After the intensity of India, I was ready for Nepal. From the moment I stepped off the plane, I knew Nepal was going to be different. Whilst I did like India, Nepal has a special something. Maybe it's the clean(er) air, the kind and friendly people, the snowcapped Himalayan backdrop or the numerous colourful prayer flags adorning every street. Maybe it's because everybody greets gives you with "Namaste" with a slight bow and hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointed upwards, in front of the chest. Roughly it translates to "I recognize your presence and existence in society and the universe". My friend Amy had returned back to New Zealand, and I ventured onto Nepal. I started in Kathmandu with a much needed shower, room service and sleep after my very long and stressful last ... read more

When I was in South America 3 years ago, I travelled with a guy who had celebrated his 30th at Machu Picchu after doing the Inca Trail. I thought that was such a great idea to be somewhere really cool and do something really different to mark a significant birthday. I vowed from that moment on that I would do the same. So, to mark my 30th birthday I decided to go to Sabah, which is on the northern tip of Borneo, Malaysia. Sabah is known as 'the Land Below the Wind' because geographically it is situated below the typhoon and monsoon belt. Sabah ticked most boxes on my “appropriate places to spend your 30th birthday criteria list”. 1) It’s been on my ‘top 5 places to visit’ list for a very long time; 2) I ... read more

As internet access in Africa was slow and unpredictable, I was unable to do a travel blog whilst on the road. So I am posting 2 blogs now that cover my 10 week overland trip with African Trails from Nairobi to Cape Town (split into Eastern and Southern Africa). Uganda The first week of the overland trip was pretty much just getting us from Nairobi to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in southwestern Uganda, to see the highly endangered Mountain Gorillas. 2009 happened to be the Year of the Gorilla, so it seemed fitting to be able to visit them then. Bwindi is home to almost half of the world's population of mountain gorillas, about 340 individuals, and they are threatened by poaching, loss of habitat, and disease. The rest of the gorillas are found in Rwanda and ... read more

Egypt- the country that has been on the top of my "places to see" list since I started writing a list (since I was in primary school). Over time the list has changed a bit, but Egypt has always held it's top place. To explore Egypt, I did a 15 day budget tour with 23 others. The tour started in Cairo with a trip to the Egyptian Museum which has over 100,000 relics including the treasures found in King Tutankhamun's tomb. We then braved the 38°C heat to see the Pyramids and the Sphinx in Giza. The Pyramids were great to see because they are "the Great Pyramids" - the oldest (2560BC) and only surviving member of the ancient wonders of the world - but I'll be honest, they were not the highlight of the trip ... read more

I arrived into Dublin from New Zealand last Monday after a pretty grueling 34 hour journey resulting in jet lag, swollen legs, and in need of adjusting to a warmer temperature (and the accents!). I spent a few days looking around Dublin but I will post an Ireland blog later that will include my other explorations to come. It must seem odd, but only after a few days in Dublin, Alan and I decided to go on a "city break", as the locals call it, to Prague - the capital city of the Czech Republic. Not that I really needed a break from anything, but I wanted to see Prague and Alan was keen to get out of Ireland. We spent 3 days walking around and exploring Prague, which many have told me is the most ... read more