SURVIVING MODERN GREECE

Mark Wilson in Europe, Greece 5th-16th July 2011, 10 things you need to know to get through. 

What was I expecting.....? I had just flown from the prosperous lands of Scandinavia to the rock bottom of Europe, from order to chaos from prudent financial management and austerity to complete lack of any financial management at all.

LONG HAUL FLIGHTS, GIN AND HUMMERS

So its begins, being 30 what could be my last reckless leave work for 5 weeks and spend an excessive amount of money holiday. I left Queenstown amidst the closing in of winter, squally showers lingered around the mountains leaving them with a sprinkling of winter goodness which undoubtedly would be exciting the ski bunnies passing me on the inbound lane at the airport. 

OLD FLAVOURITES

Mark Wilson's Weekly Mate Column from inappropriate.co.nz

We humans are a comfort species we get excited by the new and the shiny but when the chips are down or simply when the gloss fades from something new we often turn to the tried and true.

Now as a personal trainer I probably shouldn’t be writing a column on fast foods but like any mere mortal there are times when a feed of Macca’s or a slop box from KFC is not only desired but an absolute necessity. 

SAVE THE SCARFIE

“You can be a student anywhere but you can only be a Scarfie in Dunedin” Mark Wilson looks at the prospect of extinction facing this New Zealand cultural icon. 

New Zealand has an unfortunate habit of removing species from existence or pushing them to the brink of extinction. Since human settlement we have killed off the mighty Moa along with one species of bat, at least 50 other bird species, three types of frogs, three lizards, one freshwater fish, four plant species, and a number of invertebrates.

HOW AWESOME IS OUR BACKYARD

Mark Wilson takes time out for a sneaky hunt in one of New Zealand’s true paradises, Lake Lois, Manapouri, Fiordland National Park. 

If emerging from the freezing fog and 2degC high for the day to clear crisp winter sunshine, ice sprinkled beach trees and snow-capped mountains on the western side on Lake Manapouri wasn’t enough to whisk away the stresses of daily life the ensuing hunt through tranquil (barring of course the odd obscenity whispered under my breath as I tumbled over the odd rock) beach forest was.

GARDIES FINAL POUR

Mark Wilson attended Gardies Last Harrah on Friday, June 18, and looks back at the history from 1970 through to its final hour.

As I sit here gazing out a slightly off square north Dunedin window nostalgically lamenting my student days a grey misty drizzle shrouds the surrounding hills, it is as if the city is crying, mourning the loss of two iconic bastions of its proud and unique culture all in one weekend. The air is still and the streets airily quiet, I imagine this it is what it could be like the day after the world has ended. The more relevant and perhaps truer explanation is this is what it is like the day after the last ever test at Carisbrook has provided a decent portion of the populace with a David Tue left hook sized hangover.

NEW ZEALAND'S MOST BEAUTIFUL LAKE

Mark Wilson on Lake Manapouri,Fiordland National Park.

Anywhere else in the world within 150km’s of an international airport you would expect tranquil lake waters to be filled with the incessant hum of jet skis, sandy beaches to be punctuated by topless Scandinavians and the odd local merchant selling knock off Oakley’s, lake shores would be heavily clustered with the mansions of the A-list elite and the main street garnished in layers of pompous metro-sexualism, fancy knickknack stores and designer dog clothes.

FULL MOON FEVER, THAILAND

Mark Wilson recollects what he can from Thailand's famous full moon party. 

It’s billed as must do and after 5 days in and around Thailand’s Koh Pha-Ngan Island for the fabled Full Moon Party I can concur it’s an eye opening, exciting if not a little scary experience.

BAY TO BREAKERS, SAN FRANCISCO, USA

Mark Wilson Travels to San Francisco and get involved in the worlds largest footrace.

Unlocked to western civilisation by accident after Spanish explorers took a wrong turn en route to Monterey Bay to the South; San Francisco is packed nicely into a 12km by 12km zone cresting a narrow peninsula that juts out into San Francisco Bay.