Te Ika-a-Māui, New Zealand

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Te Ika-a-Māui, New Zealand

New Zealand or Aotearoa holds a special connection to most Australians, even if they have never been. Whilst there are countless rivalries between Australian cities, states and other countries, all pale in comparison when held up against the AUS-NZ relations. I am of the opinion (and am not alone) that this stems from the fact that, despite obvious geographic differences, the countries are very similar and moreover, are isolated from everywhere else. I had visited New Zealand for the first time in 2010 and loved every minute, so when the opportunity came to once again visit, I jumped at it. The opportunity was a Jetstar sale, so not a unique opportunity, but a very real one. For the sum of $504, Mia and I we were going to explore all things Te Ika-a-Māui, that is, all things North Island.

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Iceland

/ Iceland/
Iceland

Previously I have mentioned destinations that were “must-see” during my time in Europe (Zermatt, Norway), but there was nothing more must-see than Iceland. Ever since I was a child I was fascinated by this remote island that seemed to have some of the wildest landscape going around. It was planned from day one of my time in France that I would be going to Iceland for a couple of weeks during summer to really try and see everything it has to offer. The trip could accurately be titled something like “driving to places in Iceland to go hiking”, which should mount a convincing argument for why one should visit this remarkable place.

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Provence

/ Provence/
Provence

When one thinks of Provence, normally one thinks of hilltop villages surrounded by fields of lavender. We had visited Provence previously, but for outdoor activities, but not the classic provençal experience. The weekend of le quatorze julliet had once again arrived, so we wanted to be somewhere to enjoy the fireworks; googling around let me know that Avignon was a good choice, so we set our sights on a weekend of enjoying all that Provence has to offer and seeing what is supposed to be one of the best fireworks displays in the country.

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Arctic Norway

/ Tromsø, Norway/
Arctic Norway

Being raised in Australia seems to instil a fascination with snow and all things cold, stemming from a complete lack of exposure to sub-zero temperatures. Winters are by no means warm, but snow simply does not fall at low altitude, nor does the temperature remain below zero should it happen to drop there, so something that is “naturally” frozen is very novel. Possessing the near-polar opposite climate is Norway, and in particular, northern Norway. The Norwegian landscape, characterised by spectacular fjords and soaring mountains, has always been one of the places that I dreamed of visiting. With the winter break offering an opportunity to travel and my desire to experience “a real winter”, Norway seemed like a great option. More than this, the frozen landscapes of Arctic Norway offer many experiences which simply cannot be found anywhere else. This trip was always going to be cool.

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Germany: Mainz and The Black Forest

/ The Black Forest, Germany/
Germany: Mainz and The Black Forest

As part of my work, I found myself in Germany for 2 weeks in the lovely township of Mainz, which is just outside Frankfurt am main, and situated on the Rhien. I took the opportunity to visit the neighbouring city of Wiesbaden, which is situated on the opposite side of the Rhine. Both cities are really nice, but I was quite taken by the cathedral in Wiesbaden. The river was also quite a sight to behold due to the heavy spring rains which lead to so-called “century” flooding (the severe floods which are said to occur once every hundred years) for the second time in 8 years. All bank-side infrastructure was underwater, further upstream the floodgates had been opened, wiping out crops and farmland just to try to prevent flooding of the cities. The volume of water in the river was is hard to comprehend; I am used to “big” rivers, but when the main artery of Europe is swelling, you know there is going to be trouble.

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