The Pioneer – Prologue

Last November, I dismantled my mountain bike and packed it into a carboard box.  I took that box on a plane to Queenstown and reassembled it with a complete stranger who had flown in from South Africa that same day. The two of us planned to ride over 450km in 6 days across kiwi mountains,…

Performance enhancing wigs

That time I wore a bright pink wig and rode my mountain bike for 6 and a half hours.

Always pack your headtorch

If you’re going to chase waterfalls, and trudge down rivers in the dark… don’t leave your head torch in the car.

Tongariro Northern Circuit

4 days on the Tongariro Northern Circuit with my little bro.

MS Gong Ride 2017 – We made it!

A very rainy ride from Sydney to Wollongong… with a bunch of rock climbers.

Learning to fly

Dirtbagjens gets his pilots licence in Manilla.

The long approach to nowhere

Learning to enjoy the bits in between A and B.

13 Reasons to Rant about Travel

Originally posted on doctormowgli:
An article popped up on my social media feed recently.  It listed 13 reasons why I shouldn’t worry about stupid things like money or security, and should ‘just travel’ instead. As I read through the list, I felt a familiar rage building up inside me.  Want to know why? Cracks neck,…

Plastic boats and plastic oceans

Last month I signed myself up for a Marine Debris Kayaking Challenge off Kooragang Island.  My new-found love of kayaking had run headlong into my guilt for always declining my friends’ repeated invites to Hunter Intrepid Landcare events. I had run out of excuses. It was time to give it a go. This was the…

A new obsession

A few weeks ago, I wrote that I wasn’t sure how I felt about the white water kayaking. Since then, I have bought a second-hand paddle and a second-hand boat.  I have had unexpected paddling lessons from friendly Olympians and I’ve been around the whitewater course in an inflatable boat more times than I can count.  I have had…

Upsidedown, underwater and a bit uncertain

Dear Kayaking I’m still not sure how I feel about you. I could learn to love you. But it will have to be that creepy-upy kind of love. You see, rock climbing took me in right away. It was love at first sight. Climbing provided me with a constant stream of reassurance.  Each time I…

We went chasing waterfalls

For a long time I only had one CD in my car.  It was one of the Triple J’s Like a Version albums. It got played on climbing trips, camping trips and trips to the supermarket. One of the songs was a cover of the TLC song, Waterfalls.  If you want to listen to it,…