Forget 9 to 5

Don't get too excited readers, I'm afraid I've not escaped the world of 9 to 5 again for the luxury of long-term travels. I wouldn't normally blog about a one week holiday, but our recent adventures in Corsica were the closest I've felt to travelling since I returned home more than 3 years ago and have inspired me to get typing! I was also surprised by the lack of up-to-date information I could find about this destination online (at least in English), so thought I would put our experiences out there for anyone else considering visiting this amazing Mediterranean island. Despite all my plans to hit the road again when I returned from my RTW trip in the spring of 2012, I have since found myself rather more settled than I expected, stuck back in 9 ... read more

So I am home. How I feel about all this is for another blog, should I ever work out how to put into words how I actually feel right now! What I can say is that in the past two weeks I have enjoyed immensely rediscovering the area where I grew up. After two years roaming the world, ticking off 'must dos', having life-changing experiences and seeing UNESCO World Heritage sights, I have returned to find they are all on my doorstep and travelling has merely taught me to open my eyes and mind to appreciate them more. I have also made the surprising but very flattering discovery recently that it is not only blood relatives that read my blog these days. It would seem other people are mildly interested, not in if I'm alive, but ... read more

By the time most people read this I'll be back in the arms of my friends and family. After nearly two years on the road I'm almost home! Back when I booked my flights seven months ago I thought I'd want to extend the adventures as long as possible and planned for time in Sydney and Hong Kong to break up the journey. Now I just want to click my fingers and be there, let this emotional rollercoaster accelerate to its finale and try to bring my nerves and excitement back down to a level my body can cope with! Arriving in Sydney was a homecoming in itself. On the train ride out to the western suburbs everything was familiar, the skyline recognisable, the names comforting. I even nearly forgot to double-take at the double-decker trains, ... read more

Good afternoon readers, this blog is part David Attenborough documentary, part ecology lesson and mostly promoting two excellent tour operators in the South Island. I have been doing my favourite thing since I finished work last week and hunting out the local wildlife in a foreign country – not with a rifle sight and snares but with binoculars, infra-red torches and some very helpful, knowledgable tour guides. I have done two very excellent and different tours that I thought I should promote, and also rave about what I have seen! Rowi/Okarito Brown Kiwis – Ian Cooper at Okarito Kiwi Tours Kiwis are strange things. In this case I'm refering to the birds not the people, although it is also a pretty strange thing that only 1% of Kiwis (the people) have seen their iconic bird in ... read more

Having lived in the nearest big town to the Abel Tasman National Park for nearly five months it was about time I got out there and actually explored it! I decided on a rather energetic day trip into the park to try and see the highlights. Our trip started with a water taxi ride out to Bark Bay in the middle of the park. On the way we had photo stops at Split Apple Rock (looks quite a bit like it sounds), and the islands to see seals and pups basking on the rocks. Afterwards we were dropped on a pristine stretch of golden sand squashed between the sea and a calm, clear lagoon. As we padded across the sand towards the track up through the forest the sun came out and turned the sea all ... read more