Jan 4, 2010

If you’re a cultured and classy individual like myself (ha!) then you too will appreciate a wine tour of Gisborne’s wineries. I spent this Christmas with my wife’s family in Gisborne. The first city to see each new day’s rising sun and the home of quite a few wineries. With information from Wines of Gisborne, my sister-in-law had worked...

Nov 30, 2009

One (of many) reasons I love living in Christchurch is that you’re less than two hour’s drive from places like Hanmer. Hanmer is a small village located between Christchurch and Kaikoura on the south island of New Zealand. A year ago, my wife and I got married in Gisborne. So last weekend, we celebrated our one year anniversary in Hanmer. Hanmer is...

Oct 5, 2009

I’m sure I’m far from being the only South Islander that has bagged Auckland. While working in the corporate training industry, I had visited Auckland for a training expo and had found the road network to be a nightmare. Since then, all my memories of Auckland have been based around the poor traffic system. For this reason, I wasn’t...

Aug 16, 2009

As my mum and my sister’s family live near Blackpool, my wife and I have started our trip to England at this famous sea-side resort. Back in the day, Blackpool was the place to be. Old postcards show hundreds of holiday-makers from right across Britain all flocking to Blackpool. Today the story’s a bit different. People still flock to Blackpool but...

Aug 16, 2009

I decided it was about time I introduced my wife to my family and showed her the land I grew up in, so we booked a trip to the UK. I’m writing this while in my mum’s bungalow in a place outside Blackpool, England. It’s currently 6:15am and I’m waiting for everyone else to wake up. Jet lag? Me? One of the reasons I haven’t been back...