Category Archives: New Zealand

Sagittarius

Posted on August 1, 2016 by d4vid

Driving west across the South Island from Dunedin, I came to the resort towns around Lake Wakatipu. Arrowtown is one of the few places in New Zealand whose actual name sounds like it could be a place somewhere in Middle-Earth.  … Continue reading →

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Ambiguous

Posted on July 31, 2016 by d4vid

Street David Saint?  Saint David Saint?  Please clarify.

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Ominous

Posted on July 31, 2016 by d4vid

Few things are as chilling as the sight of an old medical school at dusk.

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Edinburgh

Posted on July 31, 2016 by d4vid

On the east coast of the South Island, I stayed in a cool college town called Dunedin (pronounced “dun-EE-din”.)   The name has nothing to do with the Dúnedain, as one might expect, but in fact comes from Dùn Èideann which … Continue reading →

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Rust

Posted on July 27, 2016 by d4vid

In Oamaru, heading down the east coast of the South Island, I visited a strange place called the Steampunk HQ.  It was sort of a bastard hybrid of the old pre-gentrification Travel Town (when you could get tetanus or searing … Continue reading →

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Edoras

Posted on July 27, 2016 by d4vid

I took a long, long, long side trip deep into the middle of the South Island to Mt. Sunday, a rocky outcropping on which they built the set for Edoras, the capital of Rohan, for The Lord of the Rings. … Continue reading →

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Ford

Posted on July 27, 2016 by d4vid

I had never seen one of these road signs before.  I thought to myself, “Well surely this doesn’t mean I’ll need to actually…” But it did afford me the opportunity to ford the ford in my, um, Toyota Highlander.  (Sorry. … Continue reading →

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Cinnamon

Posted on July 27, 2016 by d4vid

In Christchurch on the South Island, I stayed at a charming Bed & Breakfast adjacent to and owned by a historic pub called Pomeroy’s on Kilmore. The place smelled of cinnamon apple.  Not some crappy cinnamon apple candle, genuine cinnamon apple. … Continue reading →

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Psycho

Posted on July 26, 2016 by d4vid

Yes, yes, I realize that how I arranged things in my motel room is just a few plastic sheets shy of a Dexter kill room.

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Tudor

Posted on July 26, 2016 by d4vid

From the east coast of the North Island at Napier, I hurried back to Wellington to catch a flight to the South Island.  I stopped for the night, midway at Palmerston North and stayed at this charming motel built to … Continue reading →

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Thalassocentrism

Posted on July 26, 2016 by d4vid

This was my first glimpse of the South Pacific, looking out from the beach at Napier. The Pacific was the first ocean I ever saw growing up.  And this is the same ocean, just seen from the side farthest away.

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Wilderness

Posted on July 26, 2016 by d4vid

Heading east from Lake Taupo across the Thermal Explorer Highway (who names these things?), I finally started to see the wilder, emptier aspect of the North Island.  I even found this random waterfall that was way cooler than Huka Falls. I … Continue reading →

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Doom

Posted on July 26, 2016 by d4vid

From the redwoods, I traveled southwest to Lake Taupo. This Māori artwork reminded me of some other things I learned from the Maiti tribe.  The tā moko facial markings were originally scars, not tattoos.  Grooves were carved with three different knives … Continue reading →

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Serious

Posted on July 26, 2016 by d4vid

Near Lake Taupo are the Huka Falls. Maybe — between Multnomah, Yellowstone, Kegon, and all of Yosemite — I’ve become hard to impress.I did learn the “huka” means “foam” in Māori.  Clever. It’s difficult to see clearly in this picture, … Continue reading →

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Endor

Posted on July 26, 2016 by d4vid

In 1901, twelve hectares of California redwoods were planted in Whakarewarewa southeast of Rotorua.  Six hectares survived to this day.  Having spent hour after adoring hour wandering the redwood and sequoia groves back in California, I couldn’t help but think of … Continue reading →

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