northern lights

From Russia With Love
These days Russia is a land of contradictions – at least to this set of Western eyes – as it presents a curious mix of economic policies, some of which make Roger Douglas look an apparatchik of the Looney Left, some akin to Michael Cullen’s programme of re-nationalisation, and then there’s the straight corruption and Mafia-style behaviour that is not only tolerated but it appears, encouraged....
8 September 2008 - Gareth Morgan

Encounter With Three Baltic Sisters
Emerging temporarily from our Russian traverse for a quick tour of the Baltic States, involved simply crossing a border line but was more akin to pulling the curtains apart and seeing another world. Estonia, (population 1 million in an area less than 20% of New Zealand’s) is one of the Baltic Tigers and the impact on us was immediate......
1 September 2008 - Gareth Morgan

North Russia –Forgotten and Neglected
Russia as we all know is in the midst of an economic revival. The sequence of Glasnost, Perestroika, Gorbachev, Yeltsin et al and now the high price of energy – has afforded this clunky, lumbering giant a new lease of life and its economy is on a tear. At least that would be the impression you’d get if you visited Moscow or St Petersburg....
25 August 2008 - Gareth Morgan

Tale of Two Countries
Imagine a country that was fortunate to have two real world beaters in terms of natural resources – oil and hydro electricity. These were in so much abundance that the country could earn as much as it wanted in world markets and while these industries alone couldn’t employ everybody, there was plenty of money to go around and so generous welfare benefits were set at a level to the average wage. ...
18 August 2008 - Gareth Morgan

Lasting Impressions of Iceland
As the ferry pulls away from Iceland to take us on a three day voyage across the North Sea to Denmark, we reflect on what has been a fun week riding around the island and venturing here and there from the ring road to find as much that Iceland can offer the quick tourist. So what are our lasting impressions?...
11 August 2008 - Gareth Morgan

Illuminating the Northern Lights
Illuminating the Northern Lights...
5 August 2008 - Gareth Morgan

Up England
And so it was, as the English cricket team crumbled under the sheer firepower of New Zealand’s one day attack and its great white hope at Wimbledon, Andy Murray found Rafael Nadal a match too far, that we rode for John O’Croats where we would leave this island of green and village, lane and hedgerow, for the barren isle of ice and fire that lay far to the north....
28 July 2008 - Gareth Morgan