Staying at the Glow Worm Cottages, Franz Josef, New Zealand

I write a lot about places I visit and my memories there. What I normally neglect to mention in the madness of it all are the places I stay and the transport I use hopping to and fro, so I will try and give more reviews of hostels, bus journeys, train journeys, hotels and airports Read more about Staying at the Glow Worm Cottages, Franz Josef, New Zealand[…]

Backpacking in New Zealand: Oamaru, South Island

A Victorian town out of nowhere, the desolate old fashioned lifestyle is enough to enchant the casual passer by, or at least one with a hate of commercialism. I’ll tell you where it is – on the east coast of New Zealand’s south island. I strolled around town snap happy and dull amidst a slow Read more about Backpacking in New Zealand: Oamaru, South Island[…]

Backpacking in New Zealand: Twilight in Picton

Picton makes Larne or Portavogie look like a big port. Picton is the gateway to the north island of New Zealand. For those who despise flying as much as me, this place is perfect for getting a boat from the south island to the north island, and vice versa. Plus it ain’t dear. The service, Read more about Backpacking in New Zealand: Twilight in Picton[…]

Cromwell and Lawrence (Oliver and Of Arabia)

OK I’m not just throwing old fashioned British names at you. But really I could be. No but these are two remote settlements on the south eastern part of New Zealand, both places which I thoroughly investigated all there was to see of (in my humble opinion) during another of those inspiring buses in New Read more about Cromwell and Lawrence (Oliver and Of Arabia)[…]

Backpacking in New Zealand: Salmon Farm, Haast Falls and Bus Tripping West Coast

Places like this you never appreciate or savour, but you should because YOU WILL NEVER BE HERE AGAIN. And so it was a stop over on route to Wanaka, that we had our lunch time visit to a Salmon Farm, which quite frankly was in the wilderness of absolutely nowhere. We pulled over and there Read more about Backpacking in New Zealand: Salmon Farm, Haast Falls and Bus Tripping West Coast[…]

Backpacking in Queenstown: New Zealand’s One

So what to make of this one?No really, the “party capital” of New Zealand, the “adventure capital” of the world, that is exactly what Queenstown is. There is no reason for this town to even exist. It is a humanly created paradise. Arriving on a sunny afternoon I got off my bus in the city Read more about Backpacking in Queenstown: New Zealand’s One[…]

DUN – EDIN / EDIN – BURGH: Same City, Different Hemisphere *

The question “Which Scottish settlement is Dunedin named after?” would have an obvious answer…and from the Scottish capital city of EDIN- Burgh, we find ourselves in Dun – EDIN. The “Burgh” obviously translating itself somehow as the word “Dun” in either Maori or Kiwi speak. Either way it wasn’t an obvious place for me to Read more about DUN – EDIN / EDIN – BURGH: Same City, Different Hemisphere *[…]

Franz Josef Township - New Zealand

Backpacking in New Zealand: Franz Josef Township

The word “Township” has always confused me in life, and it wasn’t until 2010 that I thought I knew what it meant. I heard reports from people going to South Africa to watch the World Cup and they said they were visiting “townships”, which I seen as slums or working class black or white areas. Read more about Backpacking in New Zealand: Franz Josef Township[…]