Tonga Part Three: Bikes and Booby Traps

So, we swam with the local humpback whales (see part two) and the ground beneath us was still imitating the rolling waves as we arrived back to the guest house. That morning, the owner had invited us to a family feast being held in celebration of his niece visiting from Hawaii. The feast was the best food we experienced in Tonga: we drank from coconuts and were treated to octopus salad, chicken in taro leaves, fresh fish, and the privilege of being part of this private family occasion. One moment that will stay with me…

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Tonga Part One: A Peculiar Paradise

I didn’t know what I was doing. In a bid to find a Pacific island paradise for my Kiwi friend and I to chill outus maximus, I was conducting late night Google image searches of the various options: Fiji, Rarotonga, Tonga, Niue. It was impossible to choose, they all looked the damn same. Idyllic, but the same. It was only when my eyes caught the words humpback whale swimming…

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How to be an awesome friend

Happy 30th birthday, Emily McGovern. This one’s for you. Your own blog post. And seeing as I’ve got a measly total of six on my site, my blog is now officially 16.67% about you. Which is fitting, because you have been the biggest fan of my writing since the start – sharing, retweeting, bigging up – and for that I cannot thank you enough. It’s that quality, and many more, that make you the perfect…

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