Recent Adventures
Franz Josef Glacier: The Walk That Makes Climate Change Feel Very, Very Personal
Introduction There's an interpretive sign at the Franz Josef Glacier lookout that politely, clearly, and with considerable scientific restraint, explains that future generations will likely have to walk farther up the valley to see the glacier at all. It sits in the...
Lake Matheson: The Mirror That Blinked (And I Was Looking the Wrong Way)
Introduction New Zealand has a talent for making you feel specifically, personally victimised by its weather. Not in a malicious way — more in the way a cat ignores you while being perfectly friendly to everyone else in the room. The mountains are right there. They...
Hokitika Gorge: That Colour Is Real and No, Your Phone Hasn’t Adjusted Anything
Introduction At some point during your first look at Hokitika Gorge, you will instinctively reach for your phone to check whether the camera's colour settings are doing something unusual. They are not. The water is actually that colour. That specific, saturated,...
Pancake Rocks: When the West Coast Decides to Show Off
Introduction New Zealand is not a country that struggles to impress. After a week on the West Coast you've seen glaciers, impossible turquoise gorges, mirror lakes reflecting snowcapped peaks, and beaches made of black iron-sand under dramatic storm skies. The bar...
Brod Bay to Mount Luxmore: How I Accidentally Humbled a Boatload of Millennials (And Then Kept Walking)
Introduction There's a particular kind of person who shoots off a boat the moment it docks, overtakes everyone on the jetty, and disappears up a trail at a pace that suggests they've either trained seriously for this or simply haven't registered yet that the mountain...
The Tiki Trail: Where Optimism Goes to Sweat
Introduction There’s something deeply suspicious about waking up before sunrise on vacation. Normal people roll over and go back to sleep. Ambitious hikers lace up boots and voluntarily walk uphill for several hours. And yet, here we are. A Morning hike at Ben Lomond...





