Auckland - Tryphena - Medlands - Haratonga - Port Fitzroy - Windy Canyon - Mount Hobson - South Fork - Port Fitzroy - Auckland Our journey to Great Barrier Island began as every journey should: with a muffin. For years I’ve considered muffins to be the third lowest form of pudding behind fruit and Petit Filous yoghurts. In the cake stakes they definitely sit at the bottom of the stack. It has been with some disappointment then that I have watched the humble muffin become the fashionable cake of the decade, replacing doughnuts (which are sooo 90’s) as the cake of choice. However, on the four and three quarter hour ferry journey from Auckland to Great Barrier Island, my enthusiasm for the most boring of all bakery products was greatly lifted by a moist little raspberry ... read more

Kauaeranga Valley - Waiheke Island - Mokoroa Falls / Goldie Bush Walkway - Russell - Whangamumu Scenic Reserve - Cape Reinga - Waipapakauri Beach - Ahipara - Opononi - Tane Mahuta - Matakohe - Mount Auckland Bloomin’ eck it’s been a long four months! But finally, having sat at a desk from September to February seeing how far through a pad of Post-its I could stab a map pin, we’re back on the road, stacking up the kilometres and crawling into a tent at the end of a day’s sight seeing. There are however a few differences. First of all we’ve gone all posh and upgraded our car from the ’93 Toyota Camry we spilt tears over in Australia to a big sexy ’94 Toyota Scepter (a Japanese import Camry). And rather than just buying the ... read more

On a warm morning in Auckland we ventured out, through the Central Business District, by-passing the shopping Mecca that is Queen Street, past the Ferry Terminal to an area of poster plastered adult shops and fusty strip bars next to the docks. Our search for a place to call home for the next four months had brought us here. I have to say, that with the benefit of hindsight, it was an inauspicious beginning. We stood outside the building frowning at the number above the door. “Yup. This is it.” “Are you sure?” “I think so.” In my text message contact with Jane, she had omitted mention of any distinguishing features of the building that might aid us in locating it. Other potential landlords or flatmates we had contacted had been clear in letting us know ... read more

Have all the children been given their spoonful of gin and put to bed/locked in the closet? Yes? Then come hither; warm your self in the tall leather chair by the fireside - not that close; your shell suit looks flammable - and I shall begin my tale of unexplained and mystical happenings from The Outer Dimensions. It begins, as any tale from the greasy fingerprinted files of the FBI's X-Files should: a young couple - who are not Mulder and Scully - are alone in their unreliable car, driving through the empty wastelands of a dusty red desert. Leave-less, lifeless trees bent into crooked shapes intermittently offer hopeful vultures a place to rest and wait for their meals-on-wheels to reach a halt… Note: the events below are almost entirely true and based on the highly ... read more

Brisbane - Glass House Mountains - Lake Coothabaraa - Hervey Bay - Town of 1770 - Rockhampton - Mackay - Broken River - Hydeaway bay Introducing the Natives James Cook discovered Australia in 1982. Twenty-five years later, Occasionally Bob has reached the same shores. When Cook arrived he brought with him Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation and Chocolate Milo. Immigration didn’t so much as bat an eyelid. It had a devastating affect on the indigenous population’s formation dancing and calcium intake. The OB crew brought with them a collection of herbs, spices and packet sauces gleaned from restaurants and take-aways all over Asia. Again, Immigration didn’t bat an eyelid. The effect has yet to be measured, but so far it has resulted in some very tasty chips and nicely seasoned pasta. When Cook arrived he got bored ... read more