OF WINE AND SUNSETS

I'm the first to admit that while Darwin beaches are quite lovely from an aesthetic point of view, they're a bit of a let down in the recreational sense. It's not that it's completely impossible - I've certainly indulged in the odd dry season paddle - it's just restricted in seasons (from October to May we have some rather nasty poisonous box jellyfish lurking in our seas) and generally considered to be a calculated risk with all those crocodiles swimming about looking for some human hors d'oeuvres.

DECKED OUT

If you had to ask me to list the top 5 best things about Darwin they would have to be (in no particular order); the sunsets, the bird life, the weekend markets, the foreshore bike path and the Deckchair cinema (oh, and the evening smell of flowering milkwood - which makes 6...but hey, who's counting?..anyway I can't blog about a smell so, whatever). As the dry season is back again (and I'm still here. How am I still here? I was meant to be not here by now but the interstate job offers are doing a remarkable impression of chirping crickets).

THE PINOT GRIS FILES - NORTH ISLAND

And now onto the bit of Aotearoa that I know a lot better. I decided to visit one of the spots I've neglected in my last couple of visits - the geologically hyperactive region around Rotorua (known mostly to my childhood self as 'that town that smells like rotten eggs').

THE PINOT GRIS FILES - SOUTH ISLAND

For the third time in a year I found myself stepping onto New Zealand soil, though via a different port of entry for once. The flight into Queenstown airport is said to be one of the prettiest landings you'll experience and although my early autumn arrival meant the Southern Alps were lacking most of their snowy caps, I'd have to agree that it beats most urban sprawl introductions to a new land.

GREEN TRAVEL

I've got another trip over the Tasman coming up in a couple of weeks. Every time I click 'confirm and pay' during online checkout, my eco-conscience has a little wobble. No matter how hard I try to manage my carbon footprint, I often make certain lifestyle choices that make me wonder if a handful of large footprint actions aren't blowing my credentials out of the water. For me, this mostly boils down to driving a car to work, air travel and mostly unavoidable food miles.

CLEAN GREEN - IN THE HOUSE

I live in a little studio space that opens out directly into a well-established garden. Living in the tropics, this basically means one thing; being prepared to share my space with critters - the good, the bad and the ugly. Despite my open air, open door and barefoot approach to living, the bug situation isn't as bad as you might suspect, especially with my crack team of house geckos on patrol 24/7. There are also at least 5 resident frogs hanging around my bathroom and laundry (with countless more in the garden).