One of the activities I looked forward to in New Zealand was jade carving. I found out about the opportunity shortly after arriving when a girl in our first lodge showed me a beautiful pendant she’d made. As Stray had a jade-carving activity available during the West Coast leg of our travels, I decided to…
who are the watsons?
We are a 30-something married couple who decided to leave behind our home, careers and comfortable Silicon Valley lifestyle to try a new course. Join us as we travel the world to learn about other cultures, lifestyles and ways to generate income beyond the traditional 9-5.
Tag Archive: new zealand travel
Getting to know Auckland
Several of you have asked what we’ve been up to while settled in Auckland these six weeks. Well, we’ve been living in a tiny, shoebox apartment in the heart of Auckland’s central business district (CBD). Like many of you, we take walks around our neighborhood, we buy groceries and cook at home, we do laundry,…
Travels with Stray, part III: The show must go on
Having seen our share of glowworms the prior evening, Brian and I decided to forego caving adventures in Waitomo and instead relax and do a nature hike. Trouble found us a good one that included waterfalls and a cave. That evening, the Trouble Express cruised back across the North Island and pulled into Maketu for…
Travels with Stray, part II: Here comes Trouble
Tired and cranky is not the best way to start a trip. Add hungry, and the shit really hits the fan in my world. Luckily, Brian is too smart to let that happen. And so the second leg of our travels with Stray began with me tired and cranky, but at least fed on esculent…
Travels with Stray, part I: Cape Reinga
It was a wintry August morning in the Ponsonby suburb of Auckland as Brian and I waited for the bus to arrive. We had no idea what to expect. Normally independent travelers, we had been sold on the idea of an organized bus tour of New Zealand by a South Carolinian we met just around…
