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...

I love everything about rain.I love the smell of it, I love the feel of it when it first starts to fall, I love the sound of it when you are sitting inside and can hear it falling through the trees. I especially love the feeling of it as it drips down my neck and shoulders.Most people think I am insane when I say I love rainy dismal weather and that it is the best to go for a run in (which it is, try it sometime) but it is true. There is something so incredibly p...

There is a distinct sound when your shoe gets stuck in gooey mud and is painstakingly wrenched from the vice like grip of the watery clay that makes me smile...which is very good, because there was a lot of that during my hike through the Waharau National Park in Hunua this weekend. Before departing on Friday to drive the hour and a half outside of Auckland I was vaguely aware of the fact that it was supposed to rain. By the time I arrived at the little campsite ...