Northland, Day 3

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This day was spent wandering around the Kauri Forest, well what is left of it as so much has been chopped down for farmland (note: this is another reason for the misconception of clean, green NZ). Alas, I digress.
(These are the 4 sisters)
[If you look at a previous post when I was with Marc we saw the 3 sisters, [...]

Northland, Day 2

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My new Swedish friend and I decided to carpool to Cape Reinga, which is the very top of the North Island, where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean. The only thing there is this lighthouse, but there were hordes of tourists. I think we counted approximately 10-15 tour buses full of people all bent [...]

Northland, Day 1

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I picked up my rental car and was off on my quick tour of Northland. The first stop was the Hundertwasser toilets in Kawakawa. He’s a famous artisit from Austria who designs the appearance of buildings including toilets right here in NZ.
(This is the entrance to these fancy loos)
Next it was off to the Bay [...]

Belated Holiday Wishes

I hope you all had a happy Easter or should I say Eatser. I found this sign at a church by my house and wanted to share it with you all.

If Easter didn’t have a message for you then maybe you should have celebrated Eatser.
Or maybe you can only celebrate Eatser in NZ.

Top of the North

Easter weekend was spent on top of the north in the aptly named Northland. This is that penninsula of land north of Auckland.  I rented a car and spent 3 days cruising this strip of land.
Highlights:
+beaches beaches beaches
+cows galore
+awesome farm hostel with italian pizzas
+Cape Reinga
+a Swedish friend
+giant sand dunes
+seeing the grave of “the friendliest dolphin”
My [...]

So you wanna be a scientist?

Sure it sounds cool to tell people you are a scientist, but there is one question you should ask yourself before embarking on this path.
How much do you love data entry?

The People Kiwictionary

Some are obvious, some are not, but all are quite commonly used. 
Antipode–a person from Australia, New Zealand, or South Africa
Aussie–a person from Australia
Kiwi–a person from New Zealand
Pom (Pommy)–a person from the UK, i.e. people who are English, Scottish, Welsh, or North Irish
Tall Poppy–someone who stands out from the crowd, i.e. a leader, someone who works hard, [...]

Weekend Wear or Work Attire?

I work in a field where fashion is not hugely important to many of the people and I recognize that, but it is appalling to me what some of these people show up to work in. I am not advocating wearing suits to work and I wear jeans fairly regularly, but the following are [...]

A Sea Kayaking Adventure

The month of March is the women’s active festival, where women can sign up to try sports in which they are interested in a beginner friendly environment. My co-workers and I signed up for a sea kayaking adventure on Akaroa Harbour.

After pissing down with rain for 2 days, the skies were clear and sunny when [...]