Author Archives: tlthorpe51@gmail.com

These days Antarctica photos aren’t as hard to come by as they used to be.  Nothing can compare to the wild and untamed grandeur that is Antarctica. Here vast white mountains drop down to the sea, icebergs the size of islands slowly drift past your ship, and the wind is so strong it can knock […]

As a travel writer for more than a decade, I’ve stayed in a lot of accommodation over the years. From sleeping on a pile of mats in a yurt in Kyrgyzstan to flashy five-star hotels in Dubai, I’ve seen it all. But one thing that hasn’t changed is that little hit of serotonin you get […]

When I spent a week in Esperance, in Western Australia, last year, I often felt like I had stumbled into a fairytale. With the whitest sand beaches in the world to the clearest blue seas to the hot red earth and bubblegum pink lakes, it didn’t seem real. It was too colorful, too peaceful, and […]

For years and years, I’ve harped on and on here about birds in New Zealand. I love them.  Because New Zealand evolved without mammals, many evolved to fill that ecological space, with some losing their ability to fly. It also means that they all seem to have epic and memorable personalities. There’s the cheeky kea, […]

Queenstown has long been the jewel of New Zealand’s South Island. With its sprawling views over the Remarkables mountain range to the bright blue waters of Lake Wakatipu, visitors flock to Queenstown in droves. And nowhere is more iconic than nearby Walter Peak. Living nearby in Wanaka meant that I made the classic mistake of […]

A couple of months ago, I reconnected with a friend, Nikki, here in New Zealand. Nikki attended one of the online bootcamps I used to co-run, where we taught people how to build a career in travel or start their businesses. Last year she and her partner decided to leave Wellington and head a couple […]

I know it’s been a while since I’ve done a little mental health check-in on here. How have I been moving on from a breakup? Sixteen months have passed since my break up when I felt my life fall to pieces before my eyes. And you know what? I’m finally feeling really good and happy. […]