Franz Josef Glacier. I’d taken a Sea Legs pill before going to sleep last night to ward off any travel sickness that was thinking about coming along for the ride; I want to buy stock in this product, as Ive not had even a twinge of nausea since I started taking them and we have gone down some seriously windy roads. The trouble is that it makes me really tired: Id fought off sleep all afternoon yesterday, so thought that by taking it at night I would have …

Last Saturday I headed out of town with some friends for a minibreak on the company dime. For the Christmas function, my company had rented us a dinner cruise (!!!) around Akaroa harbour then put us up for the night in one of several local motels. At first I was a bit leery of the “motel” bit, as I’m used to the North American variety, but it turned out to be a complete and utter score. I shared a two-bedroom suite, complete with a private outdoor seating area and picnic …

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 …

A few weeks ago, while nearing the end of my bout with The Illness™, I went on a wee trip out to Birdling’s Flat with my friends Nicky and Kat. I wasn’t sure what to expect, the only thing I knew of the place was that the stone in my necklace was from there. The way NZ Rox carries on, it’s a magical place filled with glacial-placed stones. The reality is that its the grittiest place I have seen since arriving in New Zealand eight months ago. Lining the beach …

Hello from sunny Nelson, South Island! Ive been here for a few days now, and wow. My life has completely changed for the better since leaving Wellington. Everything about Welly was going against me, no matter how hard I tried to make it work, no matter how much I loved that city. It just plain SUCKED.
Im working at the Tasman Bay Backpackers for 3-weeks as a housekeeper: cleaning rooms, the kitchen, doing the laundry, and odd jobs in exchange for my accomodation. While Im still rapidly running out of money, …

I’ve turned this entry into a proper page, as I’d like to keep my entries for photography and actual recounts on my experiences here.