Five and a half years of a university education comprised of a BHK, one year of Pharm and one year of a BSc not to mention the countless jobs I just had to have, could not have been celebrated any better than with a trip to a Polynesian Island. Destination..Tanu Beach Fales, Savaii, Samoa.



Christian and I stepped off the plane into a humid, tropical blanket of heat. After living in the Dunedin freezer for 4 months it was a welcomed warmth. Before even getting to customs, we were pulled aside by the K9-unit; big trouble was all I could think. Turns out he just wanted us to help with their "training" and planted a scent on Christian to see if the dog could pick it out. A rather odd introduction to a new country, but hey, when in Rome.


The next day we had a couple hours to burn before heading to Savaii. What better way to kill some hours than take a walk? On our way out the door, we were told it would be a good idea to take an umbrella. "Even though its not raining?" I piped in. "O, well it isn't for the rain" said the concierge in a serious tone "its for the dogs". The four of us stared at her, laughed awkwardly and timidly made our way outside. Much like Kelowna once had a an overpopulation of wild bunnies on Enterprise, Samoa has an over abundance of wild dogs, well, everywhere. Thankfully the umbrella served just as a walking stick for the morning, no dogs had to be warned.

Our ferry left at 2pm that day. We weren't on it. Apparently there was not enough room. It ended up being for the better, not only did we get to have some drinks on the warf, we also managed to score the bigger ferry with protection from the sun. My stomach at this point was not agreeing too well with me - I am convinced it was from the BBQ we had the night before. No matter, a lay down and a coke (in a 750 mL glass bottle nonetheless) helped my cause and I was ready to go when we reached the warf on the other side.

Driving to our little villiage of Manase, I felt like Marty McFly; that's putting it gently. There were no typical North American houses to be seen. Instead, huts lined the roads. Some had cement floors and palm curtains (one even had a 42" flat screen) yet there were no doors. Better circulation for tropical weather I gather.

Arriving at our villiage we pulled into a beautiful little beach resort - and I use that term lightly - and were shown to our Fale by one of the chief's daughters, Java. It couldn't have been more perfect. Two matresses on a wooden floor, weaved palm leaf shutter walls, mosquito nets and a 60 watt bulb. No internet, no plug in and a cell phone that was buried on plane mode - perfection.

This was the view we woke up to every morning...I will just come out and say it...I am a lucky guy.

We were told that dinner would be at 7:30, and there was no need to worry about watching the clock as they would ring a bell when we had to come to the table. I could get used to such a luxury. Dinner was fabulous. A heaping plate of rice, Samoan curry, taro root, taro leaves in coconut cream, fried fish and chicken. There was not a speck left on that plate.

Some drinking may have ensued following dinner. Duty free + first night in a new country + 5 newly graduated physio students = animal call drinking games until 4 am. Luckily the bell would wake us up for breakfast at 8 am.

It was a 9 day stint at Tanu Beach. Each day consisted of a pretty similar framwork. Bell wake up for breakfast at 8am, nap, snorkel, snack, nap, hike, read book, nap, bell for dinner, movie/chill/night swim. There is no subsitute for a week and a half where the biggest concern stems from a decision between snorkeling at morning high tide or afternoon high tide.

After a while however, it becomes hard doing a lot of nothing much. Thus, Christian and I embarked on a 40km bike ride. Truthfully, it was partly out of necessity. The only ATM was back at the warf and that happens to be, lets see, 40km away. Riding beside the most beautiful beaches in the world and some of the most lush jungle I have ever seen made it a little bit easier to handle. Our reward at the end, a big North American inspired lunch with a chocolate shake to wash it down. Riding back was not an option, instead we hopped onto a bus. We rocked out to Samoan Christmas carols the whole way..it was the greatest bus ride I have had to date.



The bus came complete with a Winnie the Pooh sunshade...these guys know how to rock out hard!



It was so hot during the day that I couldn't eat anything, yes you heard right, I just couldn't do it. I did, however, find an addicting little treat - ice pops. It was like a juiced up freezie, frozen coconut cream with strawberry flavor. I was hooked and happy.

Yep, bananas do not come from the grocery store, they grow on trees in case you had forgotten ( I may have). All you have to do when you are hungry is go for a walk, pick the one you fancy, and you are eating in no time!

Now for some random snaps and less words. Enjoy.

This little guy had to join us at the dinner table

Captivated by the darling little kids, I had to convice Christian that he couldn't take one with us.

This was my favorite ice pop stand; I imagine I was lured in by the flamboyant colors of the lava lavas.

The one resort we went to for a much needed lunch after a 40km bike ride. I had a burger, fries and a shake...how Canadian.


On a hike through the forest one afternoon I came across one of the most absurd mushrooms. It was just fantastic.


After the hike, we had the pleasure of meeting the Village chief and his wife. When he pulled a cell phone out of his pocket I almost lost it.

Just a couple shots from the Fia Fia show. This family was unbelievably talented; every single person had a role in the show, and they all killed it.

Beer delivery days were a highlight for most of the vacationers.


Well, after 9 amazing nights at Tanu Beach, it was time to leave.


We had one more night at an amazing resort, Aggies Grey. It was time for my real adventure to begin...life as a lone traveller had begun.

Bye Bye Curls

Six months strong without a haircut.

Not only was I proud of my Sideshow Bob hairstyle, but I embraced it. Countless prods from Christian to "get a haircut already" were no match for my attachment to the voluminous curls.

However, in preparation for travels to much warmer clients, I realized the necessity to loose some heat trapping potential from up top. It turned into a bit of an event...a dinner and a haircut if you will.

While Christian was in the kitchen making paella (trying unsuccessfully to hide the proud smile that my tangles would soon be gone)

...my hairstylists took to work.
An attempt at straightening my hair went horribly wrong.






Some very careful, though out snips with fabric scissors led to the unveiling of a brand new man. My hairstylists did not even recognize me!



With stomachs full of sangria and paella (not to mention about a pound less hair for me) we made our way to the Bog for a night of celebration. Closely followed was a dance throw down at monkey bar...the girls destroyed us!

Family Time

This week I was lucky enough to have a surprise visit from aunty Marg! After being in New Zealand for 3 months now it was great to have a family visit...not to mention a great meal out at India Garden with a bottle of Wolf Blass Yellow Label. There was really nothing more a Scarfie could ask for.

I was invited to Christchurch for the weekend and couldn't possibly turn down the offer. We drove North to Christchurch on Friday. Taking our time, we made sure to stop at our leisure and enjoy some touristy stops as well as some food stops. Our first stop was at the Moeraki Boulders on Koekohe beach. According to Maori legend, these boulders were the remains of the calabashes, kumaras and eel baskets that came ashore when the Araiteru "canoe-wrecked" at Shag Point.




If you look closely, you may be able to see Australia on this boulder. Either I have a good imagination or my geography skills are a little lacking.

I am not sure what comes to other people's minds when they see this, but I could not help from think of the Flinstones, playing crack the egg on the trampoline also came to mind.

Close up of life inside the crack of the boulder

For some reason I want to go to Africa. Perhaps some subliminal messaging here?




After jumping on boulders and playing around in the sand for a half hour, it was time to move on down the road a few miles to the city of Oamaru. The city has beautiful buildings crafted from the city's main resource, Oamaru stone (limestone basically). Amongst the beautiful churches, town hall buildings and Victorian inspired homes, even some of the retaining walls are built from this beautiful stone! My favorite artistic piece, however, was this chopper. I always wanted one growing up, but my dad (for good reason) said not under this roof will you ride one of those "organ donors". Well I finally got my chance to ride one, and in this case I don't think that anyone would have been able to take me down.


Just down the road there was a tempting little cheese factory. It was at this very cheese factory where I enjoyed blue cheese for the very first time. Apparently you just have to travel half way around the world to decide that you actually like something, or perhaps the goats here are just fed something different. Either way, the cheese was brilliant, as was their catch phrase.



When we finally made it to Christchurch, I was greeted by uncle Hugh and a nice cold beer. Really nothing could have been more appreciated than that. We spent the night catching up, talking about travel, school, work and calmly finished a great bottle of wine. I was even introduced to some Australian Port - what a treat that was! Even more of a treat was sleeping in a house with central heating. For the past 3 months I have been waking up seeing my breath; that streak ended in Christchurch.



The next day we had a hearty breakfast of French toast, bacon and orange juice before heading out to see some of the damage from the 7.1 earthquake that had hit one month earlier. The damage was devastating, especially considering that a month had passed and much of it had already been attended to.

Close up view

Just some great views that the NZ Bigsby's shared with me on my short stay.






A view through a hobbit window




Of course, my day could never be complete without some type of food. Nothing could have been better than homemade bagels and all the fixings.


My last few hours were spent at the beach. I had enough energy to climb to the top of the hill thanks to the coffee-walnut ice cream cone I had on the boardwalk. As you can see, uncle Hugh opted for the well deserved double scoop.




What a great trip it was. After a 6 hour bus ride I was back in Dunedin for my last month of undergrad studies. I can't wait for my next adventure.

Haka Time

I first heard about the All Blacks when I was about 10 years old. I never played rugby, I never desired to play rugby, but for some reason I always wanted to see them play. I never thought that the day would come...but here is the evidence.



Our seats..the cheapest in the house, were only 4 rows back from the field. You could hear the bone-crunching hits, in fact you could feel them. Imagine 40000 people standing up and cheering when the All Blacks were pushing for a try...undescribable!

We were absolutely thrilled to be there..plain and simple

The after-glow of a victorious All Black

As the stadium cleared out I tried to stay as long as I could just to get the last buzz of the nights atmosphere before the long walk back to the hostel.

Later on in the night we partied at Disco Fever...guess who with...the All Blacks. Nothing could have capped of a perfect day any better than that.