NZ must be sick to the back teeth of LOTR references & comparisons… so here are some lazy & poorly thought out ones about the north island.

In the north of NZ the landscape shifts somewhat, transfiguring into a bather’s paradise. There are beaches. Big, beautiful beaches...

Either by land, air or water, getting around Taupo is awe-inspiring. Taupo is one of them places that needn’t change nor try, but simply be.

Kaikoura’s little-town mystery is actually rather warming. Like an overbearing mother, filling your head with thoughts not to leave...

We have barred the gates, but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes… Drums. Drums in the deep. We cannot get out.

A little town living in the big shadows cast by Mount Cook. Lake Tekapo is a mispronounced Eden - a real unsung hero of South Island beauty.

Home, is where I want to be but I guess I'm already there. I come home, she lifted up her wings, I guess that this must be the place.

Boiçucanga is home to the Liceu English School, swarms of huge flies, the most unpredictable tidal patterns and the £3 dinner deal.

Now here's a town full of genuine charm! Forget the rest, as for now Paraty wins the South American Colonial Town Beauty Pageant.

The first beach stop on our South American escapade! Cocktails, Samba, cosmetically modified rear-ends and sunshine baby!

Water, water, everywhere, as the jungle starts to sink. Water, water, everywhere but not a drop to drink.

Class and culture seep through the walls and windows of this b-e-a-utiful city. Buenos Aires is maybe cosmopolitanism at its finest.

In a 10 month trip one is bound to encounter some places that don't quite live up to the Lonely Planet description... Two in a row though!

Easter marks new beginnings; Argentina marks up its chocolate. San Carlos de Bariloche is £10 Easter Eggs, free haircuts & 30km bike rides.

Pucón ain't cheap, but when the sun rises above a volcanic minefield and sets beneath a lake fit for an oil painting, is there any wonder?

Lamb stew, black beer & mountain views worthy of an international brand... el Chalten will get bigger and badder, but for now it's idyllic.

Crash! Bang! Wallop! What a Glacier! Shrieks of giddy tourists & humming autofocus processors build to a thunderous crash of frozen nature.

It is said that one day in Torres del Paine brings all four seasons. I say that ten hours on the mountain brings crusty socks.

What's black and white and fat from the feed? When the howling wind pauses you can hear the clap of a thousand happy feet.

From snowy London to sunny Valparaiso, where the dull grey high-rise transitioned into a technicolour tin hut.