Here’s a very Kiwi take on Christmas in Summer: (The kid in this video also starred in the movie “Hunt for the Wilderpeople.” He’s super famous in New Zealand.) Since the majority of the world’s population lives in the northern hemisphere, there are very few holiday songs, memes or themes that feature a summery Christmas. […]
It was an experience of haves versus have-nots, sharing of finite resources and reliving childhoods when we all played in the sandbox with kids whose names we never bothered learning. The local knowledge told us to arrive at the beach near low tide with shovels and some energy to dig. Once the right spot is […]
Hi Everybody! Apologizes for the delay in posting. A lot of logistical changes have happened in the last six weeks — including a long wait for our Internet connection. Thank you for all the well wishes and check-ins after the Kiakoura earthquake. We are fine and were not directly affected by the quake. When it […]
It took about three weeks for the psychosis to really set in, but here it is! Richard and I are obsessed with eating kiwi fruit. The last time we were in visiting this country, we discovered the wonder that is New Zealand-grown kiwis. The fruit originated in China where it was picked from the wild […]
Less than a month after finishing the PCT, Richard and I packed 280 pounds of stuff into four very large duffel bags and flew with them to New Zealand. The plan is to live and work in Wanganui, New Zealand for the next year. We’ll use any time off to travel the country and explore […]
Editor’s Note: This post was written under the influence of fatigue and frustration. The events that I discuss below don’t happen often, thankfully, but they sure are annoying when they do. Ok. Happy reading. Some weeks, when I’m in my 57th hour of working and I am seriously doubting whether I will last the next […]
Last Wednesday, a group of friends and I were invited to Scott Base (the New Zealand presence on Ross Island) for dinner. We were picked up by the chef at Scott Base — our Kiwi contact — and driven two miles over Fuels Pass (the ridge at the nose of the peninsula separating the bases) […]
I have been at McMurdo Station now for 30 hours and it has been a whirlwind. I left my hotel in Christchurch lugging my bags, which then weighed closer to 100 pounds thanks to my Extreme Cold Weather gear. Once at the clothing distribution center, I changed into the cold weather pants and packed everything […]
My alarm went off hours after sunrise but I wasn’t ready for it. Orientation started at 9 a.m. in a building next door to my hotel. Despite a head of fog, I managed to find the right building. We watched videos that romanticized the ice continent and I tried very hard to keep my eyes […]