Birds eye view Anna Caswellurl='/Videos/3090.html' onclick='dialog("/Videos/3090.html?popped=1","tbvideo",600,600);return false;' Falling I spent Friday walking around like I had just fallen in love. There was a slightly idiotic grin on my face, and I smiled wildly at anyone that vaguely looked in my direction. I was walking on air, on a "high", and endorphins were rushing thorugh the system. Why? Because I'd thrown myself out of a plane that morning, and flown like a bird. Something I've always considered doing, and now I've done it will definately be doing again. Basically throwing myself from a perfectly adequate small plane at a height of 12,000 meters over a glacier, with a view of mountains, lakes, forests and sea. The experience was incredible. The plane was literally only just big enough to hold me, th... read more

South Island start Anna Caswellurl='/Videos/2949.html' onclick='dialog("/Videos/2949.html?popped=1","tbvideo",600,600);return false;' Malborough Sound Photos have arrived! I finally arrived in the South Island on Tuesday afternoon, on the huge ferry that chugs its way across from Wellington to Picton. I attempted to sit out on the deck, and reminisce of another ferry crossing in Costa Rica. However the thick grey cloud and grey sea, cold wind and smell of diesel fumes made things too different to compare. In recompense there was a distraction towards the end of the journey - a pod of dolphins appeared, and not just one or two but hundreds following the boat at a distance! I’d been warned that there were large pods of dolphins all around the South Is, but it wasn’t until I saw them that I could actually believ... read more

Bach on the beach Anna Caswellurl='/Videos/2593.html' onclick='dialog("/Videos/2593.html?popped=1","tbvideo",600,600);return false;' Crazy Although summer is officially over here, the weather is still pretty mild, so the idea of a weekend retreat to the beach (never achieved during summer) was met with a great deal of enthusiasm. The excuse? Pip's leaving get together, before she flies off to Bejing for the year. The group? Well of the 10 of us there were many familiar faces from the Whanganui trip. We were also graced with some additional people - Karena, a doctor from the UK (great conversations on the calving vs childbirth, lube pumps vs forceps etc), Aaron, a pilot for Air New Zealand (sounds flash, but so far it's only the little 12 seaters), the celebrity Erica Wood (famous for her news reports in Rotorua, and... read more

I have to admit I was slightly dreading it for quite a while. Leaving Latin America that has been my home for the past 9 months and flying to New Zealand, an English-speaking civilisation. How will I survive? Well I have been in New Zealand a week now and I still feel very out of place and more than a little lost. The differences here compared to Latin America are apparent immediately. For a start I am now no longer the tallest female in a room, and I’m certainly not the palest either. And then when the noise becomes voices I am disorientated to find that everyone is speaking English. Even bar tenders, waitresses and shop assistants. I still find myself making a mental effort to speak English to everyone, and even thanking people with “Gracias”. ... read more

Reminising about the past, a little late but my Mexico city update for Mama! Mexico is a city of many layers. Something I had never realised is that the city is built on a lake by the Aztecs. Why build a city on a lake? Well you could consider the advantage of drainage, the ease of transport by boat, great irrigation of fields, no requirement to build a moat… or you could listen to the prophets and build a city in the first place you see an eagle, eating a snake, whilst sitting on a cactus. Seems to have worked pretty well, the city thrived. The arrival of the Spanish coincided with the predicted return of the Aztec God Quetzalcoatl. Fortunately for Cortes, he was the spitting image of the God (supposedly fair with curly hair), ... read more