CURRENT MISSION

I believe travellers are generally an honest and interesting bunch. Happy trails!

ABOUT ME

I'm a laid back kind of guy. I enjoy some of the good things in life: music, culture, meeting interesting people, and the milk of human kindness.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've done a little bit of surfing around the world, but mostly I have hosted in my hometown here in Wellington, NZ. It has always been a pleasure to open up my home and provide some respite for the weary or at least a bed in a local part of town. Every couch surfing experience is unique in that people bring with them a positive attitude and some genuine goodwill. Some have offered to help in various ways, and are grateful and appreciative.

Interests

I love music and will probably be exploring the local record shops. I'm interested in modern art and museums as well.

I have been a pinball and arcade fan since I was a kid and have bought and sold various machines since 1991. It's a space hungry hobby (Space Invaders in more ways than one), so I can't be too frivolous. I lend a lot of them out to friends and that helps me by not having so many to store myself. In my spare room (pictured) is my first ever purchase (a 1963 pinball machine) and I still own it. One day I'd like to open a game-room museum or barcade or such like. That would be fun.

• arts
• culture
• modern art
• walking
• movies
• traveling
• magic
• music
• surfing

Music, Movies, and Books

I'm not such a voracious reader, although I'd like to do more of this. I tend to like biographies, especially of musicians that I follow.

I like movies that make me think. European films are great for this as I find they have very good script and character development, but I'm also occasionally liking big budget escapism - depends on my mood really, but I'm definitely more fond of the 'art-house' circuit. David Cronenberg, Atom Egoyan, Todd Solondz, Lars von Trier, David Lynch, Darren Aronofsky, Roy Andersson, Mike Leigh, Coen Brothers, Martin Scorcese, Sidney Lumet, David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick, Woody Allen, Quentin Tarantino

Music: I'm a big collector of records...even the humble 7" single or 45's as we used to call them. As with movies, I like lots of different genres. I've started DJ'ing at my favourite bar and generally play disco, electro, funk mostly 1970's and 80's plus favourite songs I remember, sometimes an instrumental or remix of a well known classic. Occasionally I get more modern too. I generally only play vinyl, though lately I have been exploring a Serato system which links to my lap top. I have ripped a lot of my vinyl for mobile listening so it's quite convenient.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Although I have travelled to many places, and love all my experiences, in terms of nature...some of the most impressive things I've seen have been here in NZ...like walking around the rim of an active smouldering volcano (Ngauruhoe), feeling like I could so easily fall in...and sitting atop the Southern Alps and seeing the white peaks for as far as the eye can travel.

In around 2004 I had the good fortune to visit the New York set of King Kong when Peter Jackson was filming it. It was designed to replicate 1930's New York and was just amazing how authentic it was (I have put a couple of pics up in case you're interested). I got to see a fairly elaborate long shot with the whole city bustling with people and traffic. The magic of the movies - and Wellington has earned quite a name for it.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Cambodia, Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, New Zealand

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