When booking our Airbnb in Te Anau, our host wisely advised us to schedule activities in advance due to the high season rush. He also recommended visiting Doubtful Sound and, if possible, staying overnight. Taking his advice, we adjusted our dates, even though this meant one less night in Te Anau. Doubtful Sound is […]
The slight wine-induced haze from last night—yes, three glasses now count as a big night in my mid-life—made for a slow start to the morning. Andy fetched our coffee from the lobby, just as we got a text from our Airbnb host inviting us to check in early. Motivated by the prospect of settling in […]
Both Andy and I woke up feeling refreshed, especially after takeaway coffee from the lobby bar, and Fergbaker pastries. We decided on an impromptu photowalk around the Hilton complex. The birdlife was spectacular! We spotted Great Crested Grebe, New Zealand Scaup, Chaffinch, Tui, Coot, and Tern. The highlight was definitely spotting the Tui, a new […]
After flying to South America for our 2022 and 2023 extended holiday breaks, today’s short flight from Sydney to Queenstown was a breeze. Getting to New Zealand The flight itself was fast, clocking in at just under three hours. We booked window and window to enjoy the stunning views of the alpine landscape and […]
New Zealand, a treasure trove of natural beauty basically in our backyard, often gets overlooked for more distant destinations. Our first roadtrip through New Zealand taught us the importance of pacing—we tried to cram too much into too little time so we barely scratched the surface. We thought a campervan would give us flexibility, but […]
How to spend a perfect week in the Cook Islands In late October, I found myself staring at a massively selfish problem: I was 200 credits short of retaining my platinum status on Qantas. With our 25th wedding anniversary just weeks away, it hit me—why not turn this milestone celebration into a status run? Two […]
Getting to the Big Island If you remember, the original plan was three nights in Waikiki, but just before we left, we decided to change that to three nights on the Big Island for some night sky photography. Then, thanks to our cancelled expedition, this turned into six nights. We scrambled a bit, canceled our […]
Getting to San Juan Island We caught an Uber to Renton Airport, at the south end of Lake Washington. I’d never even heard of it before, but there were planes everywhere—none of which I recognised. It turns out they were Boeing planes, still waiting for their airline branding. It was pretty cool to see them […]
Wild Alaska on the National Geographic Sea Lion with Lindblad Expditions Our six-day expedition started in Sitka and ended in Juneau, offering activities such as hiking, kayaking, paddleboarding, and fly fishing. We planned to explore glaciers and fjords, and hope to spot wildlife including moose, bears, bald eagles, puffins, sea lions, orcas, otters, and humpbacks. […]
Getting to Sikta The flight to Sitka was stunningly beautiful. We flew over countless small islands, each with just a home or two and a dock. Exiting the plane was a bit unusual because there were about 20 state troopers waiting. Apparently, Sitka is a training facility, and there were 50 new recruits on our […]