a relatively small period of time. The trip initially took us from Colombo to Kandy by…
Behind Unawatuna
We spent the last few nights in Sri Lanka staying on the south east coast of the island. We’d taken a tuk-tuk from Mirissa in the morning and found a spot on the beach to spend a couple of…