After all of the rainy weather on the West Coast (yes, I know — it’s a rain forest, it’s supposed to rain), it was great heading north to Marahau and Abel Tasman National Park, one of the sunniest spots in New Zealand. We arrived super late at The Barn, did in a much needed bundle of laundry, and crashed. This was the only night of the trip where I didn’t sleep well, the Sea Legs pills I was taking tended to knock me out pretty hard. But for whatever reason, …

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 …

I went north to Kaikoura to go whale watching on weekend in June 2009. I got terribly seasick on the boat, and spent most of the time hanging onto my stomach hoping and praying I wouldnt be ill (I wasnt, go me!). I had a really nice time that weekend; Id organized the trip through the local Couch Surfing group and met some really fun and interesting people along the way. Also, seals. Lots and lots of baby seals.

While I was in Queenstown in May, I put together a list of things I wanted to do while in New Zealand. Up until that point Id kind of been coasting along, taking experiences as they came to me. I realized Id been here almost 6 months, yet hadn’t done a great number of things. So the list was born (actually, it was born on the back of an envelope while out drinking 2-for-1 beers with my hostel mates and my friend Dorian, and entitled “Kelly’s List of Highly Improbable …