Forests that have disappeared so completely that you would hardly believe they really existed, have long fascinated me. When I left my home in Alexandra for university in Dunedin, I took with me a facsimile map my mother had given me. It was a mid 19th century view of the Southland plains, the area sweeping… Continue reading The Lost Forests of Southland, New Zealand
Tag: Travel
New Zealand’s Hawks Crag Breccia – prelude to the drift from Gondwana
The New Zealand road network has some seriously quirky idiosyncrasies – little things we locals take for granted, but can cause some alarm to the ever-increasing number of tourists. There are, for example, hundreds of ‘one lane’ bridges. And about these, I was once asked, in total exasperation by an American “Why don’t you just… Continue reading New Zealand’s Hawks Crag Breccia – prelude to the drift from Gondwana
St Petersburg – 200 years of Russian Chick Selfies
Women, so I’ve read (and seem to observe), are significantly more likely to take ‘selfies’ than men. It doesn’t seem to matter where I go now, but there are crowds, struggling under the weight of a selfie-stick, with some digital apparatus on the end of it. In a previous incarnation, I was a photographer. This… Continue reading St Petersburg – 200 years of Russian Chick Selfies
In Mongolia any fool can drive, but…
In five years or so in and out of Mongolia, I’ve criss-crossed thousands of kilometres by 4WD Landcruiser. But I’ve only taken the wheel once, and that was for a short hop back to a village when my driver wasn’t well. Let me explain. Technically, anyone can take the wheels of a 4WD and go… Continue reading In Mongolia any fool can drive, but…
The Log Cabin at the Heart of St Petersburg, Russia
The most famous ‘little log cabin in the woods’ is probably the one in which Abraham Lincoln grew up in Kentucky. It was built in 1808, but unfortunately, no longer exists. However, in St Petersburg, Russia, there is to this day, a log cabin built in 1703. It was the home for a few years of Tsar Peter… Continue reading The Log Cabin at the Heart of St Petersburg, Russia
Cheap Eats Nanjing 24 – the Mysterious Vanishing Sushi Shop
It happens so often. I chance across a place in a city – then fruitlessly search high and low for it again. Finally chance across it once more – only to lose it again. This little Nanjing sushi shop fell squarely into that category. It’s way down the southern end of Chiangxiang Road, about the… Continue reading Cheap Eats Nanjing 24 – the Mysterious Vanishing Sushi Shop
Cheap Eats Nanjing 23 – Curry at Miss Tasha
I noticed Miss Tasha when it opened. But for quite a while I kept walking past – I wasn’t sure what it was. It was set back a little off Chenxiang Road, and had a push-bike, tastefully positioned in the front. But was it a craft shop, or a cafe? My usual rule called for… Continue reading Cheap Eats Nanjing 23 – Curry at Miss Tasha
Cheap Eats Nanjing 22 – Danfeng St Bakery
Boring weekends, I’d sometimes head around the block to a little bakery in Danfeng St. I’d pick up a little selection of ‘cakes’. These are flaky pastry bounded nibbles, with a variety of soft filling inside. The cakes in the featured image cost me 12 RMB (c. $2.30). Not as healthy as basic noodles or… Continue reading Cheap Eats Nanjing 22 – Danfeng St Bakery
Once a Vast Forest – Motatapu Track, New Zealand
Early on a cool Sunday morning I sipped my latte outside Relishes Cafe, Wanaka, and thought the immediate view could be better. In a somewhat typical urban New Zealand fashion, the lake is cut off from the cafe not just by a road, but a car park as well. However, the awesome view behind it,… Continue reading Once a Vast Forest – Motatapu Track, New Zealand
The Day I Walked Around the Roman Empire
When Emperor Constantine woke up on May 28, 1453, it would have been to the depressing thought that it was likely his last day on Earth. Justinian was emperor of the Roman Empire (we tend to call them Byzantine, but they thought of themselves as Romans), although at this stage it wasn’t much. The Ottoman army… Continue reading The Day I Walked Around the Roman Empire