I'm a guidebook author and photographer who lives most of the year in Oregon USA, in the magnificent Columbia River Gorge (America's waterfall capital).

Most of my time is spent playing in the outdoors--oops, I meant "working" in the outdoors. I hike a bunch chasing down obscure waterfalls, viewpoints, peaks, caves, hot springs---all that kind of stuff. Somehow I've turned it into a sort of living. I'm not rich in $$ by any means, but I am rich in free time and beautiful experiences and wonderful friends. When I'm not "working"--either finding new places to write about or actually distributing my books, you'll fing me kiteboarding, Mtn biking, snow boarding, camping,...or just Pokin 'Round the Gorge.

In 2006 I traveled to New Zealand simply to see the famed landscapes. A few weeks into the trip, after much frustration at how tourists were shepherded towards crowded and "touristy" sites or tours...a light went off in my head, "I should write my own guidebook. This island is awesome, but the guidance is lacking." Thus, my American winters became NZ summers. I can't tell you how happy I was just zooming around the North Island in my HiAce van "Camo", "discovering" one fascinating place after another. Every day was a new revelation of beauty...every night dedicated to trying to sift thru the morass of lousy info to glean exactly where the choice spots were. I loved it! Every night was a challenge, every day an adventure of discovery. The way I see it though, most people don't want to have to spend every night pouring over numerous guidebooks and maps and DOC info to try to find the next day's fun. Most people just want the fun, not the labor--I did when I arrived...I didn't arrive wanting to write a guidebook, I wanted to buy one. The one I wanted didn't exist though.

Now it does. I wrote it, I self-published it, I distribute it starting January 2009.

These photos are the ones featured in the guide, as well as a bunch of other "outtakes". Since the book is black and white and the photos are small to save space, I'm putting them up here so people can have a good look at these fabulous North island beauty spots. Have a look! Send me a message, i want to know what you think.