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Photos, travel stories, reportage and random stuff from New Zealand and around the world by Peter de Graaf

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Photos

New Zealand Photos 

Top news photos of 2020

January 2, 2021January 2, 2021 pdg 0 Comments Battle of Kororāreka, coronavirus, Covid-19, Dame Whina Cooper, Haruru Falls, Kerikeri, Kerikeri Fire Brigade, Moerewa, Ngātokimatawhaorua, Otiria, Otiria Marae, Panguru, Project Island Song, Tai Tokerau Border Control, Waitangi, wētāpunga

A global pandemic, iwi-led Covid checkpoints, Waitangi Day festivities, politics, record-breaking rainfall, floods and fires — 2020 had it all.

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Caucasus Photos 

Armenia in pictures

October 10, 2020December 28, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Areni, Armenia, Astrakh, Azerbaijan, Debed Canyon, Geghard, Haghpat, Lake Sevan, Mt Ararat, Nagorno-Karabakh, Noah, Norovank, Sanahin, Tatev, Yerevan

An ancient land sprinkled with 1000-year-old stone churches, Armenia is sliding back to war with its neighbour Azerbaijan over a disputed territory.

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Asia Photos 

Laos in pictures

September 27, 2020October 1, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Attapeu, Laos, Luang Prabang, Mekong River, Plain of Jars, Si Phan Don, Vang Vieng, Vientiane

Laos doesn’t have the big tourism drawcards of its better-known neighbours — but that’s all the more reason to visit this slow-paced, smile-filled land.

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Caucasus Photos Top stories 

Azerbaijan in pictures

August 9, 2020December 28, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Azerbaijan, Baku, Lahic, Lahij, Lenkeran, Qobustan, Şeki

Unspoiled mountain villages where time stands still and mind-boggling environmental devastation left by the oil industry — you’ll find both in exotic, welcoming Azerbaijan.

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Caucasus Photos 

Georgia in pictures

July 5, 2020December 28, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Batumi, Caucasus, Georgia, Gori, Kazbegi, Sakartvelo, Sighnaghi, Tbilisi

Straddling cultural and geographic boundaries between Europe and Asia, Georgia is one of the most fascinating — and scenically diverse — countries on Earth.

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Europe Photos 

Former Yugoslavia in pictures

May 15, 2020September 20, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Bosnia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Budva, Durmitor, Kosovo, Montenegro, Mostar, Prizren, Sarajevo, Yugoslavia

Images of the dizzyingly diverse former Yugoslav republics of Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo.

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Pacific Photos 

Tonga in pictures

May 2, 2020September 19, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Ha'apai Islands, Neiafu, Nuku’alofa, Tonga, Tongatapu, Vava'u Islands

Unspoiled beaches, decrepit ferries, spontaneous schoolkids and a slow-paced way of life in one of the world’s last absolute monarchies.

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Europe Photos 

Spain and Portugal in pictures

April 25, 2020September 19, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Bilbao, Picos de Europa, Porto, Portugal, Santiago de Compostella, Spain

A wonder of modern architecture, a spectacular mountain range, one of Europe’s deepest canyons, and the charming city that gave port wine – and a country – its name.

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Middle East Photos 

Iran in pictures

April 18, 2020December 28, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Chakchak, Esfahan, Iran, Kandovan, Kerman, Persepolis, Qazvin, Qom, Shiraz, Yazd, Zoroastrianism

Former US President George W Bush called it part of “the Axis of Evil”. I call it one of the most fascinating and welcoming places I’ve been.

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Middle East Photos 

Turkey in pictures

April 12, 2020September 19, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Ani, Diyarbakir, Dogubayazit, Erzurum, Hasankeyf, Istanbul, Kars, Mt Ararat, Turkey, Yusufeli

A snow-bound palace, a ruined city, welcoming locals, a shipwreck and a fabled mountain — those are just a few of the things I photographed in Turkey in 2004.

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Middle East Photos 

Remembering Syria: Photos before and after the war

April 11, 2020December 28, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Aleppo, Aramaic, Arwad Island, Damascus, Deir az-Zor, Hama, Krak des Chevalliers, Maaloula, Palmyra, Syria

In 1995 I spent three unforgettable weeks in Syria. Now, after almost 10 years of civil war, many of the places I visited are no more.

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Photos 

Best photos of 2019

January 3, 2020April 26, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand, Northland, Paihia, photography, Russell, Sir Hekenukumai Puhipi, Tuia 250, Waitangi

For once picking my favourite photo of the year was easy.

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Europe Photos Weird Travel 

Is this the world’s strangest parade?

August 11, 2019September 20, 2020 pdg 0 Comments ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Bosch parade, Den Bosch, Hieronymus Bosch, Netherlands

The 500th anniversary of the death of one of history’s most original — and macabre — artists deserves a parade. But an ordinary parade just won’t do.

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Europe Photos 

Bohemia’s bagpipe festival in pictures

April 21, 2019September 20, 2020 pdg 0 Comments bagpipes, Czech Republic, International Bagpipe Festival, Strakonice

Every two years the International Bagpipe Festival draws pipers from all over Europe — and occasionally from as far away as New Zealand — to a small town in the Czech Republic.

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New Zealand Photos 

Waitangi Day in pictures

February 8, 2019February 8, 2019 pdg 3 Comments Bay of Islands, Hekenukumai Puhipi, Jacinda Ardern, Treaty of Waitangi, Waitangi Day, Waitangi Treaty Grounds, waka

A selection of my favourite images from Waitangi Day, the anniversary of the signing of New Zealand’s Treaty of Waitangi, taken since 2010.

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New Zealand Photos 

Best photos of 2018

January 24, 2019 pdg 0 Comments haka, Jimmy Cliff, Northland, Richie McCaw, Waitangi, whale rescue

From a new Prime Minister’s visit to a tearful whale stranding and a mass haka in the rain, these are a few of my favourite news photos of 2018.

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Pacific Photos 

Vanuatu in pictures

October 16, 2018October 16, 2018 pdg 0 Comments Ambrym, Efate, Maskelyne Islands, Port Vila, Tanna, Vanuatu

Vibrant coral reefs, lush rainforests, other-worldly landscapes created by active volcanoes, extraordinary homegrown religions untouched by missionaries, and some of the happiest people on Earth – welcome to Vanuatu.

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Pacific Photos 

American Samoa in pictures

August 9, 2018September 19, 2020 pdg 9 Comments American Samoa, Pago Pago, Tutuila

American Samoa is so far under the radar even well-travelled friends looked at me blankly when I told them where I was going.

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Photos Weird Travel 

Phone booths of the world

June 25, 2018June 26, 2018 pdg 12 Comments phone booth, telephone

The phone booth has, tragically, become an endangered species — hence my mission to preserve these once ubiquitous features of our urban landscape through photography.

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Africa Photos 

Ethiopia’s Meskel festival in pictures

June 13, 2018June 16, 2018 pdg 0 Comments Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Meskel

Once a year Ethiopia’s Christians celebrate what they say was the discovery of Christ’s cross more than 1600 years ago. All over the country they dress in brightly coloured robes, dance, sing, pray and build towering bonfires.

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About the author

Kia ora and welcome to Ramblings, a random collection of travel yarns, stories and photographs by Peter de Graaf. I’m a reporter and occasional travel writer based in Kerikeri, a small town in New Zealand’s Far North. Read more...

LATEST

Top news photos of 2020
New Zealand Photos 

Top news photos of 2020

January 2, 2021January 2, 2021 pdg 0

A global pandemic, iwi-led Covid checkpoints, Waitangi Day festivities, politics, record-breaking rainfall, floods and fires — 2020 had it all.

Armenia in pictures
Caucasus Photos 

Armenia in pictures

October 10, 2020December 28, 2020 pdg 0
Laos in pictures
Asia Photos 

Laos in pictures

September 27, 2020October 1, 2020 pdg 0
Azerbaijan in pictures
Caucasus Photos Top stories 

Azerbaijan in pictures

August 9, 2020December 28, 2020 pdg 0

WEIRD TRAVEL

Is this the world’s most bizarre place for a castle?
Europe Featured Weird Travel 

Is this the world’s most bizarre place for a castle?

July 22, 2020December 28, 2020 pdg 3

It has everything you’d ever want in a medieval castle. There’s only one problem: It’s in the middle of a giant steel mill.

The Merry Cemetery: Where folk art conquers grief
Europe Top stories Weird Travel 

The Merry Cemetery: Where folk art conquers grief

August 24, 2019December 28, 2020 pdg 0
Is this the world’s strangest parade?
Europe Photos Weird Travel 

Is this the world’s strangest parade?

August 11, 2019September 20, 2020 pdg 0
Transnistria: How to visit a country that doesn’t exist
Europe Featured Weird Travel 

Transnistria: How to visit a country that doesn’t exist

July 19, 2019September 20, 2020 pdg 2

PHOTOS

Top news photos of 2020
New Zealand Photos 

Top news photos of 2020

January 2, 2021January 2, 2021 pdg 0

A global pandemic, iwi-led Covid checkpoints, Waitangi Day festivities, politics, record-breaking rainfall, floods and fires — 2020 had it all.

Armenia in pictures
Caucasus Photos 

Armenia in pictures

October 10, 2020December 28, 2020 pdg 0
Laos in pictures
Asia Photos 

Laos in pictures

September 27, 2020October 1, 2020 pdg 0
Azerbaijan in pictures
Caucasus Photos Top stories 

Azerbaijan in pictures

August 9, 2020December 28, 2020 pdg 0
Georgia in pictures
Caucasus Photos 

Georgia in pictures

July 5, 2020December 28, 2020 pdg 0
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