In the cold air

by Rob West 30. March 2010 02:53
the crack and deep rubble was unmistakable. It was 2am at the White Horse Department of Conservation Campsite at the end of the Mount Cook Road. Penetrating cold leaked in around the neck of my two season sleeping bag as the bellows effect of rolling over expelled my hard won body... [More]

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Slamming on the brakes

by Rob West 23. March 2010 02:50
as we came around the curve, the end was nigh. We were about 80km south of Queenstown, NZ bombing towards Te Anau in Fiordland on State Highway 6 enroute to a four day tramp on the Kepler Track. The sun dripped behind the western mountains and the inland ranges behind were blanketed in a s... [More]

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A tale of two volcanoes

by Rob West 14. March 2010 02:49
The North Island of NZ is a volcanic powder keg. But one that begs to be be tampered with. A few weeks ago, after three days of waiting on the rain, we threaded a weather needle and made a dash for the summit of Mount Taranaki in the southwestern north island. Taranaki is an achingly perfect... [More]

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When the sail blew out

by Rob West 13. March 2010 02:46
Captain Shay was so nimble on the helm I hadn't even realized the sail was loose until we'd come through the wind onto the starboard tack. The monumental multi-ton load on the sails of a 13 metre catamaran in 15-20 knot winds wiped away the easy, breezy confidence accumulated over five... [More]

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'Can you hear me in the beck?'

by Rob West 17. February 2010 03:42
Standing in back of the crowd at the Doubtless Bay Fishing Contest, Karen turned around to see if anyone was standing in the stream behindus? 'Nope, definitely nobody in the beck.'Assured the crowd waswith him, the the MC then got on with it, handing out fishing rods,lifejackets, nets, GPS u... [More]

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While the endangered, noctural, flightless kiwi is the national animal

by Rob West 31. January 2010 03:39
here in New Zealand, and there are lots of signs for them - 'kiwicrossing,' 'kiwi habitat, keep dogs on lead' - there are few signs ofthe long-beaked wormeater themselves. We've seen one so far, stuffedand under glass in the Auckland Museum.However, the kiwi aside,the real star o... [More]

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The Future of Asia is Huge

by Rob West 17. January 2010 03:42
America and Europe don’t stand a chance in this battle for future global dominance while Canada and Australia best keep their heads down and continue to supply the fuel for the fire. I’m not talking about foreign reserves, trade balances [though how Australia has a negative trade bal... [More]

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It took a dump on me

by Rob West 17. January 2010 03:38
Off Gili Menos, a tiny, 1 km wide island, ringed by a coral reef and white sand beaches off the NW coast of Lombok, we plunged in from the outrigger with snorkels on. Gliding 8 or 10 metres above the reef – the closest thing to flying except for this being water and probably nothing lik... [More]

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Gunung Rinjani

by Rob West 17. January 2010 03:36
It’s a sacred beast. A monster of a volcano, the second highest in Indonesia, and comprising the beating heart of Lombok. Sacred to the millions of Balinese across the Lombok Strait as the seat of the gods and a beast to anyone aiming for the summit. At 3726m, the summit is a volcanic r... [More]

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Children's excercise equipment and whips made of electrical wire

by Rob West 7. December 2009 08:02
are but two of the implements of torture on display at Tuol Sleng, a former high school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia converted by the Khmer Rouge into their chief centre of torture. Known widely as S-21 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuol_Sleng_Genocide_Museum, a visit is a full frontal visceral assault... [More]

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