Lisita

In five days and 400 kilometers I concluded my cycle tour of New Zealand. My decision to bus it down to Dunedin and cycle back up from the South turned out to be a very wise one. I've had a strong southerly wind to push me the entire way back to Christchurch along the soft undulating hills, winding coastal roads, and the flat plains of Canterbury. The euphoric and effortless cycling has given me time to linger in the clusters of seaside communities and discover the unique attributes of each. It's also afforded me time to make interesting friends along the way. . . On the first day, I got a late start out of Dunedin, but quickly made time zigzaging down the coast with soft green hills to my left and the crashing of Pacific ... read more

After many lazy days drinking too much wine, I have to admit it was a challenge to pick up my bicycle and set off again. With autumn now in full swing, I mounted my bike foolishly unprepared for the weather I was to encounter. On the South Island, the climate is most unique; while the sun is hot enough to get a burn, an arctic wind blows relentlessly up the island, chilling you every time a cloud goes by overhead. Fall has crept up on me faster than expected, which means I am scrambling to throw on all the clothes I have in my bag in layers just to stay warm, but also means that the trees are set more vibrantly ablaze in color the further south I travel. I started out from Blenheim, making my ... read more

A stark contrast to hot, vibrant Rotorua, I was greeted my first day in Wellington with grey clouds hanging heavily over a windy, damp metropolis. Chic cafes lined every street, calling to me like sirens with promises of silky cappucinos as I navigated my way through herds of pedestrians in muted business casual. Windy Welly, as it is affectionately called, is the San Francisco of the Southern Hemisphere: a city on the bay with cute white victorian houses built high into the surrounding hillsides. Although it lacks the earthquakes and some of the vibrancy of America's favorite hippy town, Welly still keeps up its reputation as the art and cultural capital city. Wellingtonians will like to tell you that you can dine in a different restaurant every day for two years and still not go to ... read more

Fifteen kilometers inland, following the cool air as it blows over the gorgeous beaches dotting the Bay of Plenty, lies an often overlooked yet fertile bit of land, a place that prides itself as "The kiwifruit capital of the world". This district, known as Te Puke, has a lot of character and a hell of a lot of kiwis. It is here that I've spent the past week or so, on a humble farm run by a lovely couple in their fifties, and their one hundred acres of avocados and kiwifruit. Oskat farm, as it is called, is owned by Shelly and Owen Williams, a pair that grew up in this very area, and after being high school sweethearts, raised three daughters on the 300 acres of farm and forest land they inherited. Now with their ... read more

The sun is setting on my Buddhist sojourn, as I reload my bicycle to continue onward in the morning, over mountains and along sandy beaches and into the bay of plenty. While at times it was fun playing Buddhist for the past two weeks, I must admit I am a little relieved to be leaving Mahamudra centre behind and having a little bit of freedom in my life once more. As the lamas say, expectations are one cause of suffering, and perhaps my expectations of what a Buddhist center would be like were misguided. Instead of a bunch of openminded hippies, what I found was a group of serious and oftentimes strict monks and lay persons. While the head nun whom ran the place was always quite jolly and appreciative of our work in the garden, ... read more