• Travel

    Highlights of Fiji

    Highlights of Fiji - feature photo - mountain and coast view seen from the Garden of the Sleeping Giant

    After my adventures in Samoa, I was ready for more Pacific Island exploring while it’s winter in New Zealand. My heart was set on a Vanuatu trip with work, and wouldn’t you know it, there are no direct flights from NZ to Vanuatu. My route required a connection in Fiji, which was the perfect excuse for a trip there as well! I only had a few days to explore so I had to narrow down the highlights of Fiji. I picked a base in the Wailoaloa Beach area of Nadi and signed up for a few day trips. Having also…

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  • A Week in Samoa - feature photo - palm trees over white sand Vavau beach and a small tree-covered peninsula
    Travel

    A Week in Samoa

    I’m escaping the New Zealand winter! I knew I wanted to visit some Pacific Islands while I’m on this side of the world and winter seemed like the perfect time of year for it. This is my first time leaving…

  • A Week in Northland road trip - feature photo - Spirit Bay & tree at Cape Reinga
    Travel

    A Week in Northland | New Zealand

    After several long weekend trips around New Zealand’s North Island, including Tauranga, Taupō and Taranaki, my next adventure took me further and for longer. Trying to escape the impending winter weather in Wellington, I headed as far north as I…

  • 3 Days in Taranaki - feature photo - Mount Taranaki volcano view from Pouakai Tarn hike with cloud across the centre
    Travel

    3 Days in Taranaki | New Zealand

    It really feels like I took a lot of long weekend trips within my first couple of months in New Zealand! Just a few weeks after my Taupō trip, there was another public holiday at the end of April. It…

  • Long Weekend in Taupō - feature photo - Māori rock carvings on the shores of Lake Taupō, New Zealand
    Travel

    Long Weekend in Taupō

    Easter Weekend rolled around early this year, just a few weeks after my birthday trip to Tauranga. I wasn’t expecting to be planning and taking so many trips not long after arriving in New Zealand! But I wanted to take…

  • Long Weekend in Tauranga feature cover photo - Hobbiton movie set tour, hobbit holes built in the hills of the Shire
    Travel

    Long Weekend in Tauranga

    I turned thirty about a month after moving to New Zealand, which is a bit of a milestone birthday. It landed on a Monday too, so I requested a couple of days off work. There were a few options I…

  • Highlights of Wellington - feature photo - Wellington cable car, skyline and waterfront, New Zealand
    Travel

    Highlights of Wellington

    It’s already been 3 months since I moved to Wellington and in that time I’ve explored quite a lot of the city! I’ve been trying to pace myself, so I don’t run out of things all year, but between taking…

  • Moving to New Zealand - feature photo - view of Wellington from the summit of Mount Victoria
    Life,  Travel

    I’m Moving to New Zealand

    New year, new country! Is anyone surprised at this point? Yes, after finishing up my working holiday in Canada, as well as previously living in Hong Kong and South Korea, I’m trying out living somewhere else again. This time I’m…

  • Hawaii short break - feature photo - palm tree silhouettes against a twilight ocean view just after sunset on Waikiki beach
    Travel

    Hawaii Short Break

    I feel like I’ve seen images of Hawaii for as long as I can remember, thanks to the number of movies that feature it. Honestly, it wasn’t super high on my bucket list, as I associated it with over-tourism and…

  • A Year in Canada - feature photo - Maligne Lake & Spirit Island in Jasper National Park
    Life,  Travel

    A Year in Canada

    Well, technically 16 months in Canada. Except about 3.5 of them were spent in the USA. Anyways, back in mid-October 2022 I moved to Canada on an IEC working holiday visa. At the end of January 2024, I departed again…