THE ARCTIC
Far to the North. Bring the Whiskey.
To the North we go.
Svalbard, The Arctic Circle
The trip of a lifetime appeared to manifest out of thin air.
Sometimes in Life, magical things happen. That’s the beauty of Life, and the unknown.
If we knew everything before it happened, there wouldn’t be much to experience, would there? Things would get a little 6pm news on repeat. Thankfully, this game of Life has curve balls, and much of the time, when we least expect it.
Let’s hit pause for a second and get some context on how I ended up in The Arctic in May of 2019.
I still remember where I was and the heat of the day when I received a phone call from a friend who worked for a media agency. After some short introductions, she asked me what I was doing in 2 weeks time… I answered, well, I’m a self-employed contractor, so I may have some work, and I may not. She responded by telling me she couldn’t tell me where, or exactly why… But myself and Wes (Motion Bros) had a chance to go on a once-in-a-lifetime trip with Jameson Irish Whiskey.
The catch was, we weren’t to find out where we were going, or why, until we got there! What we did get told, after saying a monumental YES, was that we needed to pack for the cold. And not just the cold, but the freezing cold. Colder than we had ever experienced, cold.
And so began the journey to 17:80 - the coordinates in a place called Svalbard, which is the last liveable township in the Northern extremities of the Earth, in The Arctic Circle. 1780 is also the year that Jameson Irish Whiskey was first produced.
Svalbard, The Arctic
Svalbard is one of the world’s northernmost inhabited areas, known for its rugged, icy glacier terrain and polar bear population.
I’ve always had an interest in Ireland. I like Irish people, I like the accent. I like the humour.
I have Irish blood in me.
I also have a soft spot for whiskey, a beautiful and medicinal drink when used in the proper way. Now, about the cold… Before I went to The Arctic, I didn’t really ‘like’ the cold… I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t exactly love it. They say whiskey warms the heart, and perhaps this experience travelling to one of the coldest places on Earth truly did require a little heart warming, which led to a big eye opening, and that really was the beginning of a truly profound year of change in my life.
It was the trip to The Arctic that set forth a great series of changes in my life. One of them being the move to Queenstown in New Zealand just a few months later, which in itself radically changed the trajectory of my life. The Arctic was the true beginning of my journey inward. And it’s interesting to me to look back on this experience and see myself wrapped up in the warmest of clothing to brave the elements; blowing gales of -50degree celsius, ice as far as the eye can see and polar bears in the distance.
The juxtaposition of extreme comfort and extreme discomfort, a hint at Life’s great polarities that we are always seeking to balance.
It was this trip, at the Crown of the World, that I began thinking about what this Life of mine is really about.
The next moment I find myself riding a Husky-pulled sled into a seemingly ever-glowing sunset.
I scream at the top of my lungs.
I am literally on top of the world.
And what a place to be. But as grand and spectacular as this land was, I think it was the people I was with that brought about the greatest sense of change within me. The great thing about this trip is that we were 2 New Zealanders amongst a rainbow of international travellers that the Jameson team had brought from all around the world, to the top of the world. ‘Randomly’, ‘not-so-randomly’ selected, each of us was there for a purpose. I know mine was to activate my soul in to remembering who I was, and why I was here on Earth. This experience did just that.
At the time, Life was great. I was travelling the world, getting paid to make videos, and living a very extravagant adventurous life.
I enjoyed my beers, I enjoyed my food, and I enjoyed my woman. A classic story for a 24 year old male from a Western up-bringing.
What I didn’t know at the time, was that this lifestyle was sucking me dry. It was sucking the life out of me, and I wouldn’t have lasted long if I had kept going like this.
The unseen changes that happened when I was literally, ‘on top of the World’, threw me into a deep cycle of inner work, of which upon the writing of this article, I am still evolving through.
I think it was that age-old idea of take yourself somewhere far, far away to truly meet yourself.
I’ve heard it a few times lately that we don’t need to do that. We can meet ourselves, and be ourselves right here, right now, right where we grew up!
I think this is entirely true. But I also think of the words of Jesus and when he said “Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.”
I have always thought of this to be about who people around us ‘think’ we are, and how this affirms behaviours and traits within us.
Who we are as we grow up - the ideas, the imprints, and the culture of those around us and who we learned from. These things ‘make’ us who we are, but it’s really just who we ‘think’ we are.
Who we become when we truly meet ourselves is who we really are, and sometimes a change of scenery and people can help us see that a little clearer. Places change, as do people, as do cultures, but one thing remains, and that’s who we really are. And only we can really know that.
I think changing our physical environment is a great tool for changing the perspective of
who we are.
I think we are ever-evolving, creating new versions of ourselves, but one thing will always remain -
the Truth stored deep within our hearts.
And sometimes, it takes a wee trip somewhere very cold to realise that.
To the north we go.
Far to the North.
In 2024, the call to travel abroad was strong, and it was the sacred land of Bali that became the experience that changed the trajectory of my creative journey.
A transformation took place within me on this adventure.
I truly hold Bali in my heart as a special and momentous land for my life journey.
The trip of a lifetime appeared to manifest itself out of thin air.
One moment, I was sitting on a high deck overlooking Campbell’s Bay beach in late Summer. The next, I was suited up in an astronaut style suit, riding a husky sled through Arctic snow in -50 degrees celsius.
Within two weeks, my life changed from a hot summer’s day in New Zealand to an ever-sunset golden glowing Arctic Cirlce. Wow, what a memory. I still remember where I was and the heat of the day when I received a phone call from a friend who worked for a media agency. After some short introductions, she asked me what I was doing in 2 weeks time… I answered, well, I’m a self-employed contractor, so I may have some work, and I may not. She responded by telling me she couldn’t tell me where, or exactly why… But myself and Wes (Motion Bros) had a chance to go on a once-in-a-lifetime trip with Jameson Irish Whiskey. The catch was, we weren’t to find out where we were going, or why, until we got there! What we did get told, after saying a monumental YES, was that we needed to pack for the cold. And not just the cold, but the freezing cold. Colder than we had ever experienced, cold.
And so began the journey to 17:80 - the coordinates in a place called Svalbard, which is the last liveable township in the Northern extremities of the Earth, in The Arctic Circle. 1780 is also the year that Jameson Irish Whiskey was first produced. More about that soon.
Whiskey, oh whiskey, the places you take me.
Svalbard, the arctic circle
I’ve always had an interest in Ireland. I like Irish people, I like the accent. I like the humour. I also have a soft spot for whiskey, a beautiful and medicinal drink when used in the proper way. Now, about the cold… Before I went to The Arctic, I didn’t really ‘like’ the cold… I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t exactly love it. They say whiskey warms the heart, and perhaps this experience travelling to one of the coldest places on Earth truly did require a little heart warming, which led to a big eye opening, and what really was the beginning of a profound year of change in my life.
It wasn’t until I was sitting in the dark corner of a window seat in a small Arctic plane being blasted by a high wind snow blizzard, that I began to truly realise where I was.
2 weeks after the phone call in Campbells Bay, NZ, I had flown to Norway via Dubai, met up with my Motion Bros partner Wes, and boarded the final 6 hour plane flight to a place called ‘Svalbard’. We knew we were meeting a crew of internationals with Jameson Irish Whiskey - a group that had been selected to represent different nationalities of the world - we were the Kiwis, and it had something to do with whiskey, and it had something to do with an adventure in a very cold place. We knew it was extra cold because Jameson had kindly kitted us up with merino thermals & socks, snow vests with our nick-names on them, and even a personally engraved silver flask for whiskey. Ok… Here we go.
svalbard, the arctic
Svalbard is one of the world’s northernmost inhabited areas, known for its rugged, icy glacier terrain and polar bear population.
My journey in Bali was day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. I would rise in the morning and listen in to where the best of the day would lead. A new place? I would ask myself every day. Some times it would be a new place, some times a new experience in the same place. And some times it was simply healing or resting in the same place, with the variety of experiences happening on the inner planes of my conscious awareness.
The journey before finally getting to the mountains of Bali (I had been waiting for this moment for some time) had taken me deep into the ocean; diving with Manta Rays and a plethora of fish species and underwater life, reminding me of the wonderful world beneath the sea that our friends of the ocean call home. It had taken me to a beautiful and sacred wedding gathering on an ancient island, where I had the task of photography and filming to help document and remember the occasion for some dear friends. It had tested me with a week of illness, where I was forced to find a place to rest, and formulate a plan for my recovery. And after getting myself some wheels (a motorbike) and strapping my gear bags on to the back, I was finally ready to visit the Northern regions of Bali, and I was eager to find some fresh water, the rivers, waterfalls, and trees, and birds, and the sound of a clear and pure place.
My technique for finding a place to stay involved visiting an accommodation app like Air BnB or Trivago. Some times it would be on the morning of… other times it would be approaching the evening of! A great place to start, huh… Rocket science! I would look at the map, and get little hints on places to stay using my intuition. At the time, budget was a consideration, and I was able to find very hospitable places to sleep for an average of $18-28nzd per night. It turned out the places I stayed were of high importance to the transformative journey I was on whilst travelling Bali. The place itself - the location, surroundings, people and past times, and the timing of when I went there all played a role in setting forth the appropriate constellations and conditions for my spiritual growth and experience during the trip. I was meeting the right people at the right moments, and using intuition and divine guidance to steer the rhythm and pace of my trip. It wasn’t always easy - at times I would spend what seemed like hours going back and forth on a map, in and out of accommodation options, only to find the selected option had an error with booking, or was “full”… clearly not the place I was meant to be!
However, I like this style of travel. To me, it is presence when travelling - to be on the pulse of your trip; your experience, and completely in the moment. The rate at which I was experiencing change within me meant planning too far ahead would likely create an outdated solution by the time it happened! So the day by day, minute by minute approach worked well for me as a solo traveller on this journey.
I finally arrived in the mountains. Ahh, the air was fresh, the views were vast, and I was reminded of my love for high places. For fresh, pure air, and for vastness. A smirk on my face, I had made it.
The adventure into the crator had begun.
At the time, I didn’t know it yet, but I was gazing into a large, ancient crator of Bali’s biggest mountain volcano, known as Mt Batur. This region is made up of two mountains, each within the actual crator of what was once a much larger mountain. The interesting thing about this revelation, was I had been drawn to visit Mt Batur instead of the (currently) taller and bigger, Mt Agung. At 9,944 feet or 3,031m in elevation at the summit, Agung is a big mountain, especially given its location on the relatively small island of Bali. Most travellers tend to visit Mt Agung as the biggest and more well-known mountain on Bali. I myself, thought I was heading there, until the day by day approach and a few swipes of a map took me to Mt Batur.
Now there was one day, when I had left my accomodation on the rim of the crator. It was here at this location that I experienced the deepest revelations on my journey in Bali. It was as though all the moments leading up to this poignant, almost romantic moment, on the crator of Batur, had prepared me for what became a truly transformational 4 days “on the crator”. At some point in the future, I will share more about my days spent in the room of a local homestay, waking with the sunrise beyond the mountains and ‘trying’ to sleep in the evenings next to what appeared to be the regions most popular locals meeting dinner bar. Seriously, overhearing the night-time activities of the place next door to where I was staying (which is still a mystery to me what it even was), led me to come to the conclusion that some fully grown, adult Balinese people were similar to what I would call an excitable group of young American high school students in the 60s or 70s preparing for their junior prom - down to the dances, giggling, romance and all! The juxtaposition of my stay and the journey I was on brings me a hearty laugh to this day.
Canguu, bali
I met this man on the first morning of my first day in Bali. It was dawn, about 530am. He was beating the rush of the day and collecting cardboard on the side of the street.
This is a handpan track I recorded myself playing with my phone in a music shop, one day in Ubud.
ELATED
AND ELEVATED
Take a journey that reminds you life is what you make it, and life is also how you respond to situations every, single, second.