Sleepless in Seattle

Our time in Seattle sure was a laugh and a half. Andy and I arrived by train from Portland and we made our way to our Air BnB near Capitol Hill, where we were scheduled to meet our friends driving down from Vancouver that evening. We dropped our bags and headed back to Capitol Hill…

Portland: the City of Roses

They say that most people have a preference for either Seattle or Portland, Portland being the grungy, funky, river-side city whereas Seattle is the futuristic, sky-scraper filled, ocean-side counterpart. Given that they sound quite different, I was quite prepared to like them both. Weirdly enough, even though we lived in Canada for two years, the…

Perth: starting summer off right

Our trip to Perth felt like a long time coming. Two of our besties, Guy and Lucy, were getting married, and a large contingent of our friends from Canada would be there. Combine this reunion with sunshine, beaches, good food and kicking off summer, it was set to be a holiday to remember. Andy managed…

Whistler like the locals

Even though Andy and I went to Whistler numerous times while we lived in Canada, going and staying with friends who were essentially ‘locals’ was bound to be a whole new experience. My Wellington friend and ex-colleague Lydia lives there with her boyfriend Dan, a mountain-biking fiend, making Whistler a natural choice for their OE…

Panorama Ridge

Featuring lakes, mountains, glaciers and the ever present possibility of bears, Panorama Ridge is a quintessential Canadian hike. I can’t believe that I never did this hike while I lived there, but it sure made for a memorable trip on our return. To be fair, Andy actually did this hike back in 2020 as a…

Great times on Great Barrier

Everyone I know who has been to Great Barrier Island loves their time there. Andy and I were meant to visit with our friends, Toni and Dean (who are essentially locals), but they have a baby due this month (yay!) and could no longer join us (boo!). Instead, Andy and I hired a car, booked…

10 places to visit near Warkworth!

During the recent Easter break, Andy, Kelsey and I headed up north for a few nights based out of Warkworth, ready for some relaxation, plenty of chocolate, and the chance to explore somewhere new. A last minute decision saw us leave Wrigley at home, which meant we had a bit more freedom to visit some…

Kai Iwi Lakes: Northland’s freshwater paradise

Kai Iwi Lakes is the colloquial name given to a series of three lakes located about 30 minutes north of Dargaville, on Northland’s west coast. It’s a camping spot I hadn’t heard of until after we moved to Auckland, but when I did it immediately sounded like something I would particularly enjoy. Lakeside camping, freshwater…

The Tongariro Northern Circuit

Waitangi Weekend 2023: after all the recent weather events, we were DETERMINED that our plans for the weekend would go ahead. Dan, Gord, Andy and I loaded up the car and set off down to Te Awamutu, driving in mostly rainy conditions to hike the 45km Tongariro Northern Circuit track. We stopped in Hamilton at…

Simply saying

I know it would be weird if I just picked up like I hadn’t stopped posting, so I am going to simply acknowledge that the last eight or so months have been particularly busy. Not only have Andy and I bought a house in Auckland together, we now have a puppy (some might say a…