Tag Archives: new zealand
Franz Josef and Christchurch: A Strangely Downbeat Farewell to New Zealand
Since I’ve once again gotten behind on blogging, here are a couple of catch-up posts. My only excuse for the tardiness is that I have spent the past week visiting various friends in beautiful Sydney, and I have had no … Continue reading
The Queenstown Scenery Is Even Pretty When You’re Upside Down
It’s going to be so boring when I am not in New Zealand anymore. I’m getting used to world-class scenery everywhere I turn, and when I suddenly find myself somewhere where Frodo and Xena are not likely to jump out … Continue reading
Not Done Eating in Dunedin
Sorry, I know the post titles are getting worse and worse, but at least I think they are funny. If you want bad puns, I can but point you to the excellent The Bugle podcast, of which my favourite example … Continue reading
Oddball Oamaru
It’s 1880. You live in Oamaru,“the breadbasket of New Zealand,” a port city that supplies grain and meat to much of the rest of the country, and the closest city to an important limestone quarry. It’s a rough but busy … Continue reading
Swimming with Dolphins, Penguin-Watching, and a Surprise
Cold water is not one of my favourite things, with the exception of when I have been running and it is hot, and then cold water is wonderful. But cold showers, cold rain, and especially freezing cold oceans do not … Continue reading
Kayaking in Abel Tasman National Park
Well, the weather didn’t really hold out. It has rained every day but one that I have been on the South Island, and I am starting to wonder if there is ever any sun here. Everyone keeps telling me, “oh, … Continue reading
My Upside-Down Christmas, Getting Well-Musseled, and the SheepCam
This Christmas was the first I have spent in anything approaching a warm climate, so there was a lot of novelty value to my Christmas lunch being a barbecue and the after-lunch activity being a trip to the beach. My … Continue reading
How I Accidentally Became an Adrenaline Junkie
New Zealanders are crazy, crazy people. I have never seen so many people come up with so many creative ways of killing themselves. They include, naturally, bungy-jumping (which I tried back in Salta, but may do again at some point), … Continue reading
Rotorua: That’s Hot
Rotorua has some bizarre landscapes even by New Zealand standards. Some areas feel like a slightly Wonderland-ised version of England, all country farms and winding roads, but it also boasts geysers, volcanoes and pools of bubbling mud, with the mineral … Continue reading
A Busy Few Days in Whangarei
I’ve been bad about blogging this week, so this is a catch-up post and may jump around between subjects, so consider yourself warned. I only have a month to see all of New Zealand, which is both less time than … Continue reading
Jess and the Rebels -- Backpacking Adventures in Latin America, New Zealand and Australia 