Stewart Island is the third-largest island in New Zealand, and it sits around thirty kilometers south of the South Island. Mr. Munro and I visited in 2020 and enjoyed our visit so much that I decided to set a book on the island. After percolating the idea for a few...
Travel
Cape Reinga, NZ – The Northernmost Point
Last weekend, Mr. Munro and I visited Cape Reinga, a place I'd never gone to before. Cape Reinga is at the northern end of the North Island of New Zealand, and from here it's possible to see where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean collide with currents going in...
Antarctic Icebergs
Icebergs are chunks of ice that have calved off glaciers and ice shelves. They vary in size from small to large enough to sink a ship. The Titanic, for example. New icebergs are white while the older ones are blue or sometimes green. An iceberg comprises fresh snow...
Meet the King Penguin: Ten Facts About the King Penguin
One of the things I was most looking forward to seeing when we visited the Antarctica region was the penguins. Penguins are fascinating birds, and I never tired of seeing them or watching their antics. Facts about King Penguins 1. They’re the second-largest species of...
A Visit to South Georgia Island
South Georgia is a small island in the southern Atlantic Ocean. It’s a British territory, and the island’s nearest neighbors are Antarctica and the Falkland Islands. Until I visited the region in early 2020, I’d never even heard of South Georgia. Now I know what I...
Nemrut Dagi, Turkey ~ Inspiration for Star-Crossed with Scarlett
Back in the early 1990s, Mr. Munro and I did an overland trip from England to Kathmandu. The trip proper started once we reached Turkey. It was my first visit to Turkey, the country where the west and east meet, and I loved the food, the beaches, the history, and the...
The Scarlet Macaw #research #travel
One of seventeen species of macaws, the Scarlet Macaw is becoming increasingly rare. In Costa Rica, Central America, we visited the Natuwa Macaw Sanctuary where they rescue, breed, and release the Scarlet Macaw. I was very excited at the thought of seeing macaws. When...
The Adorable Sloth
Before our visit to Costa Rica, my knowledge of sloths was limited to the Ice Age cartoons. I thought of sloths as adorable and a little clumsy but with a great deal of charm. The Natuwa Macaw Sanctuary is a refuge for other animals as well as the Red Macaw, and this...
Hobbiton, Part Two
This is a continuation of my post about my visit to Hobbiton in Matamata. Part one is here. I was busy taking photos of Hobbit holes and my surroundings and saw something moving. It took me a moment to realize the pheasant was real and it was busy feasting on the...