ABOUT ME

First thing: I'm in Staverton, TOTNES, DEVON! Not Gloucestershire. CS has a bug which I've raised with them twice in the last year and is apparently being fixed. As I keep receiving requests for a place in which I don't live, and none for the place in which I do, I've sadly decided to not accept guests until Couchsurfing fix the problem.

Travelling can be dangerous! 18 months I came back to UK on holiday from NZ, and met a guy... the rest is history and we've just moved in together down in Devon. I shipped all my stuff over from NZ and I'm enjoying sorting everything out and rediscovering cool cookbooks.

I'm a geologist and I emigrated to NZ in January 2011 for work. I landed myself in a flat of truly awesome people who really made my year! Unfortunately I didn't enjoy the job, so I resigned, travelled and WWOOFed in the Coromandel for a month. Then I came over to Europe for 6 months to travel, and I'm still here (and looking for a job!). I love being outdoors, beautiful scenery, exploring, meeting people, sharing stories and meals together. My partner and I are also strawbale builders and big on sustainable architecture.

PHILOSOPHY

"We are all travellers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend" - Robert Louis Stevenson

While I was growing up one of my dad's mantras was to be open-minded and not judge people or treat them differently because of their colour, sexuality, level of education...I hate racism, homophobia, intellectual superiority, etc. in society and it really upsets me.

Accepting people as they are is one of the greatest things I learned from my parents. I love meeting people, and firmly believe that we should treat everyone with respect and kindness and be appreciative of what they have to offer. There's no need to be rude!

"A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving" - Lao Tzu

I have strong beliefs regarding the environment and climate change which are based on my scientific research and although I'm happy to discuss them I don't impose them on others - sometimes I feel I should be more of an activist, but I don't feel I have the right to challenge anyone's right to be happy or judge them harshly on how they live. I try where possible to live with consideration for the planet for example by being vegetarian; by reusing and recycling where possible; buying second-hand; travelling by public transport or lift-sharing and reducing flying.

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; loving someone deeply gives you courage" - Lao Tzu

I am loosely Buddhist in my beliefs but am not knowledgable enough to consider myself Buddhist!

"My religion is to live and die without regret - Milarepa"

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

We hosted loads of lovely people at our place in Wellington, NZ - and I met up with a couple of them in Europe last year! I haven't been able to host for the last 18 months but I'm looking forward to it now I've got my own place.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Absolutely fantastic! Made some good friends, had some great experiences through CS. I've always met lovely hosts when surfing.

Interests

Cooking, Wwoofing, cycling, kayaking, meditation, oil-painting, sketching, photography, hiking, spending time with my lovely friends, growing veg, strawbale building.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Just one!?! I moved to New Zealand - it's beautiful and full of friendly, interesting people :) Something amazing I've done while I was there - abseiled into a 100m deep cavern at Waitomo!
Since then - met a wonderful guy on Day 1 of my travels in Europe, and 18 months later moved in with him.

Teach, Learn, Share

Cooking! I'd like to share meals and recipes and discover new things I haven't tried before.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom

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