Coromandel, Mana

Nu Ta Tu

My friend Inia imbued my arm with new meanings, all of his own design and discerning, but meshing completely with what I had in my heart at the time and wanted expressed on my skin. I am grateful that he found the energy and took the time to give me this Maori moko.

The blue bits speak to water, echoed in the shaded depictions of waves and the triangular pattern of mountains. The three spirals in the center come from the point of creation shared by every living thing in the universe. They represent new beginnings, growth, and change.

From CHC to AKL

In flight entertainment...

Thanksgiving at Kaikoura Hapaku Treehouse

Kaikoura, Lavender Farm

Methven, Washpen Falls

Canyoning in Queenstown

My good friend Sara's boyfriend Shay

hooked me up to go canyoning - his friend from childhood runs a company in Queenstown. Sara opted out - she doesn't so much care for the cold, hence her hemisphere-hopping, following an endless summer. It was a chilly, overcast, rainy day, and the river was raging.

We did a couple of zip lines across the river,

abseiled (rappeled) down a cliff,

jumped into the river, swam through rapids. It was crazy. It made me feel so alive,

knowing that it was up to me to keep myself from injury. One guy, Mark,

whose camera we shot these fotos with, actually broke his ankle on one of the swims, caught it underneath a branch or a tree log when he was coming into a cave. I escaped with a few minor bumps and bruises, one from slamming myself back-first into a cliff. I considered myself very lucky. It was an amazing experience,

and we had a great dinner with Mike (the owner) and his wife Tinika later that night, bonding over some drinks and a heated game of Cranium...

Auckland, Second Visit

Queenstown, Second Visit