Keas this morning proving to be a complete pain in the cockhole, I can understand now why they call them the clowns of the south. I was trying to get sorted for a day’s trek and I had 3 of them around me being all way to inquistive for my liking. Running off with bottle caps, piercing a hole in my tube of toothpaste, trying to de-lace my trainers, as well as being like the kids from the estate their also a bit like the fat older chav at school who think’s that its hilarious to run off with the littler kids football at lunch break. Well it’s not big, and it’s certainly not clever. Keeping an eye on each of them was tricky enough, a flock of them would have just been devastating. After fending ... read more

After 9 months of labour camp I think it’s about time to make a dent in the South Island. But first a few words on Christchurch, a city vastly knobbed by earthquakes. I had no idea of the impact of the quakes until I arrived here, walking around for a couple of hours upon arrival was enough to grasp that the place was pretty fucked. And the fact that I was due to spend a bulk of time here working left me a little depressed, not half as depressed I should imagine as some of the families that lost loved ones here and of whoms properties have all but been destroyed. I wondered if this was really going to be the place for me. But I remained, deciding to buckle down and do what the majority ... read more

Jean Luca certainly setting no trends this morning over breakfast turning up with his bright blue woolly jumper tucked into his un-pure white shellsuit bottoms. Bottoms so old and soiled in grime that they surely pre-dated Caesar. Fried eggs for breakfast, quite the treat, one a piece, Jean Luca takes the biggest one and then tells everyone that he doesn't really like eggs. I on the other hand fucking love eggs!!! The day had barely even begun and his Italian head was already beginning to grate with me as I sat and eat my slightly smaller egg. After breakfast we travelled some 3 hours or so to some ger in the midde of nowhere for brunch. Here we watched a lady handcraft some noodles from scratch. There was also a small child present with a seriously ... read more

Today we left behind the barron landscape of the Gobi and made way to Orkhon National Park. The landscape becoming more lush with an abundance of grass and running waterways coercing through a series of wide spread valleys. The hairy bovine that is the yak would make its first appearence on my trip so far. Did you know that 'Yak' is a Tibetan word? I did. Arriving at our nights ger I took a walk by myself. The area had a sort of upland Britain feel to it that I only identified once it began to piss it down. A golden eagle perched itself upon the dunny close to camp, I tried to get a snap but like all undomesticated wildlife especially birds it was impossible to get a good shot before the bastard flew off. ... read more

Woke up this morning with an itchy head, I probably had nits. Its difficult to maintain a healthy existence without showers and baths. I don't know how often the Mongolian country folk wash but its certainly not everyday, which leads me to believe that it must be considered somewhat of a chore around these parts. Anyway, I headed to the nearby stream and washed my grisly locks, the water was ice cold and if I lived round these parts myself then I too could quite easily see myself slipping into the washing once a week routine. (And in winter probably never) After washing my hair I took a casual waltz upstream where I came across a mountain of camel turds, so I'd effectively just been rinsing my hair with faecal remnants....SWEET!!! To celebrate this discovery I ... read more