Today hasnt been the greatest. I think Ive reached a point in long term travel that I wasnt expecting to reach, or even had on my radar as being something that I would eventually encounter. I feel like Im just done with this particular phase of the journey and am eager to move on to Thailand. Its not that I dont love NZ, bc I do, or that Im not sad to be leaving. I just feel that right now things are not flowing smoothly and Im feeling frustrated on …

Many years ago I learned about the four elements: Air, Fire, Water, and Earth; each one corresponding to a cardinal point on the map, a selection of human emotions and its genders, the seasons of the year, a rainbow of colours and a vast array of gods and goddesses from a multitude of humanity’s faiths. The elements, it would seem, represent all of humanity and the thoughts and realities that each of us can create or experience.
Until now, my only Burning Man experiences were Decompression parties in Toronto. Wildly spectacular, …

Pohutukawa, as far as I can tell, are the most iconic symbol of a Kiwi Yuletide. The trees burst into bloom at the height of summer (which is coincidentally, Christmastime), looking for all the world like their branches are covered in massive bright red pompoms.
Christmas down here doesn’t seem quite real for me. It’s not freezing cold, the days are long, the sun (when it deigns to shine in Christchurch) is kind of on the fierce side. Pubs and stores dont really put up that much seasonal decoration, Ballantyne’s with …

I’m tired. Really, really tired. I feel like this past year I have struggled with sleep issues and am nearing my wits’ end. When I first moved to New Zealand, I lived in a house on Richmond Road in Auckland’s Grey Lynn neighbourhood. The house was sweet and the flatmates nice enough, but I should never have moved there for the simple fact that it was on a main road. I thought that perhaps the street wouldn’t be loud at night, as it was Auckland and not Toronto after all. …

… because that’s mostly what my “surfing” lessons consist of at this point. Sure, I have an 8ft soft top board and a nifty wetsuit to keep me from freezing, but I’ve yet to actually get up onto my feet. After two 3hr sessions the closest I can get is onto my knees.
In my head, I understand what my body has to do to (I’m working on the Pop Up, see video below), but actually getting there just isn’t happening. This is partly because of my crap knees, and partly …

That’s right, this time last year I was sitting pretty on a 15-hour Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong. Not having left Toronto by plane in over a decade this was pretty spectacular. Sure, my flight left at midnight, but wow there was no way in hell I was going to fall asleep. I was so excited! Even though it was the dead of night, I think my nose left marks on the window from being pressed against it for at least the first hour of the journey as I stared …

I’ve finally reached the point where I am close enough to exciting travels that I feel like I can touch them. It’s been a long haul, these last six months, and I’m super excited that in about six weeks I will  FINALLY be playing tourist in the country that has been my home for the last year. It’s taken a few weeks to sort everything out to a place where Im confident sharing my plans, but I think I’ve everything in order. Now all I need is money to pay …