20Nov 2019 by Dave Macleod No Comments
#14 Ski a “Real” Mountain

#14 Ski a “Real” Mountain

BUCKET LIST, TRAVEL
This bucket list item was completed on 29th July 2013 at Mount Olympus, Canterbury New Zealand. This may sound like a bit of a weird one coming from a kid who grew up skiing in Canada but I’m from the East Coast, not the West Coast. The West Coast has the beloved Rockies and endless ski resorts with amazing terrain… The East Coast has hills that accumulate snow during the winter months. That’s about it. Needless to say I got bored of skiing on the East Coast by the time I was a teenager but I never managed to get out west to ski real mountains. I had always seen this as something I wanted to accomplish, so naturally it landed on the bucket list. I knew that New Zealand…
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09Oct 2019 by Dave Macleod No Comments
#89 Go Zorbing

#89 Go Zorbing

BUCKET LIST, TRAVEL
This bucket list item was completed on 17th June 2013 in Rotorua, New Zealand. If you have been following along with the timeline so far, I have just graduated university and transplanted myself into New Zealand on a one-way ticket. Kyle and I landed in Auckland during the first week of June and spent the first couple days getting bank accounts set up, adjusting to the time zone and searching for a used car. We killed time by checking out some museums and also getting over to Rangitoto Island for a bit of an adventure. Replica of a moa - A large flightless bird that used to roam NZ Giant waka (canoe) Kyle and his emperor penguin friend View of Rangitoto Island from Auckland The volcanic trails of Rangitoto Island…
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25Sep 2019 by Dave Macleod No Comments
Moving to New Zealand

Moving to New Zealand

GENERAL, TRAVEL
My recent blog, #60 Eat Kangaroo Steak, was the last bucket list item that I completed while I was living in Canada. Later that year I moved to New Zealand to begin some new adventures. Here is how it all happened… In 2011, I was two years away from finishing my degree in mechanical engineering and it was time to start thinking about life after university. The option staring me straight in the face was to move to Western Canada and put my education to work in the oil & gas industry. Most engineers from the East Coast go down this path because of the promise of big money. I didn’t have any issues with the oil & gas industry and the thought of earning big money out of university…
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27Feb 2019 by Dave Macleod 1 Comment
Old Ghost Road Mountain Bike Trek

Old Ghost Road Mountain Bike Trek

GENERAL, TRAVEL
The Old Ghost Road is one of New Zealand’s top multi-day mountain bike rides and one of the adventures in New Zealand all together. At 85 km, it is the longest single track mountain bike ride in New Zealand. It goes up over mountains, meanders along rivers and traverses steep cliffs. I have done many adventure activities in New Zealand and a few other multi-day activities but this is one I will remember forever. If this has not been on your radar up until now… it should be. My friends and I began planning for our trek along the OGR nine months in advance to ensure we could get bunks in the cabins before they sold out. We were aiming to start 16th December, which is in the high season.…
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29Aug 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
Shark Cage Diving Stewart Island, NZ

Shark Cage Diving Stewart Island, NZ

BUCKET LIST, INFORMATION, TRAVEL
This particular bucket list adventure was not from my list, it was actually from my girlfriend’s list. When Lexi told me she wanted to go shark cage diving, I made sure to invite myself along. This was not an adventure I was going to miss out on. It was getting late in the season when we decided to book it but we managed to get on the second last trip of the season, on 2nd June. We flew down to Invercargill the day before, where we had booked accommodation. It was a beautiful day across the whole country when we flew down to the tip of the South Island. As we were flying between Christchurch and Invercargill we were in awe of the incredible views of the Southern Alps and…
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14Feb 2018 by Dave Macleod 2 Comments
The Value of Seasonal Bucket Lists

The Value of Seasonal Bucket Lists

BUCKET LIST, GENERAL, INFORMATION
A bucket list is collection of goals, which you aspire to complete before you kick the bucket. For that reason, these lists tend to have several items with varying degrees of difficulty. Some items may even take years to complete. A bucket list is designed to take a lifetime to complete, but does it have to take that long? I was recently discussing life goals with a friend and he mentioned that his mind changed often enough that he was reluctant to create a bucket list for the rest of his life. I thought about his comment for a moment and then recommended that he make a summer bucket list. I suggested that he make something short (5 items) that he will attempt to complete before the end of summer.…
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