I woke to the car shaking from the wind, to the clatter of rain on the roof. It had been a blustery night, parked by the seashore at Moray Terrace, but I’d caught a few hours of sleep and had made the snug confines of Te Namu as comfortable as possible. The day would start …
Oceania
He’s Got a Dead Cat…
I see it just before it charges, a gaunt, grey beast crouching by the roadside with ears pressed back and shoulders hunched in anticipation. I swerve to the far side of the lane and accelerate, snarling at the dog as it leaps to give chase. Melissa tenses on the seat behind me as we pass …
Swimming with Eagles in Savai’i
My body floats on the surface, buoyant and still. Flippers stir the sea behind me, and I glide over the haphazard world below. It’s my first time snorkeling in Samoa. The coral here still shows the after-effects from the cyclone which roared through 2 weeks prior. Closer to shore, everything is dead or dying, the …
Savai’i Road Trip
I open the throttle and the engine roars — all 110cc of it. Melissa and I perch on the seat of the little Suzuki scooter — bags strapped to our backs and chests, respectively — as it works its way up to cruising speed. The sky is a flawless blue overhead, and brilliantly hued plants …
Driving to the Catlins
Driving past the holiday park leaves me feeling fuzzy — numbed to my actions and what they symbolize. I’m driving to the Catlins and leaving Te Anau. My home for the past 4.5 months, Te Anau is a tiny, buzzing little place popular simply because it’s the closest town to the iconic Milford Sound. Jobs are plentiful …
Forks in the Road
When I first started The Open Road Before Me, it was early 2011 and I’d just decided to quit my job of three years to take up teaching English in South Korea. I was burnt out and desperate for change, and addressed the problem by veering down a vastly different road from what I’d been …
Cruise in Doubtful Sound
The prow of the boat cut through the waters of Lake Manapouri like a knife through as much butter. Gusts of frigid, pre-dawn air buffeted us as we fought for balance on the viewing deck, and the sun broke over the hills in the East. It was a fine day, and my coworker Marketa and …
The Shores of Lake Manapouri
I almost didn’t get out of bed that day. The week of balancing three jobs and over 70 hours of work had caught up to me, and I wanted nothing more than to sleep. But a peek from between the blinds left me blinking and sure of one thing: it was a fine day for …
Nature Cruise in Milford Sound
Fiordland, a vast tract of mountainous terrain that occupies the south-west corner of South Island, New Zealand, is one of the most astounding pieces of land anywhere on God’s earth, and one’s first impulse, standing on a cliff top surveying it all, is simply to burst into spontaneous applause.” – Douglas Adams “Who here is …
Crossing Rainbow Reach
Under the snowcapped mountains of Fiordland National Park, freshwater streams empty into the saltwater fiords, creating a unique ecosystem. This is a heavily wooded park, so the water in the streams is stained with tannin, a substance found in plants that makes clean water seem dirty, though it isn’t.” – Brian Skerry It was the …