New Zealand Travel Blog

Downside Up New Zealand Blog

Welcome to our New Zealand Travel Blog DownsideUP

This blog is dedicated to inform and inspire you on all things to do with New Zealand..

Actually we write posts on anything that’s of interest in the South Pacific (our home) DownsideUP was started in 2008, to help people just like you, with planning the perfect NZ Self Driving experience.  

The Seaside town of Oamaru is letting off a little Steam.
Brent Narbey
By
Brent Narbey
For many years the good folk of Oamaru have celebrated their towns traditional Victorian heritage, with its wonderful white stone architecture, beautiful English gardens, alongside a resident rookery of little blue penguins. More recently Oamaru has become the home to an avant-garde artistic expression called Steampunk.
Brent Narbey
By
Brent Narbey

A Short Lesson in Time Travel
Brent Narbey
By
Brent Narbey
The International Date Line has confused navigators, explorers, and the everyday traveler for nearly five centuries since humans first began circumnavigating the globe  – don’t let it baffle you!
Brent Narbey
By
Brent Narbey

An American Perspective....
Brent Narbey
By
Brent Narbey
You say tomahto and I say tomato! Culturally we may be similar, but a lot can be lost in translation.  So its time to take a stand and speak for yourselves…. 22 "pearls", written by and dedicated to North Americans. A string of advice to guide your planning process when contemplating a holiday to New Zealand.  
Brent Narbey
By
Brent Narbey

Aboriginal Mythology - Some Truths Revealed
Brent Narbey
By
Brent Narbey

The Aboriginal people believe they have lived in Australia since the beginning of all things. Archaeologists have dated their occupancy to many tens of thousands of years and much of the Aboriginal mythology harks back to these earliest of times. Stories and legends were expressed in everyday life through art, song and dance - verbally handed down by word of mouth from these ancient times. Here is a selection of fascinating mythology including some that have startling explanations. 

Brent Narbey
By
Brent Narbey

Aboriginal 20,000 years earlier - Kimberley Rock Art Suggests
Brent Narbey
By
Brent Narbey

It has been commonly thought that Aborigines most likely populated the Australian continent around 50,000 years ago, by people from the areas we now know as Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Recent evidence has emerged in the form of ancient Kimberley Rock Art that suggests that this may have been more like 70,000 years...

Brent Narbey
By
Brent Narbey

The Ghan - A Classic Rail Journey through the Australian Red Centre.
Brent Narbey
By
Brent Narbey

This iconic Australian passenger train 'The Ghan' took over one hundred years of planning, $1.3 billion in resources, and its path now stretches from Adelaide through Alice Springs and onto Darwin. It travels North to South through the center of Australia covering 2,979 kilometres (1846 miles) in 3 days Its been one hell of a journey, the project began construction in 1878 and was completed 126 years later,  `The Ghan' now crosses the continent twice a week offering accommodation options rivaling the best in the world.

Brent Narbey
By
Brent Narbey

Ayers Rock, the Big Brother and a Devil of a Dingo
Brent Narbey
By
Brent Narbey

Locally known as ‘The Rock’, Ayers Rock is a single stone, larger than an island, lies in the Great Western Desert close to the geographic center of Australia. It has another name, a name of towering antiquity, a name from before the ice ages and a name associated with the giant devil dingo, which some believe dwells somewhere on the crest of what the aborigines call “Uluru”.

Brent Narbey
By
Brent Narbey

Fiji Fire Walkers
Brent Narbey
By
Brent Narbey
On a recent dive trip to Fiji, staying on Beqa Island, we were fortunate enough to witness their legendary fire-walkers in action. From a distance it’s easy to theorize as to how it’s done, but after experimenting on one of the rocks, the blistering result left a burning question - what was their trick?
Brent Narbey
By
Brent Narbey

Rugby Vs Gridiron
Brent Narbey
By
Brent Narbey
I visited Australia a decade or so ago; a rugby match was on the TV at a local pub. Being one of the few identified Americans in the establishment, it wasn’t too surprising that the topic of gridiron (NFL-style American football) eventually came up among my Aussie hosts. Despite my largely failed attempts to convince the crowd that gridiron was every bit as rough as rugby, all I could garner was at best total dismissal, and at worst contempt...
Brent Narbey
By
Brent Narbey

Kava – More than just a Tonic for the People
Brent Narbey
By
Brent Narbey

Cultivated and consumed by humans for well over 3000 years, Kava is still used today by a wide range of Pacific societies for medicinal, spiritual, and recreational purposes. The feelings of camaraderie that Kava drinking evokes have made it a symbol for peace and friendship in many island nations of the Pacific.

Brent Narbey
By
Brent Narbey

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