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Heading North
2008-03-03 19:18:00
Tuesday, March 4, 06:45 We’ve been in Wellington the past couple of days, touring, visiting with friends and their families, and in an hour or so we’ll be heading north. Internet access has been less common than I had expected, but that’s partly because of the region we were in the past week. We’re keeping to our rough itinerary so far, but we’re changing it from here on due mostly to continuing unsettled weather.I won’t attempt to try to tell you at this point about all that we’ve done and seen in the week since my last post. The fact that I’ve now taken 2,249 photos may give you a hint of how long the list is! The touring highlight so far, though, has been the day trip to White Island, a privately owned active volcano. It was astounding, totally blowing away anything that much more famous Rotorua has to offer.     Many people online recommend avoiding East Cape due to poor roads and limited facilities, but we really enjoyed it. Off...
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Variety is the Spice….
2008-02-25 10:02:00
Monday, Feb. 25, 21:20 (our itinerary) The past 24 hours or so has been incredibly varied, and it’s been planned as by far the most expensive 24 hours of our trip. Last night we went to the Mitai Maori cultural show and hangi, an extremely good and varied series of presentations and dinner that went on for almost 4 hours. It ended with a long walk through the forest to see glowworms, which I thought might be silly but was actually very cool. We had some rain, but nothing too heavy.    It rained heavily most of the night, but under clearing skies this morning, Cathy and I took a walk to the city park next door to see what initially made Rotorua famous - the hot water in its many forms. It’s quite a sight to see steam coming out of everything from ponds to storm drains and people’s back yards!  Then I went back into crazy mode with the folks from Wet & Wild, this time running the Kaituna River with its 7-meter waterfall. The photo below shows us in mid-drop - ...
More About: Variety , Spice

Wet & Wild
2008-02-24 05:30:00
Sunday, Feb. 24, 17:20 (our itinerary) The storm intensified overnight, and waking up in Mt. Maunganui was not a particularly pleasant experience. There were still lots of joggers on the boardwalk in front of us, though - the locals seemed to be little bothered by a tropical storm. Although it didn’t cause us to miss any activities, by 09:00 we were on our way a half-hour west to the pick-up point for rafting the world-famous, Class 5, Kairoa River.       The Kairoa was an incredible experience, as much for the spectacular beauty as for the world-class whitewater. Not having a camera at the put-in location at the foot of McLaren Falls (a Class 6) made me a little nuts - it was a slot canyon drenched in rain and full of very colourful rafts, kayaks and people. The river can only be run for a few hours on 26 days each year when water is released from a power dam. The river is very different from others I’ve run, in that you have relatively calm pools below each set of ...
More About: Wild

Surf’s Up, Dude!
2008-02-23 05:36:00
Saturday, Feb. 23, 17:17 (our itinerary) Mt. Maunganui is hugely popular with Kiwis, but doesn’t show up very often on the itineraries of international travellers. When we arrived, we didn’t have high hopes, but we’re having a great time here. A strong tropical depression has given us screaming winds and now rain, but I climbed “the Mount” this morning (only 232 meters, but on a very impressive track), then Cathy and I watched a big surfing competition for a while before walking the beautiful and varied 45-minute trail around the base of the Mount. With the rain coming down sideways now, we’ve got a load of laundry on the go, and after dinner we’ll be going to the geothermal saltwater pools next door. All in all it’s a great destination for folks like us who want to experience New Zealand rather than merely see it.       
More About: Surf , Dude

Life is a Beach
2008-02-22 10:12:00
Friday, Feb. 22, 21:10 (our itinerary) Here we sit in our cozy little motorhome in Mt. Maunganui, on the edge of one of New Zealand’s best surfing beaches (that’s our rig on the right). It’s very windy and we’re just listening to the surf and wind now, but for a while we listened to an excellent classic rock station, Radio Hauraki, after a walk on the beach to watch surfers trying to ride the wild waves.   We’re heading south down the east coast now, though we were sorry to leave Hahei (pronounced haw HAY). Last night, we had a superb meal at a historic church that now houses a restaurant. My beef filet and Cathy’s rack of lamb were both incredibly tender (my filet was served with a butter knife to cut it, and it worked just fine). As we were leaving Hahei this morning, we took a slight detour to the carpark where the track (hiking trail) to Cathedral Cove begins - the photo below will no doubt explain why another week or so here would be most w...
More About: Life , Beach

A Postcard Wedding
2008-02-21 10:14:00
Cathy and I are now married. While we’re sorry that we couldn’t have had some of our family and friends with us, it was a perfect day - Cathedral Cove is both a spectacular and a spiritually powerful place, and the JP, his wife and our witnesses (a couple from Denmark) were wonderful to share our day with.   More about our travels as time permits!
More About: Wedding , Postcard

Under the Sea & On the Sea
2008-02-18 15:20:00
The city was very quiet on our first day because it was Sunday. Yesterday was very different, but we weren’t downtown much anyway. At 9:00 we met the shuttle bus for Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic Encounter & Underwater World. This was one of Cathy’s must-sees, and I’m now glad it was. From a recreated polar camp to an incredible underwater viewing tunnel and penguin tour by snowcat, it was excellent, well worth the admission (discounted to $26.50 at the Skytower iSite, the New Zealand Tourism office).          I shot 214 photos tday, but there’s quite a few duds from Tarlton’s due to the tough shooting conditions (even at ISO 1600, hand-held down to 1/4 second in places), so there are only 153 keepers. It’s hard to decide what to show you - we saw so many great sights. After getting back to town, we walked to the harbour and boarded a Fuller’s ferry ($9 return per person) for the 12-minute ride to Devonport, a charming seaside co...

Whitehorse to Auckland - the Adventure Begins
2008-02-17 18:00:00
I’ve already completely lost track of time. It can’t possibly be only 44 hours since we walked out of the house at Whitehorse on the way to the airport. We’re now well into our exploration of a warm, vibrant city some 14,000 km away. We’re meeting wonderful people, seeing beautiful sights and eating excellent food - we are simply having a ball! Our Air Canada Jazz flight was over an hour late, but we had lots of free time in Vancouver and got a free beer on the flight so it wasn’t a big deal (some folks on the flight missed their connections, though).          It was +5°C, raining and dark in Vancouver - yes, I remember the Vancouver winters that I hated. Just before 7:00 pm, we boarded a new Boeing 777-200ER (Extended Range) for the 14.5-hour flight to Auckland . It was quite a shock to walk into this huge plane. The flight was nearly full, so there were almost 320 people, seated 3/3/3 across. The seating is quite tight - maybe that’s the ...
More About: Adventure

Spectacular Wilderness Property
2008-02-12 18:30:00
The Yukon Territory still has remote wilderness property available for purchase that is so incredibly beautiful that many people in the world aren’t even able to form a dream that compares. By world standards, these properties often list for very low prices - here are a couple of examples currently being offered by people I know: At Kluane Lake, you’re only a 3-hour drive from Whitehorse, yet a world away in terms of your surroundings. This log cabin, built and equipped for year-round use, sits on about 2.5 acres, with a sandy beach and a spectacular view of the mountains of Kluane National Park. The asking price is $350,000. Click here for more information. If you want to really get away from the rest of the world, this 10-acre property on Frances Lake is only accessible by floatplane or boat (or snowmobile in the winter). It has about 1/4 mile of beach, and all the modern equipment that makes year-round living comfortable. The asking price is $550,000. Click here for m...
More About: Property , Wilderness , Spectacular

Major Northern Lights Shows Coming!
2008-02-11 16:03:00
It’s been a very poor year for aurora viewing, so I want to give you a heads-up that major shows are forecast to occur on February 29 and March 8 (see http://www.gedds.alaska.edu/AuroraForecas t/ ). We won’t be here, but maybe we’ll get to see the aurora australis. The image below is one I shot at Carcross on December 15, 2006.
More About: Lights , Northern , Major , Northern Lights

Luxury on the Cheap
2008-02-07 16:57:00
I get a fair number of travel company newsletters - it’s a combination of keeping in touch with what’s going on in the industry worldwide, and seeing what deals are available. This morning the great deals are on cruises, particularly Caribbean and Alaska cruises. Two examples - you can now get 4 nights on the ...
More About: Travel , Luxury , Cruises , Cheap

The Magic & the Mystery - Road Trip at 40 Below
2008-02-07 16:03:00
Yesterday was road trip day. Only a little road trip to Skagway to pick up a bunch of gear for the trip, but it was one of those severe, dramatic days that I love. It was -38°C (-36°F) when I left Mary Lake, and -16°C (+4°F) when I reached Skagway. With a screaming north wind, ...
More About: Nature , Travel , Photos , Magic , Mystery

Tour Yukon - A Poor Web Site Gets Worse
2008-02-05 03:43:00
The Yukon’s tourism Web site (Travel Yukon.com) has never been very good, but the latest version is appallingly bad. Try to find some information there in the way a visitor would - for example, accommodations along the road from Whitehorse to Dawson - and you’ll come up empty. But then the site says that it takes ...
More About: Site , Tour , Poor

In New Zealand Mode
2008-02-04 16:53:00
Cathy has been in major planning mode for our New Zealand trip for a week or so now, but I’m still so busy that it just didn’t get back on the priority list until yesterday, 12 days before we leave. We booked the flight, the motorhome, our Auckland arrival hotel and the celebrant for our ...
More About: Travel , Mode

Fun in the Ice Fog
2008-02-02 15:48:00
Yesterday was forecast to be the last day of the deep-freeze, so I decided to go exploring with my camera instead of running errands all day. The airport was the most interesting place, but I was all over town and ended the day with 136 photos. The images below are a sampling of what was ...
More About: Nature , Travel , Photos , Aviation

Dogs Being Killed in Traps
2008-01-31 17:48:00
There seems to be an increase in the number of dogs in Alaska and the Yukon being killed in traps in recent years. The buffer between recreation and trapping areas has apparently been reduced if not eliminated. The death of another dog in Indian, Alaska, has prompted the Anchorage Daily News to post directions on ...
More About: Dogs , Killed

Global Warming Causes Wimps?
2008-01-31 15:21:00
The Yukon is sure changing. Or at least Yukoners are. Not that many years ago, the deep-freeze that we’re now in was the norm for a few weeks every year. While it was still a common conversation starter, life went on as usual. This year, activity has noticeably slowed in Whitehorse, though. When I went ...
More About: Global Warming , Nature , Photos , Global , Armin

Almost Time For a New Thermometer!
2008-01-29 19:42:00
The one by the hot tub only reads to -50° Celsius! This photo was taken a few minutes ago, at about 10:30 a.m. - acccording to the US National Weather Service, that’s -56.2° Fahrenheit.     
More About: Nature , Photos , Time , Thermometer

Where in the World Can I Afford to Live??
2008-01-29 18:41:00
Demographia has recently published their International Housing Affordabiltiy Survey, and a brief look at it this morning was interesting enough to set it aside for a deep read in the near future. Although I haven’t seen any Northern information yet, the report is 52 pages, so it may be there (or we may not be ...
More About: Travel , World , Live , Commerce , The World

Travel Reviews
2008-01-29 18:05:00
When you’re running Web sites, paying attention to the details of your stats is important so you can focus where the interest is - if that’s also within the range of your own interests, too, of course. Among the searches that bring people here, travel reviews of various kinds (hotel, destination, cruise, etc) are always ...
More About: Reviews , Travel , Photos

The Coldest Job in Whitehorse Today
2008-01-28 23:18:00
I’m just about to head out to get Cathy’s Tracker running, but that isn’t going to be the coldest job in Whitehorse. The guy below, working on the engine of a C-130 Hercules at 34 below with a screaming wind, has that job! Click on the image to enlarge it (and for more Yukon aviation ...
More About: Nature , Photos , Today , Aviation

A Minus-40 Morning
2008-01-28 18:33:00
It was cold when I went into town last night, but even colder this morning. The thermometer says -44°C but it seems to read a bit on the cold side. But whatever the temp is, Cathy’s Tracker is dead. It was plugged in for a couple of hours and would only click, so that’s ...
More About: Nature , Morning

Stikine River Salmon - Enhancement Problems
2008-01-28 18:18:00
Officials from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (the DFO) are meeting with members of the public and other organizations in Dease Lake today, to discuss problems that have arisen in a complex enhancement program. I met Kevin Gould and his father Bob last night at the Gold Rush to discuss the issue - they are members ...
More About: Politics , Nature , Fishing , River , Problems

The World?s Best Web Site?
2008-01-26 17:41:00
Cathy is in major New Zealand mode now (one of us certainly has to be!), and found a remarkable Web site this morning. What’s even more remarkable is that it’s a government site. Te Ara ? The Encyclopedia of New Zealand is described as “a comprehensive guide to the country?s peoples, natural environment, history, culture, ...
More About: Education , Travel , World , Site , The World

Online Postal Mail Forwarding for Travellers
2008-01-26 16:49:00
When you travel, what happens to your postal mail? I expect that most of you do what we do - just let it pile up somewhere, whether at the post office or in a box at a neighbour’s. But what if you’re going to be gone for a long time? In just 3 weeks ...
More About: Mail , Travel , Postal , Online , Commerce

Silence, Safety & Comfort
2008-01-26 00:21:00
Silence, safety and comfort - everyone deserves at least one friendship as pure as this one  
More About: Safety , Photos , Silence , Comfort

Truth is not Told, it is Realized
2008-01-25 03:34:00
Do your friends call you a cynic? Do you constantly question what is true and what is a fabrication? If so, or if you even wish that you did question more, you need to watch the new film “Zeitgeist“. This non-profit film, just released last June, is the finest example of what might be called ...
More About: Politics , Truth , Education , Commerce , Told

Have Travel Photos? Win Your Dream Trip!
2008-01-23 15:36:00
Do you have some photos that bring back memories of a very special travel experience? If so, you could win a $25,000 dream vacation! About every 6 weeks, Condé Nast Travel er magazine and Expedia are giving away a trip for the best photo and story submitted. You can find all the details here (have a look ...
More About: Photos , Commerce , Dream , Trip

User-Pay for Excess Policing - Way to Go, Anchorage!
2008-01-22 18:20:00
The Anchorage city police have had enough of people being bad neighbours, and have started billing them for their ignorance. Some problem homes in Anchorage are getting 90 or more calls by police a year, according to Anchorage police Sgt. Denny Allen. After the 8th callout in a year, the homeowner will now be billed ...
More About: Politics , Crime , User

Alaska-Yukon Adventures - Easy But Unusual Ones
2008-01-18 17:05:00
Getting off the usual tourist route seems to be less common each year, so I really enjoying hearing from people who are doing it. In the last couple of days, I received 2 emails that point to images I’d like you to see. First, “SueT”, a frequent poster on several Alaska -Yukon forums, has posted an ...
More About: Travel , Photos , Adventures , Easy