Travel, videos and music written, filmed and photographed by Ben Howe.
The 2018 Others Way Music Festival featured 50 bands and artists across 14 different live music venues. The festival showcases new and emerging local artists and bands as well as established New Zealand music legends. Watch this short film.
Read MoreFlying Nun Records, the iconic New Zealand music label, donated many hundreds of master tapes from recordings made between 1981 to the mid-2000s, to the Alexander Turnbull Library’s Archive of New Zealand Music. There was a time I thought those tapes were lost and this is that story.
Read MoreGibara is a sleepy town on the north coast of Cuba, Holguin province. Located on the entrance to a small harbour, the settlement is surrounded on three sides by water. To the south, distant low green limestone hills rise above the glassy inlet. Apparently, when Christopher Columbus landed near here, he commented: “it is the most beautiful land that human eyes saw.”
Read MoreThe Old Ghost Road is an 85 km single track bike-packing mountain bike trail and walking path in the upper South Island of New Zealand. The Old Ghost Road traverses mountains, deep river gorges, dense forest and rough backcountry. It is remote, exposed, with rocky sections above the treeline.
Read MoreThe Old Ghost Road is an 85km single track mountain bike trail and walking path, upper South Island of New Zealand. I spent quite a bit of time preparing for the ride, deciding what to take and planning for the trip. Here is some background and suggestions.
Read MoreBaracoa, at the far Eastern end of Cuba, in Guantanamo province is almost the end of the road. Travelling from the big city Havana, on the opposite side of the island, you can’t go much further without disappearing into the sea. We look for things to do, explore the town and travel around the surrounding region.
Read MoreChinchero is a very charming and sleepy backwater town, not far from Cusco, Peru. It has a beautiful old church and one of the most interesting Sunday markets in the region. On a clear day, there are fantastic views of the surrounding valley and Andean peaks.
Read MoreI am planning to ride The OId Ghost Road, so I thought I better test my abilities for the trail. To do this, I rode out from my home in Brooklyn Wellington for the local trails called Barking Emu and Red Rocks.
Cubadupa is a festival that happens in Wellington, New Zealand, every March. It takes place on Cuba street, the creative hub of the central city. Good record stores, bookshops, cafes, restaurants and second-hand shops are all found in this area. I take along my Nikon FE2 35mm film camera.
Read MoreTravel guide to Havana, Cuba, including exploring Vedado, a city bicycle ride and some useful tips. Although everything looks old, dilapidated and falling apart, there is vibrance and energy to Havana. It is a great walking and biking city.
Read MoreTransylvania feels like the forgotten corner of Europe. Best known as the apparent lair of Count Dracula, some people don't even realise it is a real place. Instead, in the popular foreign imagination it conjures images of spooky jagged peaks, medieval castles and Gothic dungeons.
Read MoreThe image of Machu Picchu is familiar; mysterious stone structures almost floating among the misty mountains. A citadel perched high above the deep green river valleys. Machu Picchu also has a compelling story. Somehow lost and forgotten - inaccessible and buried in the jungle. Then, more recently, rediscovered by an American adventurer, self-promotor and historian Highram Bingham. With this story separating fiction from fact isn't always easy
Read MoreThe Central Otago Rail Trail is New Zealand's best known cycle trail. Built in 1994 on a decommissioned railway from Dunedin to Clyde it traverses the dry, grassy South Island high country; winding it's way through rocky gorges, over high river viaducts and across the sweeping wide open grassy plains. This is big sky country - crisp blue wide open spaces or brooding dark towers of cloud
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