Tag Archives: South Pacific

Where in the World?

It’s time for another photo quiz, so without further ado – where in the world is this lovely bit of nature? This spectacular natural phenomenon occurs along a 5-kilometre-stretch of coastline in this little country. There you are, walking along the beach, when suddenly a series of jets rises before you. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Ocean [...]

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How to rent a home in New Zealand

After the Christchurch earthquake, the grassroots movement Blog4NZ was born, aiming to support New Zealand tourism after the earthquake. For 72 hours, travel bloggers from all over the world will tell stories about a country we love. Here’s one of mine: After I had my youngest daughter, I used the opportunity afforded by Norwegian family [...]

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Friedensreich Hundertwasser and his Toilet

In Vienna, you may have seen the creative and colourful Hundertwasser House. You know, the one with no straight lines, where trees are incorporated into the house. Even the floors are wavy. As Hundertwasser said: “an uneven floor is a melody to the feet”. But did you know the famous, ahead-of-his-time eco-friendly Austrian architect lived [...]

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The most haunting place in the Pacific

According to legend, Norfolk Island is the most haunted place in the Pacific. A stroll between these gravestones reveals the history of what was once Britain’s worst convict colony. So bad was it, convicts sought execution as relief from suffering. One prisoner, Thomas Salsbury Wright, was found guilty of forgery and sent off to Norfolk [...]

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Tiny Tonga

Tonga, or Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga, is the only monarchy in the Pacific. A constitutional monarchy in theory, a bit more feudal in reality. Or at least the reality in 2003. The then king, Taufa’ahau Tupou IV was once famous for being the world’s heaviest monarch.

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Sweet Samoa and Stevenson

One of the fun things about island-hopping in the Pacific is the feeling of time warp when crossing the international dateline. Leaving Fiji on 15 April, we arrived in Samoa a few hours later on 14 April, miraculously gaining a day – then promptly lost it when going to Tonga.

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Family travel in Fiji

Back in 2003, while on parental leave (a year off work with 80 % pay – a great Scandinavian employee right), the girls and I lived in New Zealand for 6 months. While in the neighbourhood, we did some South Pacific family travel, island hopping between Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Norfolk Island.

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Reminiscing about the Croc man

I was about to write a post about Girona, but the news about the Crocodile Hunter made me want to reminisce about another journey instead. For all his antics, it’s sad that such a presence, such energy, just stopped being. Three years ago, I lived in New Zealand with my children. While there, we spent [...]

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