Hello To All, I have not, contrary to popular belief, fallen off the face of the planet. I am in fact nearing the end of my trip, with a mere 16 days remaining in my journey. Although I will be happy to see everyone at home, and I am in the process of job hunting, etc, I am not feeling entirely ready for this all to be over. This hasn't been jus...

It was an early Sunday morning start for those wishing to tackle the Pinnacles summit in the heart of the Kauaeranga Valley. The gorge was once the site of large scale logging, the remains of which for the backbone of the various walkways that take you through the valley. Myself and five other walkers were dropped off at 9am to commence the tram...

I spent 3 nights in Thames, an ex-goldrush town on the Coromandel Peninsula. I visited a butterfly garden, which was good practice for Hong Kong, as it was VERY humid. Much sweating! I tried to visit the goldmining museum, but it was shut due to lack of visitors this time of year - so instead I got a free personal tour from one of the engineers,...

When it transpired that the kiwifruit work wasn't going to start in the immediate future, I decided to take advantage of the good weather and I headed to Thames for another one of my little excursions. The few days prior to this had been really enjoyable, as I met some cool people and generally just chilled out at the beach/hostel. Last friday n...