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tartantraveller - Ian Nicholson

Life the Journey

Map Legend: 7%, 21 of 263 Territories

In the past

2007/8 so far

In the future

2007/8 Proposed

Quite simply, where i've been prior to this trip, ewhere on this trip so far, where i've still to go on this trip and where i'd still like to go in the future.

All good things come to those who wait...

... and I have been waiting ten years.

New Zealand, a journey's start. No destination in sight and no path determined. Recently I have learned that the only thing you can plan in life is with the knowledge that everything changes. So, with that in the fore front of my mind, I begin to carve my own path.

This is my Journey, unfolding as it it happens. My blog and an entry by entry account of the road untravelled.

Please feel free to contact me, subscribe, ignore, advise or comment on my writings. Should you find any of them good enough, you can recommend blogs you read here to the site for special attention. All messages and feedback are appreciated.

I will be adding photographic projects through out the trip, titling each one an "Exhibition." If you are a registered blogger then all images can be rated out of 5 stars, have fun rating your favourite shots, all comments welcomed.

The Tartan Traveller

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Joined on: February 20th 2007
Last Login: August 29th 2008

Blog Entries: 25
Photos: 352
Recommends 2

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Blogs & Travel Journals

by tartantraveller, order by Date newest first.

By tartantraveller
June 12th 2008

The road to Queenstown

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Queenstown

Horrid
This poor bird had been shot by some idiot with a cross bow and was running around like this untill the D.O.C. got there to help it.

There is nothing that my memory forgets which my soul does not remember... Ian Nicholson The most precious things I have found so far on this journey, is the experiance itself. With that comes the memory of all the good and bad that happens, which, mostly for us is collected in our photographs. Luggage lost or stolen, even laptops, computers and mp3 players, while a right pain to go missing, is usually all replaceable. Its when we lose our minds, our memories that we seems to lament more than usual. My biggest sympathy has always gone to the traveller whos [View Full Entry]

By tartantraveller
May 21st 2008

CHAPTER 2 - The South Island. A choppy start.

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island

Morning sun in Wellington

And so with the darkest days behind us, our ship of hope will steer, through these unchartered waters, by our motto, PERSEVERE - Rubbing in the Persevere Gallery, Leith School of Art. Every year I take myself off for a week to the isle of jura. A unparalleled place of unique beauty, peace and tranquillity. A very special place that holds a part of me that I only ever find whenever I’m there, on the isle. I remember talking with a friend on the island, Ross Rozga, and he asked me what I was looking for, why I was going and [View Full Entry]

By tartantraveller
May 20th 2008

EXHIBITION - Autumn in Aotorea

Oceania » New Zealand

Leave

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. - Scott Adams Having two summers back to back has been brilliant. Christmas time was a little confusing in the sun and without the whole debarcle of premature advertising and relentless stresses, it proved to be a fantastic surprise and one that will always stick out. Now my senses are trying to cope with this being Autumn into Winter when It should be Spring into Summer. What I had forgotton was how colourful Autumn really is. And especially here, in New Zealand, the vibrance [View Full Entry]

By tartantraveller
April 25th 2008

Dixie Chick & Tartan Traveller hit the road...

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Paihia

Auckland
Goodbye to Auckland. A glimpse back of the city from the coromandel.

No one travels so high as he who knows not where he is going. - Oliver Cromwell. I had seriously begun to doubt if it would ever come. So much anguish surrounding Freedom, so much time and money, wasted. All the anxieties of my past life in Edinburgh, rearing their ugly head again and screaming round in circles in the pit of my stomach; all came to an abrupt end when the garage phoned and told me that Freedom was ready to collect. The worst of it all hit me then as I had a terrifying suspiscion that they were going [View Full Entry]

By tartantraveller
April 9th 2008

EXHIBITION - Reflections

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland

Balance

Imagination is more important than knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create - Albert Einstein Well, Cabin Fever was begining to set in, if not already haven taken me fully by the neck and choking the very debatable sanity from within. I had to change this before something snapped, and while not being able to actually leave the city, I decided to envelope it. Auckland was becoming horrid and hateful to me again and the only way out was to embrace it. I gave myself a project: [View Full Entry]

By tartantraveller
March 31st 2008

Life, the journey.

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland

Base, Auckland
The base backpackers in auckland

I see my path, but I don't know where it leads. Not knowing where I'm going is what inspires me to travel it. - Rosalia de Castro I wake to the irrevocable ear-worm of "just gotta get out of this place", how apprpopriately sung too, by "the animals" as my vision struggles to focus on this large dark blue object infront of my weary eyes. Am I awake? Have I slept? What ungodly hour is it now? The all too familiar 24hr noise that never ceases in the dormitories as people check in, stagger in, fall in, fall out, fall over, [View Full Entry]

By tartantraveller
February 6th 2008

Freedom, it appears, comes at a price.

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland

Freedom
Here she is, in all her glory!

It's all for nothing if you don't have freedom - William Wallace! The last weeks have been quite loney. Settling back into Auckland, mising everyone back up in Paihia. And then the cavalry arrived, Chris, Adam and Caitlin! A-lright...Giggity goo. We were allthinking about getting a vehicle so investigated the backpackers car market. There was a collection of old, broken, battered and beaten vehicles with oodles of character. Adam and Caitlin were looking ofr a car and I was scoping for a campervan. The next 3 days we went back and forth, eagerly searching and reassessing wha [View Full Entry]

By tartantraveller
January 22nd 2008

Per Castra Ad Astra - Through the camp to the stars (family motto)

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Rotorua

Me n Paps
The three of us en route to Paihia, via goat Ilsnd!

Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family, in another city. - George Burns I dont think we could have got more into our two weeks if we had tried. Certainly, if we did, we just wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much. So, Auckland for a few nights as I had the start of my filming in Underworld 3. For those of you that are curious about it, you can see whats been published online here: Underworld 3 I stayed in Auckland for my first two days filming and after much discussion about plans and [View Full Entry]

By tartantraveller
January 16th 2008

Virgil Brigman, back on the air...

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland

No jon NO!
Jess n jon

Remember what Bilbo used to say: It's a dangerous business, Mr Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to - Samwise Gamgee RareNaturalPhenomenonWhenIWasLeaving OK, so there's been an abyss in my blogging, and it's time to remedy this. Not that this is being tuned into by millions accross the world but for those few who like to know what an amazing time I am having in the sun when it is cold, wet and windy for you, he [View Full Entry]

By tartantraveller
December 27th 2007

HO...HO...HO...

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Paihia

Santas before the swim
Chris, me and Adam, ready for our Christmas dip

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY! I know this blog has been fairly inactive of late, but then so has my travelling. It was important for me to be somewhere with friends for Christmas and new year and Paihia was certainly the right choice. The friends I have made here, in the short time of two months, are more plentiful than I have made in the last two years at home. Christmas is never all it is advertised as. For so many people it is a horrible, painful and traumatic time of the year. Personnally, I hate the build up. Advertising from September in [View Full Entry]

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