Category Archives: Uncategorized

As a nation, Aotearoa New Zealand prides itself on its outdoor-based give-it-a-go attitude. Along with our natural environment, this is seen as a major contributor to our national identity. Many of this country’s iconic figures (including Sir Edmund Hillary, Graeme Dingle and Sir Peter Blake) were adventurers. Yet, with each new generation, fewer people seemContinue reading “BACKYARD AND BEYOND”

Tasman Saddle Hut                                             Shelley climbing up to Diver’s Col                                         Getting established on the West Rib                                       Shelley and Kester midway up the West Rib                                                 Happy Jamie topping out Jamie and I on the last pitch of ‘Stuntman and Chronic’ Racing the weather out from Tasman Saddle …and stoked that the helicopter could come and get us

All of a sudden John started moaning and thrashing around in the top bunk like a bucking bronco had broken free. ‘Ugggh fnkkkk thnnnng!’Not knowing what in God’s name was happening up there, I considered whether to keep pretending to read, to dash outside or to offer assistance. Eventually, the voyeuristic side in me wonContinue reading “CLIMBING IN ARTHUR’S PASS”

Kynan Bazley, a good friend, once told me that ‘the dignity of risk should be afforded to everyone’.  It was the winter of 2004, and North Elcho’s confined alpine valley had piled high with avalanche debris. Having picked the least exposed site we could find, Bazley and I zipped up into our cosy tent beneathContinue reading “The Question Of Risk – article in Wilderness”

We all know that Leo Houlding is crazier than a sack of howler monkeys. This British uber climber/adventurer takes things as far as seems humanly appropriate, and then a fair chunk further just to see how it feels.Take one of the scenes from the 2009 adventure documentary The Asgard Project. It’s not even on theContinue reading “The Asgard Project – review for The Climber Magazine”

                                                 SNUGGLES WHEN NEEDED!

The irony of it all was starting to wear thin: Scores of fat, obnoxious tourists, no doubt on cheap package deals, choosing to holiday among the timeless ways of the Balinese and yet complaining every two minutes if they couldn’t get exactly what they wanted when they wanted. It was my wife Shelley’s first timeContinue reading “FINDING ‘THE PATH’ IN BALI”

A Day Spent Searching For Groundswell With Paul Hersey By Kester Brown I can’t decide whether being addicted to surfing is a blessing or a curse. It’s hard to describe the sensation of riding a moving wall of water, one that has risen up out of the ocean, plucked you from its surface and propelledContinue reading “Article in Dominion Post ‘Weekend’ section”

Amongst the chaos and uncertainty that has been quake-central Canterbury over the last week, I have managed to find enough motionless hours to stick my nose in a book. And, just this morning, I finished ‘The True Deceiver’ by Tove Jansson. Swedish writer and artist Jansson (1914-2001) is best known as the creator of the MoominContinue reading “Reading Between The Tremors”