Sorry for leaving you all on such a down note, the last few weeks have FLOWN by and I am now in Thailand. A quick recap:
My friend Amy flew over from Australia (where she was visiting from the US) and came with me up to the Northland. We went to Whangarei and Tutukaka (on The Perfect Day boat trip to the Poor Knights Islands — fantastic!) and Paihia (where I took the highly recommended AwesomeNZ Cape Reinga day trip) together before going separate ways.
Whangarei & Poor Knights Islands day trip
Paihia …

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 …

Last weekend was my long awaited trip up to Auckland. It’s been over six months since I left to move to Wellington, and it was so nice to be back. I was really frustrated with my situation when I lived there, so going back now that things are so good in my life was such a treat. The weekend was spent catching up with my friends and having great meals (and lots of wine). I also sorted out my Australian visitor’s visa so now I’m good to return to Melbourne …

I few weeks ago I received an email from an American who had saw a post of mine on a New Zealand Facebook page. He wrote me asking if I had any advice for him as he was planning to move here in a few months and wanted to know things that the guidebooks just dont tell you.
Work visas
When I was younger, I thought that having a Canadian passport meant that I could work for six months in any Commonwealth country no questions asked. It was a benefit of being …

Shortly before I left Canada I made a list of oddball things I was looking forward to about New Zealand. Now that I’ve been here eleven (!!) months, I thought it would be a good time to revisit it and see how things turned out.

New Zealand telephone rings. Is it a double ring like in England, or more North American sounding? Most Kiwi phones have a double ring, although with the total cellphone addiction that is going on down here, it isnt often that I actually hear a landline telephone.  …

I lived in Auckland from November 2008 when I arrived, until the middle of March 2009. I never really fell in love with the city, although that could be because I had such a hard time finding work so money was always a stress. I also made a poor choice in where to live, so that didnt help.
All the same, the happy memories far outweigh the negative ones: I loved how you could see the ocean from pretty much every vantage point (and it was here that I saw …

I’m back in Auckland now but last week I spent several days in Island Bay, a suburb of Wellington on the Cook Strait. This photo is was taken about five minutes from the house that I will most likely be subletting a room from. It’s pretty much a done deal, although I am waiting to hear back from the people I stayed with just to know for certain. It’s a far cry from the noisiness of Grey Lynn, where Im currently living.
Ive always said that I hated the suburbs, and …