After a weekend of nursing my bruised knees, aching muscles and the rest of my sore body I embarked on the third little adventure of my semester break, to the Whirinaki Forest, nicknamed the "Dinasaur Forest". After some last minute planning and organizing and finally getting in the car and heading off for another 4 hour drive down south we got to the jungle rainforest of Whirinaki and of course, it was raining. When we (me and three guys) entered the...

Only a few short hours after I returned from my epic road trip up North, I was packing again for my departure to Mt. Ruapehu in the opposite direction.I quickly went food shopping to tied me over for the next 4 days and then went out to get some extremely last minute gear that I needed to go hike up a mountain, like a coat, and you know, those things they call pants.After dishing out far too much money for them I made it back to my flat in time to collapse into b...

The words "road trip" can mean a variety things around the world and with different people. A road trip in the States is completely different from a road trip in the UK or Europe. Likewise one that you do with friends is different from family. You might be with people that do not like to make unscheduled stops, you may never run out of gas, you may get stranded in a nowhere town, you may meet some interesting locals, eat some good pies, see some beau...

At first when presented with the IFSA-Butler arranged trips I was a little dissapointed. I am not really one for big 15+ group activities where you get shuttled around on a bus and told what you are doing and when we headed out on our "Wander in the Waitakeres" day trip I was expecting a simple little "wander". After the second water crossing that was up to our waists I started to think that "wander" was a misleading term and "...

I am not sure how she does it, but Joni Mitchell is one of the most amazing singers I have ever heard. Her voice has a melodic quality that soothes you on some of the most upsetting days. After being in New Zealand for almost 2 months now I have hit my first string of "bad days". The kind of days that just hit you over the head like an anvil and don't stop. When you feel like you are drowning in your own stupidity and anger. Things I had planned star...