Tag Archives: animals

Back in Te Anau

by jose

“Are you vegetarian?”

I goggled at the woman until it came to me it was a serious question.

“Um, no, why?”

“Oh Andrew couldn’t remember if you were vegetarian or not. You’re having tea at his place aren’t you? He’s cooking mussels.”

That is how, after having vainly looked for Andrew at his work, we ended up knowing we were having mussels for dinner before his colleague actually gave us the directions to his new house. The Hills had moved since my last visit, and apparently, they now lived a bit out of town.

We drove and turned back a few times before finding the house, set amidst meadows and pastures — and a golf course. As we went up the driveway, we had to pull over to let a 4WD pass the other way. Andrew was at the wheel.

“Hey guys! We’re just going sailing with Arlo — they’re in the back, in the garden! See you this evening!”

And he drove on.

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On the Milford Road

by ladina

Intrigued by the pictures of Milford Sound that haunted us from tourist guidebooks and postcards, we set out to discover New Zealand’s most famous fjord on our own. The Milford Road, probably one of the most spectacular highways I ever drove on and which leads — as the name suggests — to the sound, invited us to stop at many sites to absorb the beauty of nature. Once arrived at Milford Sound, a two-hour cruise took us through the fjord and out to the open sea. The crisp air, the morning sun and the misty clouds hanging in the green mountains composed a serenity that brought deep pleasure to my heart. The pictures only convey a small impression of the whole scenery, but being there, living it, proved me once again how precious traveling is, allowing you to feel those places.

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Otago Peninsula, New Zealand

by ladina

New Zealand, one of the countries on the very top of my list, awaited us with new adventures: the very first and most demanding consisted in driving on the “wrong” side. We decided to rent a small car for our time in NZ, a little extra to our backpacker’s existence which would allow us to visit more secluded places and give us a whole new feeling: freedom to go wherever we wanted to, whenever it pleased us, without depending on others.

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Phillip Island

by jose

Let us be honest: India, though a marvellous and eye-opening destination, has more than a fair share of hassles in pack for travelers. I have talked with people disgusted after leaving the country, seen travelers pack up for home almost as soon as they had arrived, and read so many warnings that I could tell stories about that fact without even mentioning my own experience. The short conclusion is: most people love and hate India. At the same time.

And even though I tend to think I loved it more than I hated it, Phillip Island (Victoria), where Aunt Coeri and Uncle Rod took us for some holidays, still was a huge shock for me. An agreeable shock, mind. As opposed to the mountains of garbage and plastic we had previously encountered, Phillip Island boasts a pristine or, if altered by man, well-conserved environment. The contrast with our months spent in India was tremendous; and this contrast, I think, made our enjoyment of the Australian flora and fauna all the better.

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Tropical bliss in Goa

by jose

Since the last time I was in Goa, three years ago (already!), I only wanted to come back; and deep in the cold of the Himalayan mountains, a few days before entering India again, I thought of Goa to cheer me up. Not of the Taj Mahal, not of the Indian food, not of the bright, colorful, ever-joyous and crazily chaotic Indian culture. I thought of Goa.

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