Patrick Lam

Thoughts and travels of Patrick Lam

Holidays: Canada vs NZ

I know what’s when in Canada, but things are completely different here. Let’s try to figure it out.

Review: Ice Walker: A Polar Bear's Journey through the Fragile Arctic by James Raffan

Canadian content! This short work of creative nonfiction follows a bear, Nanu, as she raises her cubs near Churchill Falls (Manitoba) in contemporary times.

That Antipodal Life

We’ve been in Wellington for the past year and a half (!). It’s never really cold or hot here. How does that compare to Canada?

Queenstown, Makarora, Wanaka, and not Gillespie

The planned logistics for the Gillespie trip were simple: rent a car, stay at the Wonderland Lodge in Makarora the night before, take a jetboat across the river, walk, and take a jetboat back from Kerin Forks. The jetboat avoids the biggest river crossings. Ironically, the day before we were to go, we got a call saying that there wasn’t enough water to run the jetboat. That’s fine, it should be easy to cross the river in that case.

WLG-NSN

An excellent opportunity to add to the walked-to-airports list! I’d meant to walk to NSN last July, but we actually only flew into that airport after the Heaphy; our flight to the start of the track was replaced by a van ride. Here’s my chance!