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, …

I so miss my little felines. I loved watching this fellow, he had this big black ball that was tethered to the side of a wading pool. He would knock the ball into the water, then spend ages licking it like a giant gobstobber. Very playful, yet very dangerous. His keeper told me that the zoo staff NEVER went into his enclosure while was inside, that he never had human contact as they wanted him to remain as wild as possible. Not sure how successful that endeavour would be, considering …

For New Year’s I went east to Napier/Hawke’s Bay for a few days with my friends. It was a 6-hr road trip that gave me my first real taste of New Zealand outside of Auckland. I loved it. It was fantastic! This photo was taken from the deck of E’s family’s house, I couldnt imagine seeing this view every single day.
We spent 4.5 days there (not at the house with this view, but in the area), spending our days at the beach, wandering around the shops, drinking a LOT of …

Many centuries ago the people living in pa (fortified villages) on the Heretaunga Plains were under constant threat of war from the coastal tribes of Waimarama. At a gathering in Pakipaki (near Hastings), a wise old woman (kuia) suggested that the leader of the Waimarama tribes, a giant named Te Mata, could be made to fall in love with Hinerakau – the daughter of a Pakipaki chief – and turn his thoughts from war to peace. This mission was quickly accomplished, and Te Mata fell under the spell of the …

I have no idea where this photo was taken. On Saturday, I piled into a very posh BMW and very comfortably enjoyed the view as Elisa, Donna, Dave and I headed out into the middle of somewhere (again, I don’t know where) to go to a party that Ash was djing at. I do, however, know what this photo is of, so at least I can tag it properly for SEO purposes ;)
It’s a cabbage tree, ti kouka in Maori,and Cordyline australis if you want to be fancy about it. …

Ash and Elisa have gone down to Napier to visit E’s family for the week, so left to my own devices, I hopped on the ferry to Devonport yesterday for a walk around. I’m really surprised that there aren’t more easily-accessible waterfront parks in this city, considering that it has two harbours and water can be seen from pretty much every vantage point. Or, rather, maybe there are lots of places to walk and run where you can be by the water (Im looking for something like the Martin Goodman …

On Saturday afternoon, the Kiwis and I set off on a day mission to Tawharanui Beach. The beach is only one part of the giant park, in effect a nature preserve complete with a predator fence to keep the reserve’s sheep safe. In addition to the sheep, I met my first pukeko (now officially my favourite bird) and her little puffpall babies.
We’d taken our time getting out to the beach, stopping in a small town (whose name I cant remember right now. Elisa?) to visit the honey market (where we …