The Place Where Life Begins and Spirits Move On The thing about exploring new places, is that it is entirely up to you to make it the experience you want it to be. Of course there are outside factors that can influence or even derail your intentions. And ultimately, no matter how much you try … Continued
When my foot slips off the same ledge for the third time in a row, Jun groans sympathetically and tightens his grip. Swaying perilously from thirty feet above, I shoot my new rock climbing partner an apologetic shrug, await further instruction. I only met Jun an hour ago, and yet he holds my life in … Continued
Thank you to the Vacation Gals for publishing my story: Palau: Royal Treatment Under and Above Water After recently snorkeling with whale sharks in the Philippines and scuba diving among a tornado of barracuda off Sipadan, Borneo, I wondered if Palau scuba diving would live up to the hype. Scuba dive sites in Palau are famously wonderful and … Continued
“I don’t think I could eat our national emblem,” Lisa comments as I lift my fork to my mouth. I pause, think for a while and then pop my piece of kangaroo steak in. It has a delicious smokiness to it. As I chew I think briefly of the unfortunate kangaroo the train hit during … Continued
A famous Australian Playwright -Dorothy Hewitt commented that it’s going to the ‘blonde’. Which means that grasses and shrubs are dried because summer heat is a natural version of peroxide, bleaching the color from everything? Eventually even the suburban front lawn becomes beige and hibernates in its summer coat. People in Sydney people would ask, … Continued
I was in familiar territory. In the words of our bus driver who was playing tour guide, on my left was low grass while much farther on my right was Mount Cook, New Zealand’s tallest mountain. “Now isn’t that a lovely view, ladies and gentlemen?” he asked over his microphone. Yes it is, I thought. … Continued
A Note to Mother By MaiLynn Stormon-Trinh Hello, Mother Nature. I am getting to know you well here in New Zealand and these two little pieces of land hanging off the bottom of your swollen body. You’ve taught me it is possible for all of your beauty and, occasionally, all of your tragedy to fit into … Continued
Thank you to Nokia Connects for sharing a Nokia Lumia 925 with us and letting us write about it on their site! Seeing the world is many people’s dream, and with inventions like the commercial airliner, taking time out to explore cultures and climates around our planet is very possible in this day and age. … Continued
Two bald headed men stood with their sisters on Bald Knob gazing out over the green New Zealand bush to the clear blue water of Lake Waikaremoana. Our family of four, all in our fifties, were holidaying together for the first time in 40 years while undertaking the four day three night Great Walk around … Continued
I knew there was a shark there, but I lost sight of him. I must have just snorkeled over his four foot body laying camouflaged on the sea bed floor. I turned to have one last look and then couldn’t find the shark which I knew had to be there. Chris and I signaled to … Continued