Patrick Lam

Thoughts and travels of Patrick Lam

West Coast Again, May 21-25 2021: Day 1, WLG-CHC

Last year Elliott and I went to the West Coast for the Queen’s Birthday weekend. Victoria Day is a bit earlier but the Canterbury Open was basically on the Victoria Day long weekend (not a holiday in NZ!) and I figured it would be a good chance to get out to the West Coast again, though coming from Christchurch rather than Wellington, and a bit further south than last time.

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.