Tag Archives | Feature

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My First Balinese Cooking Class

Bali has a unique style of food.  I am a chef.  Bali has many great restaurants serving unique, fresh and flavorful dishes.  Many of these establishments and their chefs offer cooking classes. I recently signed up for Alit’s Warung Cooking Class which is run by Alit.  A warung is a small family owned business, usually […]

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WHAT? A CALIFORNIA REDWOOD FOREST IN NEW ZEALAND?

I have been a docent in Big Basin Redwood State Park, California’s oldest, for 10 years.  When I am not traveling, I lead monthly interpretive hikes in the majestic redwoods.  As part of my training and study, I learned that of the three species of redwood that have survived since the Jurassic Period (65,000,000 years […]

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Huka Falls Jet Boat Ride

I did a Jet Boat ride on the Rogue River in Oregon a couple years back with a good friend. It was wet, wild and lots of fun.  So when the opportunity arose yesterday to do another one, I jumped at the chance. A little research revealed that the Jet Boat was invented in New […]

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The Best Day Hike in New Zealand

I confess, I am at least a month behind in posting my myriad adventures in the beautiful land of all things Kiwi.  The twofold reasons are 1) I have been busy traveling and doing wild stuff and 2) sporadic connectivity. I will continue to have many stories to tell for some time.  However, three days ago I […]

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DOUBTFUL SOUND, DAYS 2.5 to 3

Dateline:  Deep Cove When I was hanging out in Te Anau before and right after my Milford Sound trip, I met John, a very friendly and helpful bartender at the Fiordland Theater.  While drinking local craft beer and using their rather fast wifi, we talked a lot about Doubtful Sound. He had told me about Deep Cove […]

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DOUBTFUL SOUND, DAY 2

Day Two on the Navigator I awake early and peek out the port hole by my bunk.  By dawns light I see we have anchored in a beautiful sheltered cove overnight. My three bunk mates are still asleep.  I slip out grab a hot shower, my camera and some coffee and am first out on […]

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DOUBTFUL SOUND

Doubtful Sound, Fiordland   Doubtful Sound is remote and deep in the heart of Fiordland, a national park and World Heritage Site that encompasses over three million acres.  It is difficult to get there which is why it receives a small amount of visitors compared to the very popular Milford Sound further north.  The sound, […]

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RUGBY!

New Zealand Loves Rugby   During my recent stay in Dunedin I had the opportunity to see a rugby match with my wonderful host family the Cookes. It was the 2012 Super 15 kickoff for New Zealand fans with the Otago Highlanders (the local Dunedin team) taking on the Australian New South Wales’ HSBC Waratahs […]

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MOUNT COOK, NEW ZEALAND

The Road to Mount Cook View Larger Map   At 3,755m (12,320 ft) Mt. Cook is the highest peak in Australasia.  It is located within a national park and a World Heritage Site.  Of course I was going! Having just picked up the Juicy Condo in Christchurch, this would be my first real road trip, […]

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Milford Sound

MILFORD SOUND, NEW ZEALAND   There is a reason why Milford Sound receives over 500,000 visitors a year!  This is a phenomenal amount of visitation, especially when you consider that the population of New Zealand is only 4.4 million and has a unique problem called negative population growth. Most of the tourists come during the […]

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