Hours upon hours, days upon days, even weeks, I spent wondering what New Zealand looked like before humankind lessened it forever. Lush forests that are still related to another era of the world, inhabited by creatures as old as the dinosaurs like the tuatara. An entire ecosystem based on birds: grazing birds, pollinating birds, predatory… Continue reading Walking on thin ice
Slowly but steady autumn is changing to winter and the training season is coming to a close. The days are getting progressively darker, every day, and the headlights come out earlier and stay on longer both mornings and evenings. The sky is getting its seasonal painted look: an explosion of streaks of color. The light… Continue reading A Snowless Autumn
2600 kilometres into my Te Araroa hike I arrived in Queenstown. From there, my companions and I decided to detour from the trail and include the famous Routeburn Track. At the Routeburn Flats shelter we encountered a young German, who with many gestures was explaining an admiring girl that he had walked up to Mount Luxmore, a… Continue reading Has anyone noticed the women out there?
Over three weeks ago we got back above the polar circle, unpacked all the wool we could find and started up at another kennel for a new winter season of dog sled guiding. This year it will only be the two of us taking care of a small pack of 36 dogs, with whom we will… Continue reading The Arctic Circle and Beyond
After having been in the kennel and on short tours during November, December and January I had really itchy feet. The trails I was running only made me grasp at the vast wilderness out there, and I could only imagine how nice it must be to go out and get lost into those endless hills… Continue reading Three Days of Howls in the Woods
I have written it before: coming back to normal life was a bit of a shock. Staying in one place for 7 months, a working rhythm, a boss telling us what to do and when to do it… It took some adjusting in the beginning. After being nomads for a year however it has also… Continue reading Sledding through Winter: Recap of the Season so far
When the time had finally come to fly back to Europe I was nervous: nervous about having a culture shock, nervous about seeing the same people again after all that had passed, nervous about disliking Belgium even more than I used to. Surprisingly, I loved being there. It was great spending time in my home… Continue reading To the end of the road. And then a little bit further.
A couple of days ago, I watched James Balog's documentary Chasing Ice. The film was made to provide visual proof of how climate change is affecting our continuously carbon powered planet, by showing breathtaking images of how our glaciers are disappearing at alarming rates. It reminded me of images I took during my walk through Sarek… Continue reading The Snow Meltdown
Tonight, it is the last night of the winter season. Tomorrow all guests will be heading home, followed by most of the staff on Friday. It has been an intense, strong and unforgettable experience. There have been ups and downs, but overall it has been great. I will miss being here, being out on tour,… Continue reading Season’s End
For most of our guests, having a chance to see the auroras is one of the main reasons to make the journey up here. But what exactly are these dancing night lights, and when exactly can you see them? The many questions I was asked this winter made it clear that many people don't really… Continue reading Aurora Borealis
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